Jennifer Hale

With more than 30 video game voiceovers in ten years and a credit record running all the way back to the time when games began to talk, Jennifer Hale is among the busiest and most reliable voice actresses in the games business.

If you’re familiar with recent blockbusters, chances are you’ve heard her at least once. From the determined fighter pilot Juni, the female lead in Microsoft’s Freelancer, to the strong-minded Jedi Bastila Shan in LucasArts’ Knights of the Old Republic, Jennifer has given many confident women a characteristic voice. When emotionally torn protagonists such as Planescape Torment’s succubus Fall-from-Grace or anime epic Grandia 2’s timid songstress Elena walk the tightrope over an abyss of kitschy clichés, it’s thanks to Jennifer’s careful voice acting if they don’t fall off.

If Jennifer – despite several starring roles such as the female Jaden Kor in Jedi Academy – does not have a trademark character, that may be a credit to her vocal versatility. The seductive vampiress Katrina from Quest for Glory IV with her distinctive Russian accent, lively halfling Mazzy Fenton of Metal Gear Solid can indeed be traced to the same source. With a voice trained through cartoon dubbing, Jennifer’s range goes from deafening shrieks and high-power babbling to the kind of soothing soliloquy that turns heads and sells pebbles for pearls.

Outside of video game synchronization, Jennifer may be known to a bigger (and likely even younger) audience by her regular work for animated TV series. She’s Ms. Kean (and Princess Morebucks) in The Powerpuff Girls, Felicia Hardy in Spiderman, Sam in Totally Spies and Eleanor Little in Stuart Little, to name a few – not counting a score of supporting roles. As Elektra, she made the jump to the big screen in Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. You may have caught a glimpse of Jennifer Hale in person if you’re a viewer of the TV series Melrose Place, Charmed or Emergency Room – she has had short one-episode appearances in each of these.

With increased game voiceover work in recent years, Jennifer is likely to stay a familiar guest in productions to come. While her flexibility keeps every performance fresh and exciting, it’s Jennifer’s empathy that renders the ever-popular ambiguous video game heroine into a credible being.