Tara Strong
| Tara Strong | |
|---|---|
 Tara Strong (with cartoonist C.H. Greenblatt) at San Diego Comic-con, 2009. |
|
| Born | Tara Lyn Charendoff February 12, 1973 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Other names | Tara Charendoff |
| Occupation | Actress, voice actress, singer |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse | Craig Strong (May 14, 2000 – present) |
| Website | |
| http://www.tarastrong.com/ | |
Tara Lyn Charendoff-Strong (born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian American actress, voice-over artist, comedienne, musician, singer, and businesswoman, perhaps best known for her extensive voice acting in animated films and television.
Contents |
Biography
Early life and career
Tara Lyn Charendoff was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, to Jewish Canadian parents Syd and Lucy Charendoff, both of her parents ran a convenience/toy/candy store called The Wiz. Strong's acting career began when she volunteered to be a soloist in the school production at age four. Soon, she began acting in the Yiddish Theater; though she didn't speak the Yiddish language, she memorized her lines phonetically. During this time, she also performed at the Toronto Jewish Theater, where she acted in A Night of Stars, and was featured in an audiotape for "Lay Down Your Arms" with the Habonim Youth Choir, where she sang the lyrics in both English and Hebrew,[1] a feat she repeated on February 10, 2005, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel during the March of the Living dinner in honor of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.[1]
At age thirteen, Strong was accepted into a performing arts school, where she landed her first professional role: the role of Gracie in the Limelight Theater's production of The Music Man. That same year, she booked a guest starring role in Mr. T's T. and T. Afterwards, she landed the title role in Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater and starred in the short-lived CBC Television sitcom Mosquito Lake before moving to Los Angeles in the midst of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.[1]
Strong is the voice behind a multitude of North American animated characters, including main roles in The New Batman Adventures as Batgirl; Fillmore! as Ingrid Third; Rugrats and All Grown Up! as Dil Pickles; The Powerpuff Girls as Bubbles; Ben 10 as Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, Benwolf, and Buzzshock; The Fairly OddParents as Timmy Turner and Poof; Xiaolin Showdown as Omi; Teen Titans as Raven; Drawn Together as Princess Clara and Toot Braunstein; The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World as Hip/Lemmy and Hop/Iggy Koopa; Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends as Terrence; Transformers Animated as Sari Sumdac, Slipstream, Slo-Mo, Strika, Red Alert, Mayor Edsel's press secretary, and additional voices; Chowder as Truffles, the singing voice of Meg Griffin and additional voices on Family Guy; and currently voices Betty Boop in commercials with Tress MacNeille.
She has also lent her voice to Japanese anime such as Spirited Away, Sailor Moon, Shaman King, and Princess Mononoke, as well as several video games, including her work as Elisa and Ursula in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops; Paz Ortega Andrade in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker; Seth Balmore in Lost Odyssey; Rikku in Final Fantasy X, its sequel Final Fantasy X-2, and Kingdom Hearts II; Norma Beatty in Tales of Legendia; and Talwyn Apogee in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and its sequel, Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (both of which reunite her with her Final Fantasy X/Drawn Together co-star James Arnold Taylor). Numerous sources have stated that she also voiced Bowser Jr. in Super Mario Sunshine and went uncredited for the role. She is currently known for having voice acted in the most cartoons, surpassing voice actor Tom Kenny.[2]
She has appeared in live roles in National Lampoon's Senior Trip, Sabrina Goes to Rome, Sabrina, Down Under, Mosquito Lake, and The Last White Dishwasher. She also made guest appearances on such shows as Forever Knight, Street Legal, Touched by an Angel, Take Home Chef, Party of Five, Comic Book: The Movie, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and 3rd Rock from the Sun.[1] She appears as the character Miss Collins in Nickelodeon's live action series Big Time Rush. Strong has been nominated four times for an Annie Award, and once for a Daytime Emmy.[1]
