Jen Taylor
American actress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jen Taylor is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Cortana in the Halo games and the Cortana personal assistant, the voice of Zoey in the Left 4 Dead franchise and formerly as Princess Peach, Toad and other characters in the Mario franchise from 1999 to 2008.
_(cropped).jpg)
Jen Taylor | |
|---|---|
Taylor at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2022 | |
| Born | Jennifer Lee Taylor[1] Seattle, Washington, U.S.[2] |
| Occupations | Actress, Voice Actress |
| Years active | 1993–present |
Career
Jen Taylor 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 video games, including Princess Peach and Toad in Mario games between 1999 and 2008.[6] She voiced the character Cortana in Halo games since the first game in the series, Halo: Combat Evolved (2001).[7] Two decades following the original game, Taylor reprised the role of Cortana by voice acting and performance capture in the Paramount+ TV series.[2] At GalaxyCon Columbus in December 2023, Taylor stated her favorite line as Cortana is "Welcome home, John" from Halo 4.[8]
Taylor has played Salem in the web series RWBY, since 2013.[9] She voiced an episode of the radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes[10][11]
Taylor has narrated nearly 30 audiobooks, and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards.[12] Her narration of Tami Hoag's Mismatch was nominated for an Audie Award in 2009.[13]
As a stage actress, Taylor has played Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice[5] and Eliza Doolittle in a Seattle Shakespeare Company production of Pygmalion.[1]
Filmography
Live-action
Animation
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–present | RWBY | Mysterious Narrator / Salem | [9][17] | |
| 2015 | Halo: The Fall of Reach | Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey | ||
| 2022 | RWBY: Ice Queendom | Mysterious Narrator / Salem | English dub |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Backyard Baseball | Sunny Day | [18] | |
| 1998 | Thinkin' Things: Sky Island Mysteries | Glove | ||
| Backyard Soccer | Sunny Day | [18] | ||
| 1999 | Backyard Football | [18] | ||
| 1999–2007 | Mario franchise | Princess Peach, Toad, Toadette Princess Daisy (2000–2003), Birdo (2001) | ||
| 2000 | Backyard Baseball 2001 | Sunny Day | [18] | |
| Backyard Soccer MLS Edition | [18] | |||
| 2001 | Backyard Football 2002 | [18] | ||
| Aliens versus Predator 2 | Tomiko / Johnson | [19] | ||
| Halo: Combat Evolved | Cortana / Life Pod Pilot | [18] | ||
| Super Smash Bros. Melee | Princess Peach | [20] | ||
| Backyard Basketball | Sunny Day | [21] | ||
| 2002 | No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way | Cate Archer / Isako / Ninja Girls | [15] | |
| Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal | Roxy | [22] | ||
| 2004 | Halo 2 | Cortana | [18] | |
| 2006 | SiN Episodes | Jessica Cannon | ||
| 2007 | Halo 3 | Cortana | [18] | |
| 2008 | Left 4 Dead | Zoey | [18] | |
| 2009 | F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin | Lt. Keira Stokes | [18] | |
| 1 vs. 100 Live | Herself | |||
| 2010 | Left 4 Dead 2 | Zoey | [18] | |
| Halo: Reach | Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, Cortana (Firefight) | [18] | ||
| 2012 | Guild Wars 2 | Demmi Beetlestone | [23] | |
| Halo 4 | Cortana, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey | Also motion-capture performance for Halsey | [18] | |
| 2013 | Dota 2 | Lina, Puck, Windranger, Medusa | ||
| 2014 | Destiny | City Civil Frame, Archive Security A.I., City P.A. | [24] | |
| 2015 | Infinite Crisis | Atomic Wonder Woman | [25][26] | |
| Halo 5: Guardians | Cortana, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey | Also motion-capture performance for Dr. Halsey | [27] | |
| 2018 | Forza Horizon 4 | Cortana | [28] | |
| 2021 | Halo Infinite | Cortana, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, "The Weapon" | ||
| 2026 | Halo: Campaign Evolved | Cortana, Life Pod Pilot | [29] |
Other works
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2017 | Windows Phone 8.1 | Cortana | [30][31] | |
| 2015–2023 | Windows 10 | [32] | ||
| 2021–2023 | Windows 11 | [33] |
