Susan Bennett

Susan Alice Bennett (née Cameron, born July 31, 1949) is an American voice actress and a former backup singer for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach.[3] She is best known as female American voice of Apple's Siri personal assistant, since the service was introduced on the iPhone 4S on October 4, 2011. She was the voice of Siri until the iOS 7 update was released on September 18, 2013.[4]

For the Canadian professor of English, see Susan Bennett (academic).

Susan Bennett
Bennett from a Voice of America interview
Born
Susan Alice Cameron

(1949-07-31) July 31, 1949[1]
Burlington, Vermont, U.S.[2]
Alma materBrown University
Occupation(s)Voice actress, singer
Years active1974–present
Known forVoice of Siri
SpouseRick Hinkle
Websitesusancbennett.com

Early life and education

Bennett was born in Burlington, Vermont, and attended high school at Clinton Central School in Clinton, New York. In 1967, she enrolled in Pembroke College and graduated in 1971 from Brown University after the two schools merged. In college, Bennett focused on the classics, intending to be a teacher. She acted in Sock and Buskin theatrical productions, was a member of a jazz band, and was a singer with the Chattertocks, an a cappella group.[5]

Career

Bennett's career began in 1974 when she was recorded as the voice of First National Bank of Atlanta's Tillie the All-Time Teller.[6] She has recorded messages for the public address system in all Delta Air Lines terminals worldwide, for e-learning software and GPS navigation software,[7] and for telephone systems.[8] Her voice has also been used in numerous local and national television advertisements for companies including Ford, Coca-Cola, Fisher-Price, McDonald's, The Home Depot, Goodyear, Visa, Macy's, Hot Pockets, Club Med, and Cartoon Network. In 2021, she provided the voice of EMMA, an artificial intelligence application, in Persona 5 Strikers by Atlus.[9]

Siri

In June 2005, the software company ScanSoft was looking for someone to be the voice for a database project involving speech construction. They inquired with GM Voices and selected Bennett, who happened to be present when the scheduled voice-over artist was absent.[10] She worked in a home recording booth in July 2005, more than four hours each day, reading phrases and sentences. The recordings were then concatenated into the various words, sentences, and paragraphs used in the Siri voice.[8] Bennett became aware she was the voice of Siri when a friend emailed her about it in October 2011.

Apple has never acknowledged or confirmed its use of Bennett, but audio-forensics experts hired by CNN expressed 100% certainty that Bennett was the voice of Siri.[8]

Personal life

At Brown University, Bennett met her first husband, professional ice hockey player Curt Bennett.[5] She later married audio engineer and guitarist Rick Hinkle.[11] She now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

On October 4, 2013, she appeared on CNN "New Day" explaining how she was picked to play the part of Siri.[12]

In the March 13, 2015, episode of Adult Swim's The Jack and Triumph Show, titled "Siri", Bennett appeared as herself and was referred to as the "voice of Siri".[13]

In July 2016, Bennett appeared on comedian Anthony Anderson's ABC game show To Tell the Truth, and was revealed as the voice of Siri.[14]

See also

References
  1. Villarreal, Yvonne (October 19, 2013). "Susan Bennett voices her feelings on being 'Siri classic'" – via LA Times.
  2. "The real voice of Siri explains the art of voiceover". September 9, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  3. Vlahos, James (2019). Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work and Think, p. 111, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston and New York, 2019. ISBN 978-1-328-79930-2.
  4. Broussard, Mitchel (April 14, 2017). "Siri Voice Actress Susan Bennett Reveals More Details About the Origins of Apple's Virtual Assistant". MacRumors. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  5. Nussenbaum, Kate (October 22, 2013). "Alum revealed as voice of iPhone's Siri". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  6. Cooper, Daniel (October 4, 2013). "Susan Bennett confirms that she is the original voice of Apple's Siri (video)". Engadget. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  7. Boone, John (October 4, 2013). "Meet Siri: Susan Bennett Reveals Herself as the Mysterious Voice Behind the iPhone". E!. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  8. Ravitz, Jessica (October 4, 2013). "'I'm the original voice of Siri'". CNN. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  9. "Susan Bennett (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved May 6, 2021. 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)
  10. "Interview with Susan Bennett". All Things Considered. National Public Radio via WNYC. December 9, 2013.
  11. "Real-life 'Siri' revealed". October 4, 2011.
  12. "Meet the Voice of Siri", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2bTymnb1uE Cnn.Com, Posted October 4, 2013, Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  13. ""Siri"". The Jack and Triuph Show. Season 01. Episode 04. March 13, 2015. Cartoon Network.
  14. "S1 E03 Episode 103". To Tell the Truth. June 14, 2016.
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