In 2004, she won an Interactive Achievement Award for her role as Rikku in Final Fantasy X-2. She also served as the announcer for the 2000 Kids' Choice Awards, appeared as a guest at several fan conventions (including BotCon, Jacon, Comic-Con International, and Anime Overdose), and was featured on the front cover of the July/August 2004 issue of Working Mother magazine, where she was quoted as saying "My son is now old enough to respond to my work. To me, that's what it's all about."[1] [3]
Personal life
Strong is Jewish, a vegetarian (having been raised kosher)[4] and has one sister, Marla Charendoff (born October 18, 1971). Strong's parents ran a candy/toy store business when Tara and Marla were growing up. Their mother Lucy died in 2004. Tara went to Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, class of 1991, after leaving high school she studied at The Second City in Toronto for two years before moving to Los Angeles in January 1994, Strong and actress Neve Campbell lived together when they both moved to Los Angeles at the same time, they have known each other since high school, they both auditioned for the same role in the hit 90s TV series Party of Five but the role of Julia was given to Neve but Tara started in a few episodes as Lorna. Her favorite color is blue. Her favorite films are The Wizard of Oz and Defending Your Life. Her favorite books are The Joy Luck Club, Like Water for Chocolate and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (favorite childhood book), she loves anything by Lewis Carroll and Amy Tan. She a huge fan of Judy Garland, in a 1998 interview with Hollywood.com she quoted "I would have liked to talk to Judy Garland in her prime. The Wizard of Oz is my all time favorite movie. She was wonderful .. I'd like to talk to her about what it was like to be famous back then." . She also takes classes in Cardio Barre to stay fit. Prior to her marriage, she was originally credited under her maiden name, Tara Charendoff. She is also good friends/acquaintances with fellow actors Cree Summer,[5] Rob Paulsen, Debi Derryberry, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Kenny, Cathy Cavadini, Jason Marsden, David Hayter, Jess Harnell, Greg Cipes, Richard Steven Horvitz, Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy), Kevin Michael Richardson, James Arnold Taylor, Bumper Robinson, David Kaye, Neve Campbell, Jodi Benson, Phil LaMarr, Butch Hartman, John DiMaggio, Maria Canals Barrera, Dwight Schultz, Maurice LaMarche, Scott Menville, Rino Romano, Susan Egan, Craig McCracken, Melissa Joan Hart, and the late Mary Kay Bergman.[1]
Her favorite voices she has done during her voice-over career are Melody in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea as she is a fan of the original The Little Mermaid (1989 film) which is her favorite Disney film, Toot Braunstein in Drawn Together in a Comedy Central interview Strong quoted "Toot is the funniest character I have done, Toot lives in a fantasy world, insisting that she is still a beautiful sex symbol under the delusion that all the men want her" and Raven in Teen Titans in a interview she quoted "I love playing goth characters, out of all the goths I've played Raven is my favorite and I love it how she is half demon and half good girl which is so different from all the other goths I have played. And plus my sons love the show, they love any cartoon that is based on a comic book superhero".
She is married to American actor Craig Strong (on May 14, 2000); they have two sons - Sammy James Strong (born February 5, 2002), and Aden Joshua Strong (born August 25, 2004). She and Craig are the founders of VoiceStarz, Inc., an Internet-based company which teaches people how to get into the voice-over business, of which Craig is the CEO. Tara and Craig met in early 1999 at a party hosted by Sharon Stone's sister. They currently reside in Toluca Lake, California with their sons and their two dogs, Abbey and Baci. [1]
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | The Little Fox | Additional Voices | |
| 1997 | Princess Mononoke | Kaya | |
