Helen Leahey
Welsh Singer/Voice Over artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helen Francesca Leahey (born 4 October 1987) is a Welsh musician and voice over artist who is notable for her deep voice.[1] She is the first Guinness World Record holder (2018) for 'Lowest Vocal Note by a Female'.[2] In 2017 she appeared on The Voice of Germany[3] and in 2022 The Voice UK.[4] In 2023, Leahey was the primary source for the demon in the movie The Exorcist: Believer.[5]
Helen Leahey | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pronunciation | Leehei |
| Born | 4 October 1987 St. Asaph, Wales, UK |
| Occupation | Singer/Voice Over Artist |
| Years active | 2017 - present |
| Known for | Guinness World Word Record 'Lowest Vocal Note by a Female' |
| Television | The Voice Germany (2017) The Voice UK (2022) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www.helenleahey.com |
Leahey owns her own music label 'Deintra'[6] and has recorded three albums to date: Train Tracks (2020), Auf Wiedersehen (2020) and Spirits (2020).[7]
Career
Supervising sound editor Rich Bologna explained the sculpting of the supernatural sound for the movie The Exorcist: Believer and Leahey's part in it:
"The demon in the film is a woman, so David [Gordon Green] found this great voice actor, a Welsh woman named Helen Leahey, who lives in Cologne, Germany. So we did a preliminary recording session with her even before there was a working cut of the film. She recorded some amazing stuff. Because she speaks Welsh, she did a version of the Welsh National Anthem backward. She transcribed it backward phonetically, and then performed it. We were all blown away. What a first impression! We used most of her performance for the demon voice, and David also hired an additional voice actor J. Moliere. But her voice is the primary source."[8]
The original demon voice for the 1973 horror film The Exorcist was recorded by Oscar winner Mercedes McCambridge.[9]
Early life and education
Leahey was born in St. Asaph, Wales,[10] UK to Liverpudlian Charles Joseph Leahey and Dr. Christiane Ulmer-Leahey (née Ulmer) from Mainz, Germany. She is of English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Sardinian, Scandinavian and German descent. Her father was a musician and her mother is a retired school director and published author.[11]
Leahey completed her Bachelor in History and Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool (2010)[12] and her Master in International Journalism at Falmouth University (2012).[13] During her studies and afterwards, Leahey became a member of various Irish folk bands [14] and finally founded the music project DILLIGARA where she collaborates with various artists.[15] Before going into higher education Leahey studied a BTEC in Performing Arts at the former Yale College, Wrexham, Wales.[16]