arts&life

tv

Hero In
Disguise

Tara Strong is a

mom, wife, activist

— and the voice

behind hundreds of

our favorite TV and

movie characters.

details

Tara Strong will greet fans at
Motor City Comic Con 2018 on
May 18-20 at Suburban Collection
Showcase in Novi. For information,
tickets and photo ops, visit
motorcitycomiccon.com.

52

May 17 • 2018

REISA SHANAMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

I

always say ‘I win IMDb [Internet Movie
Database],” Tara Strong tells us over
the phone from her Los Angeles home.
“I literally work every single day.”
Her impressive page on the web data-
base of all things film and TV is certainly
indicative of that. Strong’s voice has been
featured in so many animated television
shows and movies that the No. 1 phrase
she hears from fans is “Thank you for my
childhood.” From Bubbles on Powerpuff
Girls and Timmy Turner on Fairly
Oddparents to Harley Quinn in the DC
animated universe, Twilight Sparkle on My
Little Pony and Raven on Teen Titans Go! it
seems there aren’t many animated series
of the last few decades Strong didn’t help
bring to life. And Metro Detroit fans can
meet her, in person, at this year’s Motor
City Comic Con, held May 18-20 at the
Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi,
where more than 300 comic creators, writ-
ers, illustrators and actors will greet fans.
Strong says she knew she wanted to be
a singer, dancer and actress from the time
she was 4 or 5 — however, she couldn’t
imagine then the career in animation
that lay ahead of her. The first big gig she
booked in the industry was for the voice of
Hello Kitty when she was just 13. “I think
when I started doing Hello Kitty I learned
how much fun of a career it is. At the end
of the day, I get paid to be silly with my

jn

friends. We just have so much fun,” she
says. “I never knew it was a career, but I’m
so grateful for it because it’s just been so
rewarding. It doesn’t feel like work most of
the time.”
Strong has two teenage sons with hus-
band, Craig. “They’ve been watching my
shows since they were babies,” she says.
“Sometimes they think it’s cool; sometimes
they think it’s not cool. They grew up at
Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. They
had a really cool, interesting childhood.
My favorite thing was when they would

pick out voices from shows that they didn’t
know I was in. [For instance], one time
my friend was watching Family Guy, and
they started screaming ‘Mom, get in here!
There were five different kids in this scene
from all over the world and you were every
single one!’”
Growing up in Canada with her par-
ents Syd and Lucy Charendoff, Strong, 45,
loved big musicals like The Wizard of Oz
and The Sound of Music. She also got up to
watch Saturday morning cartoons every
weekend. “Without really knowing that I