| 1997 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | ||
| 1998 | The Rugrats Movie | Dil Pickles | |
| 1998 | Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island | Lena | |
| 1999 | Can of Worms | Lula | |
| 2000 | Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | Batgirl/Barbara Gordon | |
| 2000 | The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea | Melody | |
| 2000 | Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Dil Pickles | |
| 2001 | Spirited Away | Boh | |
| 2002 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame II | ||
| 2002 | Ice Age | Baby Moeritherium | |
| 2002 | The Powerpuff Girls Movie | Bubbles, Female Child 1, Female Citizen 1 | |
| 2002 | Tarzan & Jane | Hazel | |
| 2002 | Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring | Nibbles | |
| 2002 | The Wild Thornberrys Movie | ||
| 2003 | The Animatrix: Final Flight of the Osiris | ||
| 2003 | 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure | Two-Tone, additional voices | |
| 2003 | Rugrats Go Wild | Dil Pickles | |
| 2003 | Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman | Barbara Gordon | |
| 2004 | The Toy Warrior | ||
| 2005 | The Batman vs. Dracula | Vicki Vale | |
| 2005 | Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone | Mara | |
| 2005 | The Proud Family Movie | Bebe, Cece, Cashew | |
| 2006 | Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas | Priscilla Pig | |
| 2006 | Bratz Genie Magic | Katia | |
| 2006 | Leroy & Stitch | Angel [6] | |
| 2006 | Superman: Brainiac Attacks | Mercy Graves | |
| 2006 | Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo | Raven | |
| 2007 | Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix | Ben Tennyson | |
| 2007 | Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams | Sharma | |
| 2007 | Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme | April Strange | |
| 2007 | TMNT | Additional Voices | |
| 2007 | The Aristocats II (Aborted) | Marie | |
| 2008 | Bolt | Additional Voices | |
| 2008 | The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning | Adella and Andrina (various voices) | |
| 2008 | Secrets of the Furious Five | Young Tigress | |
| 2008 | The Last White Dishwasher | Tamara Swanson | |
| 2009 | Wonder Woman | Alexa | |
| 2010 | The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! | Princess Clara, Toot Braunstein, Betty Rubble, The "Real" Princess, Blonde Woman, Jew Producer's Wife | |
| Television (Live action) | |||
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Street Legal | Angela | |
| 1986 | Desiree's Wish | Waitress | |
| 1988 | T. and T. | Sydney | |
| 1989 | Mosquito Lake | Tara Harrison | |
| 1991 | Married to It | Student in Pageant | |
| 1992 | A Town Torn Apart | ||
| 1992 | The Judge | Millie Waters | |
| 1992 | Forever Knight | ||
| 1993 | Family Pictures | ||
| 1993 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Elizabeth | |
| 1993 | Ready or Not | ||
| 1994 | Reform School Girl | ||
| 1994 | Thicker Than Blood: The Larry McLinden Story | Terra (age 16) | |
| 1995 | Skin Deep | Tina | |
| 1995 | National Lampoon's Senior Trip | Carla Morgan | |
| 1995 | Party of Five | Lorna | |
| 1998 | Sabrina Goes to Rome | Gwen | |
| 1999 | Sabrina, Down Under | Gwen | |
| 1999 | Touched by an Angel | ||
| 1999 | Black Mask | Additional Voices | |
| 1999 | Candid Camera | ||
| 1999 | 1999 Kid's Choice Awards | Presenter | |
| 2004 | Comic Book: The Movie | ||
| 2006 | Take Home Chef | Herself (live) | |
| 2007 | The Bad Girls Club | Season 2 Narrator | |
| 2008 | According to Jim | ||
| 2010 | Big Time Rush | Miss Collins | |
| Television (Animation) | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | The Care Bears | ||
| 1986 | Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater | Hello Kitty | |
| 1987 | Garbage Pail Kids | Patty Putty | |
| 1987 | Maxie's World | ||
| 1987 | My Pet Monster | ||
| 1987 | The Wild Puffalumps | Holly | |
| 1989 | Babar | Young Celeste | |
| 1989 | Beetlejuice | Clare, Bertha | |
| 1990 | The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 | Lemmy "Hip" Koopa and Iggy "Hop" Koopa | |
| 1990 | Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures | ||
| 1990 | Madeline | Chloe | |
| 1990 | Piggsburg Pigs! | ||
| 1990 | Tiny Toon Adventures | Mizzy Devil | |
| 1991 | Here's How! | ||
