Tara Strong

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Tara Strong
Born Tara Lynn Charendoff
February 12, 1973 (1973-02-12) (age 36)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Other name(s) Tara Charendoff
Occupation Actress, voice actress, singer
Years active 1987 – present
Spouse(s) Craig Strong (May 14, 2000 – present)
Official website

Tara Lynn Charendoff-Strong (born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress, comedian, and singer, perhaps best known for voice acting in animated films and television. She is often cast in the roles of pre-adolescent boys.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born Tara Lynn Charendoff in Toronto, Ontario, to American parents, Strong's acting career began when she volunteered to be a soloist in an upcoming 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 [2].

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 sitcom Mosquito Lake before moving to Los Angeles[3].

Strong is the voice behind a multitude of North American animated characters, including main roles in The New Batman Adventures as Batgirl; The 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 and Hop 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; several guest voices on Family Guy; and many others. She has also lent her voice to Japanese animated films such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, as well as several video games, including her work as Elisa and Ursula in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops; Seth Balmore in Lost Odyssey; and Rikku in Final Fantasy X, its sequel Final Fantasy X-2, and Kingdom Hearts II.

In addition to her vast amount of work as a vocal actress, Strong has had a few roles as a live actress, including major roles in National Lampoon's Senior Trip, Sabrina Goes to Rome, and Sabrina, Down Under, and guest roles in Forever Knight, Street Legal, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and Touched by an Angel. As a child, she was featured in several live-action productions, but is primarily involved with voice-over work nowadays. However, she has stated in interviews that she would like to do more live action work, but simply cannot find the time to do so due to constant preoccupation with voice-overs[4].

Strong has been nominated four times for an Annie Award, and once for a Daytime Emmy. In 2004, she won an Interactive Achievement Award for her role as Rikku in Final Fantasy X-2[5].

Strong is Jewish and has one younger sister, Marla. Prior to her marriage, she was originally credited under her maiden name, Tara Charendoff. She is currently married to American actor Craig Strong and they have two sons; Sammy James Strong (born February 2, 2002), and Aden Joshua Strong (born August 25, 2004). She and Craig are the founders of VoiceStarz, Inc., which teaches people how to get into the voice-over business.

[edit] Filmography

1986
1987

TV:


1989

TV:

Live Action:

1990

TV:

1991

TV:

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1992

TV:

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1993

TV:

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1994

TV:

Live action:

  • Reform School Girl
  • Skin Deep
  • Thicker Than Blood: The Larry McLinden Story
1995

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TV:

1996

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1997

Film:

TV:

1998

TV:

Film:

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1999

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2000

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2001

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2002

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2003

TV:

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2004

TV:

Film:

  • The Toy Warrior

Video game:

2005

TV:

Film:

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2006

TV:

Film:

Video game:

Live action:

2007

Film:

TV:

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2008

TV:

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Live action:

2009

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Film:

Video game:

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
  4. ^ [4]
  5. ^ [5]
  6. ^ [6]
  7. ^ http://news.toonzone.net/articles/29173/toon-zone-news-interviews-the-brave-and-bold-james-tucker

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Strong"
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