Jodi Benson
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| Jodi Benson | |
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| Born | October 10, 1961 (age 46) Rockford, Illinois |
| Spouse(s) | Ray Benson |
Jodi Benson (born October 10, 1961) is an American voice actress and singer. She is known for providing both the singing and the speaking voice of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels. In 2002 and 2006, she reprised the role of Ariel in the English versions of the Kingdom Hearts video game series.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Personal life
Benson was born Jodi Marzorati in Rockford, Illinois. She attended Boylan Catholic High School and Millikin University, and currently lives in north Georgia with her husband Ray Benson, both of whom are Christians, and their two children.[1] Benson has also performed in several Broadway Productions.
[edit] Career
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Benson seems incapable of escaping her Little Mermaid legacy. In the Guideposts Junction video series, one character jokingly asked if Jodi knew anything about mermaids. The Mighty Kong featured one scene in which the lead female character, Ann Darrow (whose voice she provided), sang and swam through the water with her hair flowing about in an Ariel-like fashion.[2] She even provided the voice for a character called Aquagirl in a two-part episode of Batman Beyond.[3] Fortunately, Mrs. Benson seems to have no regrets about her Little Mermaid role. She says that she never gets tired of singing "Part of Your World," her signature song from this movie.
Benson also did voice-overs in video games. She played Ariel again in the video game Kingdom Hearts; she is also in Kingdom Hearts II, playing Ariel yet again, this time singing in musicals. She was also in Grandia II where she was the American voice actress for Millenia. Benson is also currently doing voice work in the Emmy winning Cartoon Network animated series, Camp Lazlo, as the characters Patsy Smiles, Scoutmistress Jane Doe, and Almondine the Owl.
Benson will play as Cloe in The Save-Ums in 2007.
Fittingly enough, Benson performs the song "Disneyland" on the Unsung Musicals compilation CD. This song was originally performed by her in the short-lived Broadway musical Smile, long before she became affiliated with the Walt Disney Company. In 1992, Benson received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Polly Baker in the musical Crazy for You. In 1989, she appeared in the short-lived musical Welcome to the Club, with Samuel E. Wright (the voice of Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid).
Benson had a small role as "Sam" in Disney's Enchanted as a tribute to Ariel.
Among non-Disney related films, she played in Don Bluth's version of the Hans Christian Anderson's Thumbelina, playing the heroine of the same name. She performed many songs in this film, including a duet with Barry Manilow in "Let Me Be Your Wings".
[edit] Filmography
- 1984 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (voice) - Lastelle's Mother (2004 Disney Dub)
- 1988 P. J. Sparkles (voice)- P. J. (1988 Mattel)
- 1989 The Little Mermaid (voice) - Princess Ariel, "Vanessa"
- 1991 Pirates of Dark Water TV Series (voice) - Tula
- 1991 Disney Sing Along Songs: Under the Sea (voice, archive footage) - Ariel
- 1992 The Little Mermaid TV Series (voice) - Ariel
- 1994 Disney Sing Along Songs: Circle of Life (voice, archive footage) - Ariel
- 1994 Thumbelina (voice) - Thumbelina
- 1996 Disney Sing Along Songs: Friend Like Me (voice, archive footage) - Ariel
- 1996 Guideposts Junction, a six-part Christian video series for children - Herself
- 1997 Flubber (voice) - Weebo
- 1997 A Christmas Carol (voice) - Belle
- 1998 The Mighty Kong (voice) - Ann Darrow
- 1998 Hercules TV Series (voice) - Helen of Troy
- 1999 Toy Story 2 (voice) - Tour Guide Barbie/Barbie on Backpack
- 1999 Wish Upon a Starfish (voice) - Ariel
- 1999 Hercules: Zero to Hero (voice) - Helen of Troy
- 2000 The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (voice) - Princess Ariel
- 2000 Joseph: King of Dreams (voice) - Asenath
- 2001 House of Mouse TV Series (voice) - Ariel/Belle
- 2001 Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (voice) - Lady (Segment "Pidge")
- 2001 Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed In at the House of Mouse (voice) - Princess Ariel
- 2001 Balto II: Wolf Quest (voice) - Jenna
- 2001 The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy - The Blue Fairy
- 2002 Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa (voice) - Lenee
- 2003 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (voice) - Anita
- 2003 K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments (voice) - Leila and Martha
- 2003 Mickey's PhilharMagic (voice) (uncredited) - Ariel
- 2004 Balto III: Wings of Change (voice) - Jenna
- 2005 The Buzz on Maggie (voice) -Laura
- 2005 Camp Lazlo (voice) - Patsy Smiles, Ms. Jane Doe
- 2007 The Save-Ums (voice) - Cloe
- 2007 Enchanted (2007 film) - Sam
- 2008 The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (voice) - Princess Ariel
[edit] Other
- 1998 A Bug's Life (video game) - Atta
- 2000 Grandia II (video game) - Millenia/Reena
- 2002 Kingdom Hearts (video game) - Princess Ariel (English version)
- 2005 Kingdom Hearts II (video game) - Princess Ariel (English version)
[edit] Discography
- 1990 The Little Mermaid Soundtrack
- 1991 Jodi Benson Sings Songs From the Beginner's Bible I
- 1992 Jodi Benson Sings Songs From the Beginner's Bible II
- 1992 The Little Mermaid: Splash hits
- 1992 Crazy for You Cast Recording
- 1993 The Little Mermaid: Songs from the Sea
- 1994 Unsung Musicals
- 1994 Thumbelina Soundtrack
- 1995 Songs of Guideposts Junction
- 1996 Hollywood Christmas (Various artists)
- 2000 The Little Mermaid II Soundtrack
- 2004 Disney Princess Music Hits
- 2005 Disney Princess Christmas Of Enchantment
- 2005 Disney Princess Tea Party
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Jodi Benson at the Internet Movie Database
- Jodi Benson at TV.com
- Jodi Benson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jodi Benson at the Voice Chasers Database
- Performance Working in the Theatre seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, April 1992
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