| 1991 | ProStars | ||
| 1991 | Super Mario World | Lemmy "Hip" Koopa and Iggy "Hop" Koopa | |
| 1991 | Wish Kid | ||
| 1992 | X-Men | Magik | |
| 1993 | The Incredible Dennis the Menace | ||
| 1993 | Tales from the Cryptkeeper | ||
| 1994 | Tekkaman Blade II | Yumi Francois/Tekkaman Hiver | |
| 1995 | Gadget Boy & Heather | Heather | |
| 1995 | Little Bear | Tutu | |
| 1996 | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | Additional voices | |
| 1996 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Girl | |
| 1996 | The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Kazrina | |
| 1997 | 101 Dalmatians: The Series | Spot, Two-Tone | |
| 1997 | Channel Umptee-3 | ||
| 1997 | Extreme Ghostbusters | Kylie Griffin | |
| 1997 | Healthspells | ||
| 1997 | The New Batman Adventures | Batgirl/Barbara Gordon | |
| 1997 | Pepper Ann | Brenda | |
| 1997 | King of the Hill | ||
| 1998 | Rugrats | Dil Pickles | |
| 1998 | Gadget Boy's Adventures In History | Heather | |
| 1998 | The Powerpuff Girls | Bubbles | |
| 1998 | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Molly Dolly | |
| 1999 | Detention | Shareena Wickett | |
| 1999 | The Kids from Room 402 | Penny | |
| 1999 | Mona the Vampire | ||
| 1999 | Sonic Underground | Additional Voices | |
| 2000 | Clerks: The Animated Series | Giggling Girl | |
| 2000 | Sailor Moon S | additional voices | |
| 2001 | The Proud Family | Bebe and Cece Proud, Puff | |
| 2001 | The Fairly OddParents | Timmy Turner, Poof, Britney Britney, Additional voices | |
| 2001 | Lloyd in Space | Cindy's Nice Head | |
| 2001 | Thomas and Friends | Bridgett Hatt | |
| 2002 | Codename: Kids Next Door | Mushi Sanban | |
| 2002 | Fillmore! | Ingrid Third | |
| 2002 | Gotham Girls | Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, Elizabeth Styles | |
| 2002 | The Paz Show | Rabbit | |
| 2002 | Kim Possible | Tara, Joss Possible, Britina | |
| 2002 | Totally Spies! | Various Characters | |
| 2002 | What's New, Scooby-Doo? | Terry/Alexandra Viggi/Trudy | |
| 2003 | The Animatrix | Crew Woman ("Final Flight of the Osiris") / Nurse ("World Record") / Misha ("Beyond") | |
| 2003 | Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks | Dannan 'O Mallard / Molly Winks | |
| 2003 | Justice League | Sera, Queen | |
| 2003 | Lilo & Stitch: The Series | Angel, Adult Lilo | |
| 2003 | Shaman King | Young Yoh | |
| 2003 | Teen Titans | Raven, Kitten, Kole, Jinx | |
| 2003 | Xiaolin Showdown | Omi | |
| 2003 | All Grown Up! | Dil Pickles | |
| 2004 | Danny Phantom | Ember McLain, Star, and Penelope Spectra | |
| 2004 | Drawn Together | Princess Clara, Toot Braunstein, Wilma Flintstone, Unusually Flexible Girl, Paper Baby | |
| 2004 | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | Terrence, Various Characters | |
| 2004 | The Infinite Darcy | ||
| 2004 | Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi | Little Girl | |
| 2004 | Megas XLR | Pulsar, Comet | |
| 2005 | American Dragon: Jake Long | Kara & Sara, Veronica, Stacey | |
| 2005 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Mai's mother, Actress Azula | |
| 2005 | Ben 10 | Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, Future Gwen, Buzzshock, Benwolf, Lucy, Ken Tennyson, Sandra Tennyson, Additional voices | |
| 2005 | Brandy & Mr. Whiskers | Gabriella/Mom Howler | |
| 2005 | The Buzz on Maggie | Dawn Swatworthy | |
| 2005 | Camp Lazlo | Amber, Tootie, & Honey | |
| 2005 | Family Guy | Meg Griffin's singing voice | |
| 2005 | The Life and Times of Juniper Lee | Roger, Lila the Sasquatch | |
| 2006 | Justice League Unlimited | Johnny | |
| 2006 | Family Guy | additional voices | |
| 2006 | Legion of Super-Heroes | Alexis Luthor/Esper/Emerald Empress | |
| 2006 | The Replacements | Sierra, additional voices | |
| 2007 | My Friends Tigger & Pooh | Porcupine | |
| 2007 | The Boondocks | Cindy McPhearson | |
| 2007 | Chowder | Truffles | |
| 2007 | Phineas and Ferb | Additional Voices | |
| 2007 | Sushi Pack | Maguro | |
| 2007 | Transformers Animated | Sari Sumdac, Slipstream, Slo-Mo, Strika, Red Alert, Mayor Edsel's press secretary, Carly, Teletran-1 | |
| 2008 | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! | Daizy | |
| 2008 | Kid vs Kat | Phoebe | |
| 2008 | Ben 10: Alien Force | Princess Attea (1 episode) | |
| 2008 | Wolverine and the X-Men | Marrow, Dust, X-23, Firestar, Stepford Cuckoos, Magik/Illyana | |
