Tara Strong

Early life and career beginnings in Toronto

Tara Lyn Charendoff was born on February 12, 1973, in Toronto, Ontario, the younger daughter of Syd and Lucy Charendoff. Her parents were of Russian-Jewish ancestry, and Strong has often noted that her grandparents came to Canada after fleeing pogroms in Russia, making her Jewish heritage a central part of her identity. Her early life in Toronto was immersed in both family business and the performing arts, as her parents operated a toy and candy store called The Wiz, an early Canadian retailer of Hello Kitty merchandise. Strong demonstrated a passion for performance from a very young age, volunteering for a solo in a school production at age four and later participating actively in Toronto's Jewish and Yiddish theatrical community. Although she spoke Hebrew, she learned Yiddish lines phonetically to perform for Yiddish-speaking audiences and also sang with the Habonim Youth Choir, participating in a recording of "Lay Down Your Arms" in both English and Hebrew. She began pursuing acting professionally in her early teens, securing an agent at age 13 and landing her first professional stage role as Gracie in a Limelight Theatre production of The Music Man that same year. Her first major voice role came shortly after, as the title character in Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater in 1987, credited under her birth name Tara Charendoff. Balancing school with a growing career was challenging, requiring on-set tutoring at times, but she was determined to graduate with her peers and completed high school with her class. During these formative years, she also honed her comedic skills by studying improvisation and sketch comedy at The Second City in Toronto, a training ground that would prove invaluable for her future voice work. Before her move to Los Angeles, she accumulated a range of acting and voice roles in Canadian productions, including work on Beetlejuice, Care Bears, The Garbage Pail Kids, and the CBC sitcom Mosquito Lake.

Voice acting career and major roles

After moving to Los Angeles in January 1994, Tara Strong established herself as a leading voice actor with an extraordinarily diverse range of characters across animation and video games. Her ability to voice characters of all ages and genders became a defining feature of her career, leading to numerous long-running roles that have defined generations of animated programming. She is perhaps best known for her performances as Timmy Turner and later the fairy baby Poof in The Fairly OddParents, a role she took over following the death of her friend and original voice actress Mary Kay Bergman. Another signature role is the emotionally complex Raven in Teen Titans and its comedic successor Teen Titans Go!. In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, her portrayal of the studious Twilight Sparkle became central to the series and its massive fanbase. She also voiced the sweet and bubbly Bubbles in The Powerpuff Girls and the mischievous infant Dil Pickles in Rugrats and All Grown Up!. Her work on Rugrats included a notable incident where her realistic crying noises as Dil were so convincing they reportedly caused a woman in the studio to lactate, a story Strong has recounted with humour, noting it helped her keep a role that was otherwise going to be offered to Madonna. Beyond television animation, Strong has an extensive resume in video games, providing the voice for Rikku in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, Keira in the Jak and Daxter series, and later taking on the role of Harley Quinn in the Batman: Arkham game series beginning with Arkham City, succeeding Arleen Sorkin. She has also lent her voice to English dubs of acclaimed anime films like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. In recent years, she voiced the animated clock Miss Minutes in the live-action Marvel series Loki, and in 2013 she voiced the character Plum in Cartoon Hangover's Bravest Warriors. Her video game work also includes roles as Paz Ortega Andrade in the Metal Gear Solid series, Juliet Starling in Lollipop Chainsaw, and Kluke in Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360.

Tara Strong's major voice roles span several decades and genres. Her voice roles include animated series such as The Powerpuff Girls, The Fairly OddParents, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Teen Titans, Xiaolin Showdown, Ben 10, Drawn Together, The New Batman Adventures, Rugrats, The Proud Family, Chowder, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, Unikitty!, and DC Super Hero Girls. She is the voice of numerous animated characters, including main roles in The New Batman Adventures as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl and Teen Titans as Raven. She also voices characters such as Timmy Turner and Poof in The Fairly OddParents, Dil Pickles in Rugrats, Bubbles in The Powerpuff Girls, Ben Tennyson in Ben 10, Truffles in Chowder, Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, the titular princess in Unikitty!, and Daizy in Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!.

