Kari Wahlgren facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kari Wahlgren
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Wahlgren at SacAnime in 2025
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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 |
| Partner(s) | Bobby Rock |
| Children | 1 |
Kari Wahlgren (born July 13, 1977) is an American voice actress. She brings characters to life in animated movies, TV shows, and video games. You might know her voice from many popular cartoons and anime series.
Kari started her voice acting journey in anime. One of her first big roles was Haruko Haruhara in FLCL. She then voiced characters like Saya Otonashi in Blood+ and Robin Sena in Witch Hunter Robin. She also played Lavie Head in Last Exile and Fuu in Samurai Champloo. Later, she became the voice of Celty Sturluson in the Durarara!! series.
In American cartoons, Kari has voiced characters in shows like Gravity Falls and Fish Hooks. She was Little Suzy in Phineas and Ferb and Dorothy in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. She also worked on Ben 10, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. More recently, she voiced Jessica and Diane in Rick and Morty. Since 2023, she has voiced several characters in the children's show SuperKitties. For this role, she won an award for her amazing voice work.
Kari is also well-known in the world of video games. She voiced lead characters like Ashe in Final Fantasy XII and Shelke in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. She also plays Kitana and Mileena in the Mortal Kombat series.
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Early Life and Inspiration
Kari Wahlgren grew up in Hoisington, Kansas. As a child, she was inspired by the voices of Disney Princesses and other cartoon characters. Her parents were teachers, which encouraged her to support reading and education charities later on.
When she was 11, Kari had her first voice role. She was visiting California with her family and got to do a small part in a radio drama called Adventures in Odyssey. She played an 11-year-old character named Gloria McCoy. Kari later studied theater at the University of Kansas, graduating in 1999.
Personal Life
Kari Wahlgren has a background that includes Swedish and Irish heritage. In December 2022, she shared that she was expecting her first child with musician Bobby Rock. Their son was born in February 2023.
Voice Acting Career
After college, Kari moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to pursue acting. She found that on-camera roles were hard to get. So, she decided to focus on voice-over work instead. Her training in dialogue and Shakespeare helped her a lot. It prepared her for roles that needed different voices, accents, or characters from various time periods.
Anime Roles
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Kari's first anime role was Haruko Haruhara in the six-episode series FLCL. She tried to keep the character similar to the original Japanese version. But she also added some American style to make it fun for the audience. Critics praised her work, saying she gave Haruko a "sarcastic and almost punkish persona." In 2018, she returned to voice Haruko in new FLCL seasons.
She also voiced Robin Sena in Witch Hunter Robin. Robin is a quiet girl who joins witch hunters but has her own magic. Reviewers said Kari was "pleasant, subtle and perfect for the role." She also played Lavie Head in the fantasy series Last Exile.
Kari voiced Sakura Kinomoto in the movie Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card. Fans loved that she matched the emotions of the original Japanese voice. In 2004, she was in the animated movie Steamboy. She played Scarlett, a spoiled and sometimes annoying teenage girl.
Video Game Roles
Kari has lent her voice to many video games. Her first game role was Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds. In 2006, she got two big roles in the Final Fantasy series. She voiced Ashe in Final Fantasy XII and Shelke in Dirge of Cerberus – Final Fantasy VII. She described these roles as "the holy grail of video game acting."
She made Ashe sound regal and strong, like a leader. For Shelke, she made her voice very cold and emotionless. Kari also voices the female Jedi Knight in the online game Star Wars: The Old Republic. She also voices characters like Caithe in Guild Wars 2.
Other Animation Roles
Kari's animation career grew in 2004. She was cast as Nova in the superhero show Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!. She also voiced villains like Charmcaster in Ben 10. Charmcaster became a recurring character in later shows and games.
In 2007, she voiced Jeera in Nickelodeon's Tak and the Power of Juju. She also played Little Suzy Johnson in Disney's popular series Phineas and Ferb.
Kari became a regular on Fish Hooks, which started in 2010. She voiced Shellsea and many other characters. In 2011, she took on the role of Tigress in the TV show Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. She also started voicing Faragonda in the Nickelodeon version of Winx Club.
In 2012, she was the lead voice of Allie Underhill in Kaijudo. She also had roles in Gravity Falls. Kari voiced Meg in the Disney short film Paperman, which 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's work has received many awards and nominations. For example, her voice work as Kagami Hiiragi in Lucky Star was called "absolute sarcastic perfection." She was named the Best Overlooked Actress in 2008 by Mania.com.
She also received praise for her role as Celty Sturluson in Durarara!!. Celty is a headless character who communicates mostly through body language and typed words. For this role, Kari was chosen as the Best English Dub Performance – Female in 2011.
The Behind the Voice Actors website named her Voice Actress of the Year in 2012. She also received nominations for many other roles. These included Celty in Durarara!!, Allie Underhill in Kaijudo, and Tigress in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. She was also nominated for her work as Saber in Fate/zero.
In 2023, Kari Wahlgren won the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice Performer in a Preschool Animated Program. This award was for her various roles in the show SuperKitties.
Filmography
Discography
- Adventures in Odyssey radio drama – Gloria McCoy (1988) and Maria (2010)
See also
In Spanish: Kari Wahlgren para niños