| 2009 | The Powerpuff Girls Rule! | Bubbles | |
| 2009 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Huntress, Billy Batson, Mary Marvel | [7] |
| 2009 | The Goode Family | ||
| 2009 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Eggy the duckling, Mother Duck, Know-it-all Kid, Additional Voices | |
| 2009 | The Super Hero Squad Show | H.E.R.B.I.E., Invisible Woman, Scarlet Witch, Brynnie Bratton, Destiny | |
| 2009 | Random! Cartoons | Beth, New Alien | |
| 2009 | El Chavo | Doña Florinda, La Popis | |
| 2010 | Castaway Cats | Seven Kittens | |
| 2010 | Sym-Bionic Titan | IIanna | Confirmed on her website. |
| 2010 | Fish Hooks | Miss Golden | |
| 2010 | My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | Twilight Sparkle | |
| Video Games | |||
| Year | Game | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Icewind Dale | Yxunomei | |
| 2000 | Orphen: Scion of Sorcery | ||
| 2000 | Sacrifice | ||
| 2001 | Batman Vengeance | Batgirl/Barbara Gordon | |
| 2001 | Final Fantasy X | Rikku | |
| 2001 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | ||
| 2001 | Rugrats: All Growed Up – Older and Bolder | Dil Pickles | |
| 2002 | Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat | Mara | |
| 2002 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | ||
| 2002 | Whacked! | Lucy, Charity | |
| 2003 | Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu | Batgirl / Barbara Gordon | |
| 2003 | Final Fantasy X-2 | Rikku | |
| 2004 | Hot Shots Golf Fore! | Emma | |
| 2004 | Jak 3 | Keira, Seem | |
| 2004 | La Pucelle: Tactics | Goddess Poitreene, Chocolat | |
| 2004 | Ninja Gaiden | Rachel | |
| 2004 | Shrek 2 | Lil' Red | |
| 2004 | Spyro: A Hero's Tail | Ember, Flame | |
| 2004 | Tales of Symphonia | Presea Combatir, Corrine | |
| 2005 | Jak X: Combat Racing | Keira | |
| 2005 | Killer7 | Kaede Smith | |
| 2005 | Psychonauts | Sheegor | |
| 2005 | Shrek SuperSlam | Red Riding Hood , Dronkey , Luna (Witch), Anthrax (Unicorn) | |
| 2005 | Tales of Legendia | Norma Beatty | |
| 2005 | Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble | Captain Blue Jr. | |
| 2005 | Xenosaga II | Sakura Mizrahi | |
| 2005 | X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse | Blink | |
| 2006 | Blue Dragon | Kluke | |
| 2006 | Cartoon Network Racing | Bubbles | |
| 2006 | Family Guy Video Game! | additional voices | |
| 2006 | Justice League Heroes | Supergirl | |
| 2006 | Kingdom Hearts II | Rikku | |
| 2006 | Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops | Elisa & Ursula | |
| 2006 | Ninja Gaiden Sigma | Rachel | |
| 2006 | Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams | Arin | |
| 2006 | Xiaolin Showdown | Omi | |
| 2007 | Ben 10: Protector of Earth | Ben Tennyson | |
| 2007 | Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure | Cream, Mosby, and Baby Tokaron | |
| 2007 | Lost Odyssey | Seth | |
| 2007 | Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction | Talwyn | |
| 2008 | Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty | Talwyn | |
| 2008 | Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World | Presea Combatir | |
| 2008 | Line Rider 2: Unbound | Bailey | |
| 2008 | Wii Music | Melody Tute | |
| 2008 | Crash: Mind over Mutant | Additional Voices | |
| 2009 | Fat Princess | Princess | |
| 2009 | Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall | Bubbles | |
| 2009 | Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier | Keira | |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | ||
| 2009 | Watchmen: The End Is Nigh | ||
| 2009 | Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 | Rachel, Sanji | |
| 2010 | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | Paz | |
| 2010 | No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle | Cloe Walsh, Margaret | |
| 2010 | DC Universe Online | Raven | |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Tara Strong official website
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Strong on the cover of Working Mother magazing
- ↑ TV.com website
- ↑ Drawn Together Hot Tub DVD Commentary
- ↑ TOTS: The Official Tara Strong filmography!
- ↑ Toon Zone - Your Source for Toon News!
External links
- Official website
- Tara Strong on Myspace
- Tara Strong at the Internet Movie Database
- Tara Strong at TV.com