• Bubbles in The Powerpuff Girls (1998 to 2005)
• Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010 to 2019)
• Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, Blitzwolfer, and Buzzshock in Ben 10 (2005 to 2008)
• Truffles in Chowder and Terrence in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

Her video game work is equally prolific, with key performances in major titles. She has voiced characters in video games such as Mortal Kombat X, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Jak and Daxter, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Blue Dragon, and Batman: Arkham. Specific roles include Rikku in Final Fantasy X and its sequel Final Fantasy X-2, as well as in Kingdom Hearts II. She voiced Paz Ortega Andrade in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. She also voiced Keira in Jak and Daxter, Talwyn Apogee in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and Juliet Starling in Lollipop Chainsaw. Beginning with Batman: Arkham City, she succeeded Arleen Sorkin as the voice of Harley Quinn.

Live-action work and other ventures

While voice acting forms the core of her career, Tara Strong has also maintained a presence in live-action film and television. Early in her career, she appeared in Canadian television series such as Forever Knight, Street Legal, and the CBC sitcom Mosquito Lake. After moving to the United States, she took on roles in television movies like Sabrina Goes to Rome and Sabrina Down Under, and had guest spots on popular series including Party of Five, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and The Drew Carey Show. She also appeared in the film National Lampoon's Senior Trip and had a role in Comic Book: The Movie. From 2010 to 2013, she had a recurring role as Miss Collins in the Nickelodeon live-action series Big Time Rush. More recently, she starred in the Canadian police drama Pretty Hard Cases as Tiggy Sullivan, the head of a drug trafficking gang, demonstrating her range in a dramatic, non-voice role. Beyond performing, Strong has been an entrepreneur and educator in the voice-over field. Together with her former husband Craig Strong, she co-founded VoiceStarz, an online business that provided educational materials and instruction for aspiring voice actors. The couple also developed a line of baby bottles with date-marking caps for stored breast milk. In 2026, she continued to engage with aspiring talent through her Voice Acting School community, offering online instruction and resources like Zoom AMA sessions. Strong has also served as an announcer for events like the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards and has been a frequent guest panelist at fan conventions including San Diego Comic-Con, BotCon, and Anime Overdose.

Awards and recognition

Tara Strong's contributions to voice acting have been recognized with several awards and numerous nominations from industry organizations. In 2004, she won an Interactive Achievement Award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences for her performance as Rikku in Final Fantasy X-2. She received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2006 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for her role as Dannan in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, though she lost to her co-star Maile Flanagan. The Annie Awards, which honour excellence in animation, have nominated Strong five times in the category of Best Voice Acting for her work across various series. In 2013, she won a Shorty Award for Best Actress for her effective use of social media to connect with fans. That same year, the Behind the Voice Actors website awarded her the BTVA Voice Acting Award for Voice Actress of the Year, having also nominated her for the honour in 2011 and 2012. This consistent recognition from peers and industry bodies confirms her standing as a leading figure in her field. Her public profile was also highlighted when she was featured on the cover of the July/August 2004 issue of Working Mother magazine, where she discussed balancing career and family and noted that her son was old enough to respond to her work.

Public advocacy and personal views

Tara Strong has been publicly engaged with several social and political causes throughout her career, often connecting them to her personal identity and experiences. Her Jewish heritage has been a consistent theme, and in 2026 she wrote an essay for The Jerusalem Post reflecting on her participation as a Canadian student in the 1990 March of the Living. She described being at Auschwitz-Birkenau when Elie Wiesel paused during a speech, after which her Toronto student choir began singing "Eli, Eli," a moment she connects to the imperative to speak against antisemitism. Following the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, Strong became a vocal supporter of Israel, an stance that led to professional consequences. She was fired from the independent animated series Boxtown in 2024 after sharing and liking social media posts that the studio, Bandit Mill Animation, deemed controversial regarding the peoples of Palestine. The studio's statement cited posts that promoted controversial messages about the peoples of Palestine affected by the ongoing crisis. Strong claimed she was fired for being Jewish. She has since signed multiple open letters from pro-Israel organizations like Creative Community for Peace, including one criticizing filmmaker Jonathan Glazer's Oscar speech and another condemning a boycott of Israeli film institutions by Film Workers for Palestine. She also signed a 2024 open letter by StopAntisemitism, StandWithUs, End Jew Hatred, and 2024 New Voices urging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to protect Israel and secure the release of hostages. Strong is also a committed vegan and animal welfare advocate, having adopted a vegetarian diet as a child after an experience at Toronto's Royal Winter Fair and later becoming vegan after discussions with her sons. She has participated in fundraising for animal causes, including helping raise funds for a veterinary suite at the Wildlife Learning Center in Los Angeles in 2013. Politically, she identifies as a Democrat and has participated in protests, such as a 2019 Lights for Liberty demonstration in Los Angeles against the immigration policies of the Trump administration. In 2018, she and actress Rena Sofer accused an Uber driver of abuse after he learned of their political affiliation, leading to the driver's suspension.

