Kari Wahlgren facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kari Wahlgren
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Wahlgren in 2024
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| Born | July 13, 1977 Hoisington, Kansas, U.S.
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| Education | University of Kansas |
| Occupation | Voice actress |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Children | 1 |
Kari Wahlgren (born July 13, 1977) is an American voice actress. She uses her voice to bring characters to life in animated movies, TV shows, and video games. She is known for many roles in both Japanese anime and American cartoons.
Kari started her voice acting career in anime. She voiced Haruko Haruhara in FLCL. Later, she got big roles like Robin Sena in Witch Hunter Robin and Lavie Head in Last Exile. She also voiced Fuu in Samurai Champloo and Celty Sturluson in Durarara!!.
In American cartoons, Kari has voiced characters in shows like Gravity Falls and Fish Hooks. She was Little Suzy in Phineas and Ferb. She also voiced Dorothy in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. You might know her voice from Ben 10 or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She even voiced Baby Scrat in Ice Age: Scrat Tales.
For video games, Kari voiced lead characters like Ashe in Final Fantasy XII. She was also Shelke in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Another big role was Raine Sage in Tales of Symphonia.
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Kari Wahlgren's Early Life
Kari Wahlgren was born and grew up in Hoisington, Kansas. When she was a kid, she loved the Disney Princesses. Their voices and other cartoon characters inspired her.
Her parents were teachers. This made Kari want to support groups that help with reading and education. When she was eleven, she visited California. She got a small role in a radio show called Adventures in Odyssey. This was her first voice acting job!
Kari went to the University of Kansas. She earned a degree in Theater in 1999.
Her Personal Life
Kari Wahlgren has family roots from Sweden and Ireland. In 2023, she welcomed her first child, a son. His father is Bobby Rock, a drummer from the band Nitro.
Her Amazing Career
After college, Kari moved to Kansas City, Missouri. She did some radio ads there. In 2000, she moved to Los Angeles. She wanted to work on her acting career.
Kari found that on-camera acting was hard to get. So, she decided to focus on voice-over work. Her acting classes, especially those with dialogue and Shakespeare, helped a lot. These skills were useful for playing many different characters. Some characters even had special accents or were from different time periods.
Voice Acting in Anime
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Kari's first anime role was Haruko Haruhara in FLCL. This was a six-episode series. She tried to make Haruko sound like the original Japanese voice. But she also added some American style for the audience. She changed her voice for Haruko. Sometimes it was cartoon-like, sometimes more realistic.
Later, she voiced Robin Sena in Witch Hunter Robin. Robin is a quiet girl who hunts witches. But she also has magic powers. Critics said Kari was "pleasant, subtle and perfect for the role."
She also voiced Lavie Head in Last Exile. This is a fantasy series with a steampunk style. Kari was part of the "better known names" in California voice acting. She voiced Sakura Kinomoto in the movie Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card. People liked how she matched the emotions of the original Japanese voices.
In 2004, Kari voiced Scarlett in the movie Steamboy. Scarlett is a spoiled and mean teenager. Kari also voiced Fuu Kasumi in Samurai Champloo. Fuu is a main character in this show. In Scrapped Princess, Kari voiced Pacifica Casull. Pacifica is a princess who is hunted because of a prophecy.
Voice Acting in Video Games
Kari Wahlgren has voiced many characters in video games. Her first game role was Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds. In 2005, she voiced a Bond girl in the James Bond game From Russia with Love. She even got to work with Sean Connery's original voice!
In 2006, she got big roles in the Final Fantasy series. She voiced Ashe in Final Fantasy XII and Shelke in Dirge of Cerberus – Final Fantasy VII. She said getting these roles was like finding "the holy grail of video game acting." She made Ashe sound regal, like a queen. For Shelke, she made her voice very cold and emotionless.
Kari also voiced the main character in Jeanne d'Arc in 2007. She voices the female Jedi Knight in the online game Star Wars: The Old Republic. She also voices several characters in Guild Wars 2, like Caithe. Kari also voiced Mevia in Minecraft: Story Mode.
Voice Acting in Other Cartoons
Kari's cartoon voice work really grew in 2004. She got a main role as Nova in Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!. This superhero show ran for four seasons. She also voiced bad guys like Charmcaster in Ben 10. Charmcaster appeared in later shows and games too.
In 2007, she voiced Jeera in Tak and the Power of Juju. She also voiced Little Suzy in Disney's hit show Phineas and Ferb.
Kari became a regular voice actress for Fish Hooks starting in 2010. She voiced Shellsea and many other characters. She also took over the role of Tigress in the TV show Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. This show started in 2011. In the same year, she started voicing Faragonda in the Nickelodeon version of Winx Club.
In 2012, Kari had the main role of Allie Underhill in Kaijudo. She also voiced Meg in the Disney short film Paperman. This short film won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
In 2015, she joined Fairly OddParents as Chloe Carmichael. She continued to voice Jessica and other characters in Rick and Morty. In 2017, she voiced Dorothy Gale in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. In 2023, Kari voiced Lootbat and Mike in My Dad the Bounty Hunter.
Awards and Recognition
Kari Wahlgren's work has received many awards and nominations. Critics praised her voice as Kagami Hiiragi in Lucky Star. They called her performance "absolute sarcastic perfection." She was named the Best Overlooked Actress in 2008 by Mania.com.
Theron Martin liked her voice for Celty Sturluson in Durarara!!. Celty is a headless character who uses body language and typed words to communicate. In 2011, he chose Kari as the Best English Dub Performance – Female.
The website Behind the Voice Actors chose her as the Voice Actress of the Year in 2012. She was also nominated in 2011 and 2013. She received nominations for many roles. These include Celty in Durarara!!, Allie Underhill in Kaijudo, and Tigress in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. She was also nominated for Saber in Fate/zero.
Images for kids
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Kari Wahlgren in 2024
See also
In Spanish: Kari Wahlgren para niños
