Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian actress, voice actress, and singer, who is perhaps best known for her voice work in animated films and television series.
Contents[hide] *1 Early life and career |
Early Life
Tara Lyn Charendoff was born on February 12, 1973 to Jewish-Canadian parents who ran a convenience/toy/candy store called The Wiz, and was raised in Toronto, Ontario. 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 (TJA), where she acted in A Night of Stars, and was featured in an audiotape for "Lay Down Your Arms[disambiguation needed ]" 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 Hotelduring 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 Televisionsitcom 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 Fairly OddParents as Timmy Turner and Poof; 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; Xiaolin Showdown as Omi; Teen Titans as Raven; Drawn Together asPrincess 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 Animatedas 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 onFamily Guy; 101 Dalmatians: The Series as Spot/Two-Tone; My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as Twilight Sparkle; and currently voices Betty Boop in commercials with Tress MacNeille. [1][2]Tara Strong with Teen Titans co-star Scott MenvilleShe has also lent her voice to English-language localizations of Japaneseanime 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 inMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walker; Seth Balmore in Lost Odyssey; Rikku inFinal Fantasy X, its sequel Final Fantasy X-2, and Kingdom Hearts II; Norma Beatty in Tales of Legendia; 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 andDrawn Together co-star James Arnold Taylor) and Harley Quinn replacingArleen Sorkin in Batman: Arkham City. 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 asForever 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 onNickelodeon.[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 (includingBotCon, 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 is 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, 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 seriesParty 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, Sammy and Aden. The family resides in Toluca Lake, Californiawith their dog, Baci. 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.