Personal life and family

Strong's personal life has evolved alongside her professional journey. She met American actor and real estate agent Craig Strong in 1999, and they married on May 14, 2000. The couple had two sons, Sammy born in February 2002 and Aden born in August 2004. They lived in the Los Angeles area and were business partners in ventures like VoiceStarz. Strong has spoken in interviews about the challenges and rewards of balancing a demanding voice-acting schedule with motherhood, often recording sessions for several productions in the same period while maintaining a close relationship with her sons. She and Craig Strong separated in 2019, with her filing for divorce on July 24, 2019. Their marriage was legally dissolved on January 5, 2022. Following the divorce, she began a relationship in 2022 with social-media entrepreneur Willie Morris, who had worked with the company Fanmio. Morris operates Happy Goat Farm, a nonprofit agricultural project near Yosemite focused on goat grazing for fire management and growing food for the community. Strong has remained connected to her fan communities, participating in charity events like a 2012 lunch with military fans at BronyCon and fundraising with the group Bronies for Good for a family dealing with a child's brain tumour. Her life reflects a blend of family, career, activism, and ongoing public engagement, with her veganism and Jewish identity forming integral parts of her public persona. She has also been involved in fan-organized fundraising and has used her platform to advocate for using one's voice, as reflected in her Instagram bio which states, "Never be afraid to use your voice, especially for the voiceless."

Questions about Tara Strong

What is Tara Strong's most famous voice role?

Tara Strong is known for many prominent voice roles. Her notable roles include Timmy Turner in The Fairly OddParents and Raven in Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!. She also voices Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Bubbles in The Powerpuff Girls. Other significant roles include Barbara Gordon / Batgirl in The New Batman Adventures, Dil Pickles in Rugrats, and Ben Tennyson in Ben 10. In video games, she is known for her role as Rikku in the Final Fantasy series and as Harley Quinn in the Batman: Arkham games.

Is Tara Strong from Canada?

Yes, Tara Strong was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She began her acting career there as a teenager, with early roles in Canadian television, theatre, and animation, including her first major voice role in Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater in 1987. She moved to Los Angeles in January 1994 to further her career but maintains her Canadian roots, having also starred in the more recent Canadian series Pretty Hard Cases. Her early training included studying improvisation at The Second City in Toronto, and she performed with the Toronto Jewish Theater.

Why was Tara Strong fired from Boxtown?

In 2024, Tara Strong was fired from the independent animated series Boxtown. The studio, Bandit Mill Animation, stated the decision was due to a trend in her recent online activity, including posts they described as promoting controversial messages regarding the peoples of Palestine amid the Israel-Palestine crisis. Specific posts included liking a tweet that equated all Muslims to Hamas and ISIS, and sharing a tweet from Mohammad Tawhidi claiming pro-Palestinian protests supported terrorism. Strong subsequently claimed she was fired for being Jewish. The incident followed her vocal support for Israel after the October 7, 2023 attacks.

What awards has Tara Strong won?

Tara Strong has won several awards for her voice work. She received an Interactive Achievement Award in 2004 for her role as Rikku in Final Fantasy X-2. In 2013, she won a Shorty Award for Best Actress for her social media presence and the Behind the Voice Actors Award for Voice Actress of the Year. She has also received multiple nominations, including a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2006 and five Annie Award nominations for Best Voice Acting. Her work has been consistently recognized by industry peers and fan-voted organizations alike.

Is Tara Strong vegan?

Yes, Tara Strong is a vegan and an advocate for animal welfare. She has said she became vegetarian as a child after an experience at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto and later adopted a vegan diet after discussions with her sons about the dairy industry. She has participated in fundraising for animal causes, such as helping raise money for a new veterinary suite at the Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar, Los Angeles in 2013. She connects her dietary choices to a longstanding concern for animals and speaks publicly about animal welfare issues.

Who did Tara Strong marry?

Tara Strong married American actor and real estate agent Craig Strong on May 14, 2000. They had two sons together, Sammy and Aden, and co-founded the voice-over education business VoiceStarz as well as developing a line of date-marking baby bottles. The couple separated in 2019, and their divorce was finalized on January 5, 2022. Since 2022, she has been in a relationship with social-media entrepreneur Willie Morris, who runs Happy Goat Farm, a nonprofit agricultural project in California.

Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-10-27.