Tara Strong

Tara Strong

Strong in July 2009 at the San Diego Comic-Con International
Born Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Other names Tara Charendoff
Occupation Actress, Voice actress, Singer
Years active 1986–present
Spouse Craig Strong (May 14, 2000-present)
Children 2 sons
Signature
Website
http://www.tarastrong.com/

Tara Lyn Strong (born Charendoff) is a Canadian actress, voice actress, voice-over artist and singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons. She has been given the nickname "The woman of a thousand voices".

Contents

Early life and career

Tara Lyn Charendoff was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, to Jewish Canadian parents Syd (1935–present) and Lucy Charendoff (1936–2004), who 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 did not know Yiddish, 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 of California 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; Sym-Bionic Titan as Ilana Lunas; Chowder as Truffles; the singing voice of Meg Griffin and additional voices on Family Guy; My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as Twilight Sparkle; and currently voices Betty Boop in commercials with Tress MacNeille.

She has also lent her voice to English-language localizations of 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 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 has the role of 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 and she will voice Roxy of Winx Club,which will be broadcast on Nickelodeon.[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, saying, "My son is now old enough to respond to my work. To me, that's what it's all about."[1][2]

Personal life

Strong was raised Jewish in a kosher household. She is a vegetarian.[3] Prior to her marriage, she was originally credited under her maiden name, Tara Charendoff. She has one sister, Marla Charendoff (born October 18, 1971). Strong's parents ran a candy/toy store business in the Toronto area. Tara attended 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 both auditioned for the same role, Julia, in the '90s TV series Party of Five which would prove to be Campbell's big break. Strong appeared in a few episodes as Lorna.

Among her favorite voicework roles are: Melody in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (the original The Little Mermaid is her favorite Disney film), Toot Braunstein in Drawn Together,[4] and Raven in Teen Titans.[5]

Tara met American actor Craig Strong in early 1999 at a party hosted by Sharon Stone's sister. Tara and Craig married on May 14, 2000. They have two sons. The family resides in Toluca Lake, California with their two dogs, Abbey and Baci.[1] She and Craig are the founders of VoiceStarz, Inc., an Internet-based company which teaches people how to get into the voiceover business. Craig is the CEO.

Filmography

Films

Films
Year Title Role Notes
1995 National Lampoon's Senior Trip Carla Morgan
1997 Princess Mononoke Kaya
1998 The Rugrats Movie Dil Pickles
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island Lena
1999 Can of Worms Lula
The Iron Giant Additional Voices (uncredited)
2000 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Batgirl
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea Melody
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Dil Pickles
2001 Spirited Away Boh
2002 The Hunchback of Notre Dame II Additional Voices
Ice Age Baby Moeritherium
The Powerpuff Girls Movie Bubbles, Female Child 1, Female Citizen 1
Tarzan & Jane Hazel
Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring Nibbles
The Wild Thornberrys Movie Schoolgirl
2003 The Animatrix: Final Flight of the Osiris
101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure Two-Tone, additional voices
Rugrats Go Wild Dil Pickles
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman Barbara Gordon
2004 The Toy Warrior
2005 The Batman vs. Dracula Vicki Vale
Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone Mara
The Proud Family Movie Bebe, Cece, Cashew
2006 Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas Priscilla Pig
Bratz Genie Magic Katia
Leroy & Stitch Angel[6]
Superman: Brainiac Attacks Mercy Graves
Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo Raven
2007 Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix Ben Tennyson
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams Sharma
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme April Strange
TMNT Additional Voices
Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale Le Petite Ballerina
2008 Bolt Additional Voices
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning Adella and Andrina (various voices)
Secrets of the Furious Five Young Tigress
The Last White Dishwasher Tamara Swanson
Bratz Girlz Really Rock Cloe's Singing Voice
2009 Wonder Woman Alexa
2010 Bratz Genie Magic 2: Desert Jewelz Katia
The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! Princess Clara, Toot Braunstein, Betty Rubble, The "Real" Princess, Blonde Woman, Jew Producer's Wife
Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare Trudy
2011 A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! Poof
Thor: Tales of Asgard Sif
2012 Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens Ben Tennyson

Television (live action)

Television (Live Action)
Year Film Role Notes
1986 Street Legal Angela
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
The Judge Millie Waters
Forever Knight
1993 Family Pictures
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Elizabeth
Ready or Not
1994 Reform School Girl
Thicker Than Blood: The Larry McLinden Story Terra (age 16)
1995 Skin Deep Tina
Party of Five Lorna
The Outer Limits Judy Walsh 1 episode
1996 3rd Rock from the Sun Yoga Lady Episode My Mother the Alien
1998 Sabrina Goes to Rome Gwen
1999 Sabrina, Down Under Gwen
Touched by an Angel
Black Mask Additional Voices
Candid Camera
1997 Kids' Choice Awards Herself Winner (with the cast of Rugrats) for Favorite Cartoon
1998 Kids' Choice Awards Herself Winner (with the cast of Rugrats) for Favorite Cartoon
1999 Kids' Choice Awards Herself Presenter, Winner (with the cast of Rugrats) for Favorite Cartoon, Winner (with the cast of The Rugrats Movie) for Favorite Movie
2004 Comic Book: The Movie
2006 Take Home Chef Herself
2007 The Bad Girls Club Season 2 Narrator
2008 According to Jim
2010–present Big Time Rush Miss Collins Recurring Role

