Toph’s original design was a lot different.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a series that has been praised for almost every single aspect; be it the animation, power dynamics, or its storytelling. However, the one thing it has praised on the most is the way it creates its characters. Team Avatar is the perfect example of this, with a perfect balance of all kinds of personalities.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Where Aang is playful and full of life, Zuko brings a lot of angst. Katara acts as a caring, motherly figure and Sokka acts as the comic relief when things get too tense. Then there is Toph Beifong, who terrifies everyone on the team with her sarcastically confrontational personality.

She brings a completely different energy to the team upon her entry in Book 2, especially considering how powerful she is as a short, per-teen girl. Interestingly enough, it would seem that this small but deadly design wasn’t the original plan for her character. Her voice actor, Jessie Flower revealed that she was originally supposed to be a very different character.

Bolin — The Blind Bandit?

Jessie Flower gave an interview with The Illuminerdi, where she went into great detail about one of her most iconic characters to this date, Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender. She especially talked about how her character originally looked in the series. She first made an appearance in Book Two, however, knowing how far ahead the show planned its story, the design for her character was drawn up in the first season itself.
Avatar:The Last Airbender
The voice actress revealed that originally, the earthbender was supposed to look a lot different, even starting off as a boy. It would seem that her character design was similar to Bolin in The Legend of Korra, being a buff man who taught Aang how to earthbend.

“Actually voiced Meng in Season 1. She is in the Fortune Teller episode, the girl with the thick pigtails who has a crush on Aang and calls Katara a floosie [laughter]. After that episode, supposedly that is when the creators really officially decided to make Toph a girl. It’s because she was originally supposed to be kind of like Bolin [referring to a character from The Legend Of Korra], a little stocky and kind of brash, so they decided to make her a girl. I didn’t know I was auditioning for Toph later on, after recording Season 1, that it was the same show.”

Toph Beifong in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Flower added that it wasn’t until she voiced Meng in season one that the creators changed their minds about Toph’s character. They decided to turn her into a frail-looking girl, whose personality completely juxtaposed her appearance.

Toph Was Needed In Avatar: The Last Airbender

It is safe to say that Team Avatar would have felt a lot different had Toph been a well-built man rather than the short and scary icon that she is. She provided a sense of familiarity for fans, with her character being somewhat similar to Aang. At the same time, she challenged the Avatar in a way that had not been done before.

Toph Beifong in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Her physique specifically added to her impact. If she looked different or had a different personality, the effects she had on the protagonists would not have been the same. Her absence would have been felt by viewers even if they had not been introduced to her.

Part of her charm comes from how precious and sweet she looks compared to her personality, which is of a girl who has something to prove and will not let anyone walk over her. As frail and vulnerable as she looks, Toph is one of the strongest characters in the series and that is what makes her as beloved as she is. Any changes in this design would not have had the same effect.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is available for streaming on Netflix.