Early life
Strong was born to Syd and Lucy Charendoff, whose family is of Russian-Jewish heritage: her grandparents emigrated to Canada after fleeing pogroms in Russia. Her grandfather served as a cantor and her grandmother operated a catering business at Toronto's Beth Radom Congregation. Strong has described her Jewish heritage as a significant part of her identity.
Her theatrical interest surfaced early: at age four she volunteered as a soloist in a school production. She performed in Yiddish Theatre in Toronto, learning her lines phonetically without knowing the language, and appeared with the Toronto Jewish Theater in A Night of Stars. She also recorded "Lay Down Your Arms" with the Habonim Youth Choir, in both English and Hebrew. Before moving to Los Angeles in January 1994, she studied improvisation at The Second City in Toronto.1
Career
Strong's first professional stage role was at age thirteen, playing Gracie in a Limelight Theater production of The Music Man. Her voice acting career began around the same period with a lead role in Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater, a Canadian-American-Japanese co-production. She followed that with a recurring part in the CBC sitcom Mosquito Lake (1989-1990).
An early milestone: Strong was originally cast as Lydia Deetz in Nelvana's Beetlejuice animated series, recording the pilot opposite Stephen Ouimette. Nelvana felt the chemistry between the two did not work, and re-cast Alyson Court in the role permanently. Strong remained in the series voicing Lydia's best friend Bertha and her rival Claire Brewster.
After relocating to Los Angeles in 1994, Strong built one of the most extensive voice-acting credits lists in the industry, earning the nickname "The Woman of a Thousand Voices."
Major recurring animated roles include:
- Bubbles, The Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon Network, 1998-2005)
- Timmy Turner and Poof, The Fairly OddParents (Nickelodeon, 2001-2017)
- Dil Pickles, Rugrats (Nickelodeon)
- Raven, Teen Titans (Cartoon Network, 2003-2006)
- Ben Tennyson, Ben 10 (Cartoon Network, 2005-2008)
- Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)
- Harley Quinn, beginning with Batman: Arkham City (2011), succeeding Arleen Sorkin
- Miss Minutes, Loki (Marvel/Disney+, 2021-2023)
Strong's video game work includes Rikku in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 (for which she won an Interactive Achievement Award in 2004), Paz Ortega Andrade in the Metal Gear Solid series, Talwyn Apogee in Ratchet and Clank, and Juliet Starling in Lollipop Chainsaw.
She also maintained a live-action profile, appearing in National Lampoon's Senior Trip, Sabrina Goes to Rome, and Sabrina Down Under, and guest-starring on Party of Five, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and The Drew Carey Show. She recurred as Miss Collins on Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush from 2010 to 2013.
Strong has received five Annie Award nominations, a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2006 for Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, a Shorty Award for Best Actress (social media) in 2013, and the BTVA Voice Actress of the Year award in 2013.1
Ghostbusters
Extreme Ghostbusters (1997)
Strong voiced Kylie Griffin across all 40 episodes of Extreme Ghostbusters, using her birth name Tara Charendoff in the credits. Kylie was the standout member of the new team assembled around a retired Egon Spengler: the only recruit with genuine paranormal knowledge before joining, she served as the group's occult expert and field scholar alongside teammates Roland Jackson, Eduardo Rivera, and Garrett Miller. Unlike the others, Kylie carried a custom proton pistol rather than a full-size proton pack and wore her ghost trap on her back.
At the time of production, Strong described the period as one of playing "five different tragic teenage females" simultaneously, including Kylie, Batgirl, and several other animated characters.2
IDW comics
The IDW Publishing comics introduced a version of Kylie Griffin beginning with Ghostbusters Issue #5. Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 includes an in-universe reference to ponies, a nod to Strong's prominent role as Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Personal life
Strong met real estate agent Craig Strong in 1999 and married him on May 14, 2000. The couple had two sons, Sammy and Aden, and co-owned VoiceStarz, an online voice-over training company. Strong filed for divorce on July 24, 2019; the divorce was finalized on January 5, 2022.1
Strong is vegan and has been publicly active on immigration rights and other charitable causes.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Wikipedia, "Tara Strong"
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Authority Magazine interview with Tara Strong, via search result sourced from Looper.com
