Jen Taylor

Jen Taylor (born February 17, 1973) is an American voice actress. She is best known for her roles as Cortana in various Halo games as well as the intelligent personal assistant of the same name. She also voices Zoey in Left 4 Dead; Princess Peach, Toad, and Toadette in various Mario games between 1999 and 2006; Salem in RWBY, and Lina, Windranger, Puck and Medusa in Dota 2.

This article is about the voice actress. For others, see Jennifer Taylor.

Jen Taylor
Taylor in 2007
Born (1973-02-17) February 17, 1973[1]
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1993–present

Career

Jen Taylor was born on February 17, 1973 in Seattle, Washington.[2] She taught herself how to do voice work by recording the radio and imitating what she heard.[3] She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in theater.[4] Before starting in voice work, she worked as a radio DJ for KNDD.[5]

Taylor has voiced characters in multiple video games. She voiced Princess Peach, Toad, and Toadette in Mario games between 1999 and 2006.[6] She has voiced the character Cortana in Halo games since the first game in the series, Halo: Combat Evolved (2001).[7] She also voices the virtual assistant Cortana, which was named after the character and first released in 2014.[8] Two decades following the original game, Taylor reprised the role of Cortana by voice acting and performance capture in the Paramount+ TV series.[9]

Taylor has played Salem, the main antagonist in the animated web series RWBY, since 2013.[10] She has also acted on radio, in an episode of the radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes[11] that aired in 2014.[12]

Taylor has narrated nearly thirty Audiobooks, and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards.[13] Her narration of Tami Hoag's Mismatch was nominated for an Audie Award in 2009.[14]

As a stage actress, Taylor has played various roles such as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice[15] and Eliza Doolittle in a Seattle Shakespeare Company production of Pygmalion.[16]

Filmography

Live action
List of acting performances in television and film
Year Title Role Notes Source
1993Mad Dog and GloryPam DelmerUncredited
1993This Boy's LifeDeputy Commissioner O'RileyUncredited
1999The Big KahunaMrs. JohnsonUncredited
2000The Brainiacs.comWoman at AccidentUncredited
2001Don's PlumFoxieUncredited
2001I Am SamWoman ChauffeurUncredited
2004InheritanceAbbey[17]
2010LeverageJodie McManusEp. "The Future Job" (season 2, episode 13)[18]
2018Everything Sucks!Miss Stock2 episodes[19]
2022 Halo Cortana [20]

Animation
List of voice performances in animation
Year Title Role Notes Source
2013–presentRWBYMysterious Narrator / Salem[10][21]
2015Halo: The Fall of ReachDr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey

Video games
List of voice performances in video games
Year Title Role Notes Source
1997Backyard BaseballSunny Day[22]
1998Thinkin' Things: Sky Island MysteriesGlove
1998Backyard SoccerSunny Day[22]
1999Backyard FootballSunny Day[22]
1999–2006Mario franchisePrincess Peach, Toad, Birdo, Princess Daisy, Toadette
2000Backyard Soccer MLS EditionSunny Day[22]
2000Backyard Baseball 2001Sunny Day[22]
2000Backyard Football 2002Sunny Day[22]
2001Aliens versus Predator 2Tomiko / Various[23]
2001Halo: Combat EvolvedCortana / Life Pod Pilot[22]
2001Super Smash Bros. MeleePrincess Peach[24]
2001Luigi's MansionToad
2001Backyard BasketballSunny Day[25]
2002No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s WayCate Archer / Isako / Ninja Girls[19]
2002Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley BrutalRoxy[26]
2004Halo 2Cortana[22]
2006SiN EpisodesJessica Cannon
2007Halo 3Cortana[22]
2008Left 4 DeadZoey[22]
2009F.E.A.R. 2: Project OriginLt. Keira Stokes[22]
20091 vs. 100 Liveherself
2010Left 4 Dead 2Zoey[22]
2010Halo: ReachHalsey, Cortana (Firefight)[22]
2012Guild Wars 2Demmi Beetlestone[27]
2012Halo 4Cortana, HalseyAlso motion-capture performance for Halsey[22]
2013Dota 2Lina, Puck, Windranger, Medusa[28]
2014DestinyCity Civil Frame, Archive Security A.I., City P.A.[29]
2015Infinite CrisisAtomic Wonder Woman[30][31]
2015Halo 5: GuardiansCortana, Dr. HalseyAlso motion-capture performance for Dr. Halsey[32]
2018Forza Horizon 4Cortana[33]
2021Halo InfiniteCortana, Dr. Halsey, "The Weapon"

