Jodi Benson (born October
10, 1961) is an American
voice actress and soprano singer. She is best known for providing the
speaking voice as well as the singing 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 series.
Personal life
Benson was
born Jodi Marie Marzorati in Rockford,
Illinois
. She attended Sacred Hearts elementary and
middle school, 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 son
Mckinley and daughter Delaney.
Voice and screen acting
Benson has become well-known in popular culture for providing the
voice of Ariel in
The Little Mermaid. She even parodied
this later when she provided the voice for the character of Ann
Darrow in
The Mighty Kong -
Ann sang and swam through the water with her hair flowing about her
in an Ariel-like way. She also provided the voice for a character
called
Aquagirl in a two-part
episode of
Batman Beyond. In
an interview with Christians in Cinema, Benson said that winning
the role of Ariel was God-ordained. She has also said that she
never gets tired of singing her signature song, "
Part of Your World".
Benson has also done voice-overs in video games. She played Ariel
again in the video games
Kingdom
Hearts and
Kingdom Hearts
II. She was also in
Grandia
II where she was the American voice actress for Millenia.
From its premiere in 2005 to its end in 2008, Benson did voice work
for the
Emmy Award-winning
Cartoon Network animated series,
Camp Lazlo, as the characters
Patsy Smiles, Scoutmistress Jane Doe
and Almondine the Owl.
Benson played Cloe in
The
Save-Ums in 2007 and had a small role as "Sam" in Disney's
Enchanted as a tribute to
Ariel.
In non-Disney films, Benson was a voice actress for Don Bluth's
version of Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina, voicing the title
character. She performed many songs in this film, including a duet
with
Gary Imhoff in "Let Me Be Your
Wings".
On The 1998
VHS of
The Little Mermaid,
Jodi Benson appeared as herself during the intro and before and
after the previews, telling two CGI fish named Gil and Phil about
upcoming releases (at the time) from
Disney such as
Pocahontas II: Journey to
a New World,
Mulan,
Lady and the Tramp on video,
A Bug's Life, and
Disney's One Saturday Morning on
ABC.
Broadway
Benson's Broadway credits include a role in the short-lived
Broadway musical
Smile,
where she introduced a song called "Disneyland."
Howard Ashman, the lyricist of
Smile,
would go on to write the lyrics for
The Little Mermaid.
Benson also sings "Disneyland" on a compilation CD called
Unsung Musicals. In 1989, Benson appeared in another
short-lived musical,
Welcome to the Club, alongside
Samuel E. Wright, who did the voice for Sebastian the
Crab in
The Little Mermaid.
In 1992, Benson received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress
in a Musical for her role as Polly Baker in
Crazy For You. She played the narrator in
Joseph
And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1998.
Filmography
Other
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
References
- Townhall.com::The News
- Mighty Kong Ariel
- Jodi Benson as Aquagirl
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search