Tara Strong

Tara Lyn (Charendoff) Strong (born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has done voice work in numerous animated films and television series. Her voice roles include Harley Quinn from Batman: Arkham, Dil Pickles from Rugrats and All Grown Up!, Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls, Timmy Turner and Poof from The Fairly OddParents, Raven from Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!, Ben Tennyson from Ben 10, Princess Clara and Toot Braunstein from Drawn Together, and Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

Early life
Tara Strong was born on February 12, 1973 to Syd (born 1933) and Lucy Charendoff (1936–2004). Syd and Lucy ran a convenience/toy/candy store called The Wiz; Syd has also worked as a pharmacist. Tara and her sister Marla (born 1971) were raised in Toronto, Ontario. Strong and her family are Jewish. Her acting career began when she volunteered to be a soloist in a school production at age four. Soon, she began acting in the Yiddish Theater; though she did not know Yiddish, she memorized her lines phonetically. During this time, she also performed at the Toronto Jewish Theater (TJA), where she acted in A Night of Stars, and was featured in an audiotape for "Lay Down Your Arms" with the Habonim Youth Choir, where she sang the lyrics in both English and Hebrew, a feat she repeated on February 10, 2005, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel during the March of the Living dinner in honor of then-Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At age 13, Strong was accepted into a performing arts school, where she landed her first professional role: the role of Gracie in the Limelight Theater's production of The Music Man. That same year, she booked a guest starring role in Mr. T's T. and T. Afterwards, she landed the title role in Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater and starred in the short-lived CBC Television sitcom Mosquito Lake before moving to Los Angeles in the midst of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Career
Strong is the voice of numerous animated characters, including main roles in The Fairly OddParents as Timmy Turner and Poof; Rugrats and All Grown Up! as Dil Pickles; The Powerpuff Girls as Bubbles; Ben 10 as Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, Benwolf, and Buzzshock; Teen Titans as Raven; Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends as Terrence; the singing voice of Meg Griffin and additional voices on Family Guy; My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as Princess Twilight Sparkle.

She has also lent her voice to English-language localizations of Japanese anime such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, as well as several video games, including her work as Elisa and Ursula in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops; Paz Ortega Andrade in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker; Rikku in Final Fantasy X, its sequel Final Fantasy X-2, and Kingdom Hearts II; Talwyn Apogee in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and its sequel, Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty; Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham City, replacing Arleen Sorkin from the franchise; and Juliet Starling, the main character of Lollipop Chainsaw.

She has appeared in live roles in National Lampoon's Senior Trip, Sabrina Goes to Rome, Sabrina, Down Under, Mosquito Lake, and The Last White Dishwasher. She also made guest appearances on such shows as Forever Knight, Street Legal, Touched by an Angel, Take Home Chef, Party of Five, Comic Book: The Movie, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and 3rd Rock from the Sun. In January 2013, she voiced the character "Plum" in Cartoon Hangover's Bravest Warriors, created by Pendleton Ward. She has the role of the character Miss Collins in Nickelodeon's live action series Big Time Rush. Strong has been nominated four times for an Annie Award.

In 2004, she won an Interactive Achievement Award for her role as Rikku in Final Fantasy X-2. She also served as the announcer for the 2000 Kids' Choice Awards, appeared as a guest at several fan conventions (including BotCon, Jacon, Comic-Con International, and Anime Overdose), and was featured on the front cover of the July/August 2004 issue of Working Mother magazine, saying, "My son is now old enough to respond to my work. To me, that's what it is all about."

Personal life
Prior to her marriage, she was originally credited under her maiden name, Charendoff. Strong attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, class of 1991. After leaving high school she studied at The Second City in Toronto for two years before moving to Los Angeles in January 1994. Strong and actress Neve Campbell lived together when they both moved to Los Angeles at the same time. They both auditioned for the same role, Julia, in the 1990s TV series Party of Five. Strong appeared in an episode as Lorna.

She met former American actor, turned real estate agent, Craig Strong in April or May 1999. They married on May 14, 2000 and have two sons, Sammy (born 2002) and Aden (born 2004).

The family resides in Los Angeles. She and Craig run VoiceStarz, Inc., an Internet-based company which teaches people how to get into the voiceover business.

Discography
For the documentary film Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony, Tara Strong co-wrote and recorded the song "Take My Hand".