Other works
YearTitleRoleNotesSource
2014–presentWindows Phone 8.1Cortana[34][8]
2015–presentWindows 10Cortana[35]
2021–presentWindows 11Cortana[36]


References
  1. Taylor, Jen [@jentaylorfortown] (February 17, 2017). "Thank you for my happy birthday wishes, friends! It has been relaxing and full of cheese which explains this photo" (Tweet). Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Twitter.
  2. "Jen Taylor". IMDb. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  3. Kindel, Ryan (October 2015). "The Voice Behind Cortana, Halo's Dr. Halsey". Seattle Magazine. Tiger Oak Media. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  4. "Jennifer Taylor". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  5. Brodeur, Nicole (December 12, 2014). "The voice of Halo's Cortana is a Jane Austen type at heart". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  6. "Jen Taylor - South Texas Gamers Expo". South Texas Gamers Expo. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  7. Benedetti, Winda (October 29, 2012). "The heart of Halo: Actress talks a decade spent playing Cortana". NBC News. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  8. Blair, Nancy (April 3, 2014). "Who is Cortana? It's Halo's Jen Taylor". USA Today.
  9. Owen, Rob (April 12, 2022). "Seattle actor Jen Taylor reprises role of the AI Cortana on Paramount+ 'Halo' series". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  10. RWBY. Season 1. Event occurs at Closing credits.
  11. "Video Games and Audio Dramas Meet at Imagination Theater". Imagination Theatre. January 23, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  12. Wright, Stewart (April 30, 2019). "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Broadcast Log" (PDF). Old-Time Radio. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  13. "Jen Taylor". Cedar House Audio Productions. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  14. "2009 Audie Awards". Audio Publishers Association. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  15. "Jennifer Lee Taylor". AboutTheArtists. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  16. "Seattle Actor Profile – Jennifer Lee Taylor". Seattle Shakespeare Company. February 11, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  17. "Inheritance - Press: Interview with Jen Taylor". June 13, 2003. Archived from the original on June 13, 2003. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  18. ""Leverage" the Future Job (TV Episode 2010) - IMDb".
  19. "Hyper Chat: Jen Taylor". Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  20. "Halo TV Series Recasts Cortana With Original Voice Actress".
  21. RWBY. Season 3. Episode 12. Event occurs at Closing credits.
  22. "Jen Taylor (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 14, 2017. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  23. Monolith Productions (October 22, 2001). Aliens Versus Predator 2 (Windows). Sierra Entertainment. Scene: Credits.
  24. HAL Laboratory. Super Smash Bros. Melee. Nintendo. Scene: Ending credits, 0:26.
  25. Humongous Entertainment. Backyard Basketball. Infogrames. Scene: Ending credits, 1:33 in, Featuring Voices of.
  26. Dream Publishing. Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal. Microsoft Game Studios. Scene: Ending credits, 16:28 in, Voice Talent.
  27. Jen Taylor - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W)
  28. Voice actors - Dota 2 Wiki
  29. Destiny – End Credits – IGN Video. IGN Video. September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  30. Turbine, Inc. Infinite Crisis. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Scene: Credits, Voice Over Talent.
  31. "Infinite Crisis Credits". Archived from the original on October 11, 2014.
  32. 343 Industries. Halo 5: Guardians. Microsoft Studios. Scene: Closing credits, 7 minutes in, Main Voice and Performance Cast.
  33. Skrebels, Joe (August 21, 2018). "Forza Horizon 4's Halo In-Game Event Is Real, Amazing - Gamescom 2018". IGN. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  34. tomwarren (April 2, 2014). "The story of Cortana, Microsoft's Siri killer". The Verge. Vox Media.
  35. Judith Aparri (May 17, 2015). "Microsoft Corporation Lets Cortana Open Apps in Windows 10". Guardian Liberty Voice.
  36. Johnson, Peter (September 4, 2021). "How to Install Cortana in Windows 11". ITechBrand. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
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