Lani Minella
American voice actress (born 1950)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lani Jean Minella (born July 28, 1950)[1] is an American voice actress, voice director, and producer mostly working in the games industry. She is also the founder and owner of the voice-acting agency AudioGodz.[2] As of August 2024, Minella was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most prolific video game voice actress, a title previously held by Jennifer Hale.[3][4]
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July 28, 1950
- Voice actress
- voice director
- producer
Lani Minella | |
|---|---|
Minella at a Sonic Adventure 2 cast reunion in 2024. | |
| Born | Lani Jean Minella July 28, 1950 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | San Diego State University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Website | laniminella.com |
Since starting her career and becoming well known for her unique four-octave vocal range,[5] Minella has been in multiple video game franchises such as Diablo, StarCraft, Duke Nukem, Backyard Sports, Warcraft, Baldur's Gate, Unreal, Borderlands, and Darksiders. As well, she has provided many voices for characters in a variety of other video games, most notable roles like Nancy Drew in the video game series, Gabriella in Blood II: The Chosen, Rouge the Bat and Omochao from Sonic the Hedgehog in their debut, Ivy Valentine from SoulCalibur, Eve in Mass Effect 3, and Lucas in Super Smash Bros. Minella has also done multiple roles in a game such as Sindel and Sheeva in the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, Gloria and the Red Run in Remothered: Tormented Fathers, and the creature voices for Clickers, Bloaters, and Runners in The Last of Us and its sequel.
Career
After college, Minella started on Morning Drive radio for an alternative station in the late 1980s. After hearing her celebrity impersonations, GTE Interactive Media contacted her and asked her to imitate voices from the film FernGully: The Last Rainforest, which was being pitched for a LaserDisc presentation to Magnavox and Philips.[6] She was then referred by the company to their CD-ROM division, where she worked on more voices and assisted script writing on games for children.[7] Minella asked the company if there were others doing similar work, and they suggested that she should go to trade shows, which led her to attend showcases like Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Game Developers Conference in San Jose, and Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, where she gave out business cards but failed to get any offers. This led her to start her AudioGodz, a production company specializing in all aspects of voiceovers from talent to casting, directing, writing and production, in 1992.[8]
In 1996, Minella worked on a major first-person shooter video game, Duke Nukem 3D, as voice director and actress, voicing most of the female characters in the series. She helped cast the voice actor of Duke Nukem, Jon St. John. She met Jon when she was cast as the voice for a commercial he was producing in San Diego. After being impressed by her voices, Jon imitated the voices back at Minella and she asked if he had ever done voice acting for video games. She shortly got him a telephone interview with the game's creator, George Broussard, and eventually got him the part of Duke.[9]
Minella's first major voice role in a video game was for HeR Interactive's adventure-mystery series Nancy Drew, starring as the titular character Nancy Drew, debuting with 1998's Secrets Can Kill. Minella reprised her role as Nancy Drew in 31 other video games, with her last being Sea of Darkness in 2015. HeR Interactive's CEO then decided to find a voice actress local to the Seattle area (Minella resides in San Diego).[10]
Personal life
Filmography
Animation