Television (animation)

Television (Animation)
Year Film Role Notes
1986 The Care Bears
1987 Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater Hello Kitty
Garbage Pail Kids Patty Putty
Maxie's World
My Pet Monster Anne
The Wild Puffalumps Holly
1989 Babar Young Celeste
Beetlejuice Clare, Bertha
1990 The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Lemmy "Hip" Koopa and Iggy "Hop" Koopa
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures
Madeline Chloe
Piggsburg Pigs!
Tiny Toon Adventures Dizzy Devil
1991 Here's How!
ProStars
Rupert Frances
Super Mario World Lemmy "Hip" Koopa and Iggy "Hop" Koopa
Wish Kid
1992 X-Men Magik
1993 The Incredible Dennis the Menace
Tales from the Cryptkeeper
1994 Tekkaman Blade II Yumi Francois/Tekkaman Hiver
1995 Gadget Boy & Heather Heather
Little Bear Tutu
1996 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Additional voices
Adventures from the Book of Virtues Girl
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest Kazrina
1997 101 Dalmatians: The Series Spot, Two-Tone
Channel Umptee-3
Extreme Ghostbusters Kylie Griffin
Healthspells
The New Batman Adventures Batgirl/Barbara Gordon
Pepper Ann Brenda
King of the Hill
Jay Jay & Jayime:3D Movie Jay Jay
1998 Rugrats Dil Pickles, Timmy McNulty
Gadget Boy's Adventures In History Heather
The Powerpuff Girls Bubbles
Histeria! Big Fat Baby Girl
Additional voices
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Molly Dolly
1999 Detention Shareena Wickett
The Kids from Room 402 Penny
Recess Becky Benson
Sonic Underground Additional Voices
2000 Clerks: The Animated Series Giggling Girl
Sailor Moon S Additional voices
2001 The Proud Family Bebe and Cece Proud, Puff
The Fairly OddParents Timmy Turner, Poof, Britney Britney, Additional voices
Lloyd in Space Cindy's Nice Head
2002 Scruff Scruff, Princess
Codename: Kids Next Door Mushi Sanban, Numbuh 10, Sally Sanban, Katie and The Interesting Twins From Beneath The Mountain
Fillmore! Ingrid Third
Gotham Girls Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, Elizabeth Styles
¡Mucha Lucha! Penny Plutonium
Additional voices
The Paz Show Additional voices
Kim Possible Tara, Joss Possible, Britina
Totally Spies! Various characters
What's New, Scooby-Doo? Terry/Alexandra Viggi/Trudy
2003 The Animatrix Crew Woman ("Final Flight of the Osiris") / Nurse ("World Record") / Misha ("Beyond")
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks Dannan 'O Mallard / Molly Winks
Justice League Sera, Queen
Lilo & Stitch: The Series Angel, Adult Lilo
Shaman King Young Yoh
Teen Titans Raven, Kitten, Kole, Jinx ("Titans Together"), Gizmo ("Titans Together")
Xiaolin Showdown Omi
All Grown Up! Dil Pickles
2004 Mack & Vanessa Melody
Danny Phantom Ember McLain, Star, and Penelope Spectra
Drawn Together Princess Clara, Toot Braunstein, Wilma Flintstone, Unusually Flexible Girl, Paper Baby
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Terrence, Various Characters
The Infinite Darcy
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Little Girl
Megas XLR Pulsar, Comet
2005 American Dragon: Jake Long Kara & Sara, Veronica, Stacey
Avatar: The Last Airbender Mai's mother
Ben 10 Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, Adult Gwendolyn Tennyson ("Ben 10,000" and "Ken 10"), Benwolf ("Benwolf"), Ken Tennyson, Buzzshock, ("Ken 10"), Cousin Lucy ("Big Fat Alien Wedding"), Sandra Tennyson ("Goodbye and Good Riddance"), Additional voices
Brandy & Mr. Whiskers Gabriella/Mom Howler
The Buzz on Maggie Dawn Swatworthy
Camp Lazlo Amber, Tootie, & Honey
Celebrity Deathmatch Paris Hilton
Family Guy Meg Griffin's singing voice
The Life and Times of Juniper Lee Roger, Lila the Sasquatch
2006 Justice League Unlimited Johnny
Family Guy additional voices
Legion of Super-Heroes Alexis Luthor/Esper/Emerald Empress
The Replacements Sierra, additional voices
2007 My Friends Tigger & Pooh Porcupine
The Boondocks Cindy McPhearson
Chowder Truffles
Phineas and Ferb Additional Voices, including a bird. Episode: "Interview With a Platypus"
Sushi Pack Maguro
Transformers Animated Sari Sumdac, Slipstream, Slo-Mo, Strika, Red Alert, Mayor Edsel's press secretary, Carly, Teletran-1
2008 Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Daizy
Ben 10: Alien Force Princess Attea
Wolverine and the X-Men Marrow, Dust, X-23, Firestar, Stepford Cuckoos, Magik/Illyana
The Garfield Show Monica the Cat
2009 The Powerpuff Girls Rule! Bubbles
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Professor Helena Bertinelli/Huntress, Billy Batson, Mary Batson[7]
The Goode Family
The Penguins of Madagascar Eggy the duckling, Mother Duck, Know-it-all Kid, Additional Voices
The Super Hero Squad Show H.E.R.B.I.E., Invisible Woman, Scarlet Witch, Brynnie Bratton,
Random! Cartoons Beth, New Alien
El Chavo Doña Florinda, La Popis
2010 Sym-Bionic Titan Ilana
Fish Hooks Piranhica Courtney
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Twilight Sparkle Speaking Voice only
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben Tennyson (age 10), Serena
MAD Meredith Grey, Ariel Moore, Kit Kittredge, Patti Stanger
2011 Young Justice Dr. Serling Roquette, Lunchlady
Dan Vs. Timmy
The Looney Tunes Show Sniffles, Penelope Pussycat

