From Wikipedia:

In her most widely known appearance in the 1953 animated Peter Pan film, the character was animated and had no dialogue.

Tinker Bell has been one of Disney's most important branding icons for over half a century, and is generally known as "a symbol of 'the magic of Disney'." She has been featured in television commercials and program opening credits sprinkling pixie dust with a wand in order to shower a magical feeling over various other Disney personalities, though the 1953 animated version of Tinker Bell never actually used a wand.

In the picture and the official Disney Character Archives, she is referred to as a pixie.

There is an urban legend that the original animated version of Tinker Bell was modeled after Marilyn Monroe. However, Disney animator Marc Davis's reference was actress Margaret Kerry. He illustrated Tinker Bell as a young, blonde haired, big blue eyed, white female, with an exaggerated hour-glass figure. She is clad in a short lime-green dress with a rigid trim, and green slippers with white puffs. She is trailed by small amounts of pixie dust when she moves, and this dust can help humans fly if they believe it will.