| Year | Title | Role | Crew role, notes | Source[15] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Burn-Up Excess | Maya Jingu, others | English dub | Resume |
| 2003 | .hack//SIGN | Girl | [16] | |
| 2003 | Geneshaft | Dolce Saito, Chacha, others | [17] | |
| 2006 | Justice League Unlimited | Mayor of Central City | Episode: "Flash and Substance" | [17] |
| 2007 | All Grown Up! | Kid, Old Woman | Episode: "TF + KP" | [17] |
| 2018 | Motown Magic | Lorenzo | [17] |
Feature films
| Year | Title | Role | Crew role, notes | Source[15] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | FernGully: The Last Rainforest | Background voices | Debut voice role, LaserDisc release | |
| 2019 | The Queen's Corgi | Ginger | US Version | [18] |
| 2019 | It Chapter Two | Loop Group | Tweet[19] | |
| 2025 | The Colors Within | Kimi's Grandmother | English dub | Tweet[20] |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Crew role, notes, region | Source[15] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Astal | All voices | [17] | |
| 1996 | Bubsy 3D | All voices | Voice talent | [17] |
| Candy Land Adventure | Captain Cookie, Princess Lolly, Queen Frostine, Gramma Nut, Tree 2, Red Ant 1, Queen Bee, Miner 1 | [17] | ||
| Diablo | Adria the Witch, Wirt the Peg-Legged Boy | [17] | ||
| 1997 | Snowboard Kids | Slash Kamei, Nancy Neil, Jam Kuehnemund, Linda Maltinie, Mr. Dog | [17] | |
| 1997–2002 | The Land Before Time games | Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Chomper, Spike, Mo | Voice characterization | [17] |
| 1997 | Nightmare Ned | Hilda Needlemeyer | Video game only | [17] |
| 1998 | StarCraft | Dropship Pilot | [21] | |
| Rocky & Bullwinkle's Know-It-All Quiz Game | Sherman | [17] | ||
| 1998–2015 | Nancy Drew games | Nancy Drew, various characters | [17] | |
| 1999 | Snowboard Kids 2 | Slash Kamei, Damien, Wendy Lane | [17] | |
| Blue Stinger | Janine King | Voice actor and director | [17] | |
| Evil Zone | Alty Lazel, Midori Himeno, Ihadurca | [17] | ||
| Duke Nukem: Zero Hour | Female Commander | Voice actor | [17] | |
| 1999–2004 | Sonic the Hedgehog games | Station Square Announcer, Omochao, Rouge the Bat, Void | Voice actor and director; US/EUR/NA | [17] |
| 1999 | Tail Concerto | Waffle Ryebread, Panta | [17] | |
| 40 Winks | Ruff, Tumble, Robot Tumble, mother | [22] | ||
| 2000 | Maken X | Various voices | [23] | |
| Evil Dead: Hail to the King | Anne Knowby, Grammy, Deadites | [17] | ||
| D2 | Martha | [24] | ||
| 2001 | Diablo II: Lord of Destruction | Blood Raven, The Countess, Andariel, Malah, Ancients | [17] | |
| Half-Life: Decay | Colette Green | [17] | ||
| AirBlade | Kat | Voice actor and director | [17] | |
| Frogger: The Great Quest | Various characters | [17] | ||
| Illbleed | Eriko Christy, various characters | [25] | ||
| 2002 | Backyard Baseball 2003 | Sunny Day, Vinnie the Gooch, others | [17] | |
| Slots from Bally Gaming | Olive Oyl, Betty Boop | [17] | ||
| Backyard Football | Sunny Day, others | [17] | ||
| 2003 | Backyard Soccer 2004 | Sunny Day, Earl Grey, others | [17] | |
| Rogue Ops | Nikki Connors | [15] | ||
| Go! Go! Hypergrind | Piggy Sue, Bob, Jenny | [17] | ||
| 2004 | Counter-Strike: Condition Zero | Female VOs (deleted scenes) | Casting (over 200 voices), director | [26] |
| 2005 | Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening | Female Spider, Reaper Creature | [15] | |
| 2005–present | Soulcalibur games | Ivy Valentine | Voice actor | [17] |
| 2006 | The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II | Galadriel, Spider Rider | [17] | |
| Runaway 2: The Dream of Turtle | Gina Timmins, Tarantula, Alpha, Aolani, Rosa | [17] | ||
| 2007 | Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn | Mia, Micaiah, Mist, various others | Voice actor | [17] |
| 2007-2013, 2018 | Professor Layton games | Luke (US English), Flora, Emmy, various others | [17] | |