Video games

Video games
Year Game Role Notes
2000 Icewind Dale Yxunomei
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Mar
Sacrifice
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Dil Pickles
2001 Batman: Vengeance Batgirl/Barbara Gordon
Final Fantasy X Rikku
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Rugrats: All Growed Up – Older and Bolder Dil Pickles
2002 Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat Mara
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Whacked! Lucy, Charity
2003 Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Batgirl / Barbara Gordon
Final Fantasy X-2 Rikku
Tony Hawk's Underground
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Ada
2004 Hot Shots Golf Fore! Emma
Jak 3 Keira, Seem
La Pucelle: Tactics Goddess Poitreene, Chocolat
Ninja Gaiden Rachel
Robotech: Invasion Guppy
Shrek 2 Lil' Red
Spyro: A Hero's Tail Ember, Flame, Blink
Tales of Symphonia Presea Combatir, Corrine
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
2005 Jak X: Combat Racing Keira
Killer7 Kaede Smith
Psychonauts Sheegor
Shrek SuperSlam Red Riding Hood, Dronkey, Luna (Witch), Anthrax (Unicorn)
Tales of Legendia Norma Beatty
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble Captain Blue Jr.
Xenosaga II Sakura Mizrahi
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse Blink
2006 Blue Dragon Kluke
Cartoon Network Racing Bubbles
Family Guy Video Game! additional voices
Justice League Heroes Supergirl
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Elisa & Ursula
Ninja Gaiden Sigma Rachel
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams Arin
Xiaolin Showdown Omi
Teen Titans (console game) Raven
Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks
2007 Ben 10: Protector of Earth Ben Tennyson
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure Cream, Mosby, and Baby Tokaron
Lost Odyssey Seth
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Talwyn
2008 Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty Talwyn
Line Rider 2: Unbound Bailey
Eternal Sonata Salsa, March
Wii Music Melody Tute
Crash: Mind over Mutant Additional Voices
Lego Batman: The Videogame Batgirl
2009 Fat Princess Princess, Female Army Member
Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall Bubbles
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Keira
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Watchmen: The End Is Nigh
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Rachel, Sanji
Marvel Super Hero Squad Invisible Woman
2010 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Paz
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Cloe Walsh, Margaret
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Doctor Octopus 2099
Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet Scarlet Witch, H.E.R.B.I.E., Invisible Woman
2011 Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds X-23
Rango Priscilla
Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion Bubbles, Buttercup, Chowder, Dexter, Cheese, Young Ben Tennyson
Shadows of the Damned Justine
Rage Elizabeth
Batman: Arkham City Harley Quinn
Star Wars: The Old Republic Risha
2012 Lollipop Chainsaw Juliet Starling
Kid Icarus: Uprising Palutena

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Tara Strong official website". Tarastrong.com. http://www.tarastrong.com. Retrieved 2011-05-04. 
  2. ^ "Strong on the cover of ''Working Mother'' magazine". Mkbmemorial.com. http://mkbmemorial.com/TOTS/main/WM_C.html. Retrieved 2011-05-04. 
  3. ^ "website". Tv.com. http://www.tv.com/take-home-chef/tara-s./episode/1131875/summary.html. Retrieved 2011-05-04. 
  4. ^ In a Comedy Central interview: "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."
  5. ^ In an interview: "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."
  6. ^ "TOTS: The Official Tara Strong filmography!". Mkbmemorial.com. http://www.mkbmemorial.com/TOTS/filmo/index.html. Retrieved 2011-05-04. 
  7. ^ "Toon Zone - Your Source for Toon News!". News.toonzone.net. 2009-03-26. http://news.toonzone.net/articles/29173/toon-zone-news-interviews-the-brave-and-bold-james-tucker. Retrieved 2011-05-04. 

External links