| 2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Lucas, Lyn (English), Pit (English) | [15] | |
| Penumbra: Black Plague | Hive Mind | [17] | ||
| Penumbra: Requiem | Dr. Richard Eminiss | [17] | ||
| 2009 | Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 | Lucia von Bardas | [17] | |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | Omochao | DS version only; archive footage | [17] | |
| Borderlands | Commandant Steele | [17] | ||
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., Wendy O. Koopa and Lemmy Koopa | [15] | ||
| 2010 | Darksiders | Silitha, Tiamat | [17] | |
| Amnesia: The Dark Descent | Girl, Mother, Clarice | Voice director | [17] | |
| 2011 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution | Hive Mind | [17] | |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | The Night Mother, Nocturnal, Aranea Ienith, Cindiri Arano, Dravynea the Stoneweaver, Idesa Sadri, Ildari Sarothril, Irileth, Jenassa, Marise Aravel, Niluva Hlaalu, Priestess of Boethiah, Sabine Nytte, Suvaris Atheron, Synda Llanith, Tilisu Severin, Katria, Female Dunmer | [26] | ||
| Mortal Kombat | Sindel, Sheeva | [27] | ||
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Eve, Asari Medic | [17] | |
| New Super Mario Bros. 2 | Larry, Morton, Wendy and Lemmy | [15] | ||
| Lucius | Mary | [17] | ||
| New Super Mario Bros. U | Larry, Morton, Wendy and Lemmy | [15][28] | ||
| 2013 | StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm | Slivan | [17] | |
| The Last of Us | Clickers, Runners, Bloaters | Voice actor | [17] | |
| 2014 | Strider | Nang Pooh, Xi Mang Wu, Female broadcaster | [17] | |
| Off The Record: The Italian Affair | Gabriella | [17] | ||
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | Larry, Morton, Wendy, Lemmy, Lyn (English), and Lucas | [17] | ||
| 2015 | Awesomenauts | Nibbs | [29] | |
| 2016 | Rad Rodgers: World One | The Jungle Elder | [17] | |
| 2017 | Fire Emblem Heroes | Mia | [17] | |
| XCOM 2 War of the Chosen | Chosen Assassin | [17] | ||
| Remothered: Tormented Fathers | Gloria, Red Nun | As Lani "Alien Ilmann" Minella | [30][26] | |
| 2018 | Subnautica | Sea Emperor Leviathan | [17] | |
| Remothered: Tormented Fathers | Gloria Ashmann, Red Nun | [17] | ||
| War for the Overworld: The Under Games | Overlord Lamash | [31] | ||
| God of War | Pesta | [32] | ||
| Bendy and the Ink Machine | Lacie Benton | [33] | ||
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Lucas, Lyn (English), Larry, Morton, Wendy, Lemmy | [17] | ||
| 2019 | MediEvil | Narrator | [34] | |
| 2020 | Summit of the Wolf | Adena, Deana Kethagee, Epha Ilo, Narrator, Ori, SallyGropner, Wanda the Tree | ||
| The Last of Us Part II | Clickers, Runners, Bloaters | Voice actor | [17] | |
| Wasteland 3 | Other VO | (Less than 40 lines) (As Lani Manilla) | ||
| Remothered: Broken Porcelain | The Keeper | |||
| Sim Settlements 2 | Judge Bishop, Shhandy | |||
| World of Warcraft: Shadowlands | Additional voices | |||
| Remothered: Double Pack | Gloria Ashmann | |||
| 2021 | Choices: Stories You Play | Olivia Ashton, Rachel Winthrop, Mary Zilberg, Kenna Rys, Audrey, Fiddler, Officer Dawes | ||
| The Captain is Dead | Diplomat | |||
| Shadow Man Remastered | Nettie | |||
| Mass Effect: Legendary Edition | Eve, Asari Medic | |||
| Chivalry 2 | Female Agathian Warrior | |||
| Happy's Humble Burger Farm | Happy the Humble Heifer, Monsters | |||
| 2022 | Sucker for Love: First Date | Nyanlathotep | Voice actor | [1] |
| Lord of the Rings Online: Rangers and Ruins | Hrimil | |||
| God of War Ragnarök | Raven Keeper | |||
| Chivalry 2: Tenosian Invasion | Tenosian Tigris | |||
| Hearthstone: Voyage to the Sunken City | Lady S'Theno, Eelbound archer, Twinbow Terrorcoil | [26] | ||
| Identity V | Keigan Nicholas Keogh (Clerk) | [26][35] | ||
| Back 4 Blood ("Tunnels of Terror") | Cultist Sniper | [26] | ||
| Overlode | Female Drone | [26] | ||
| 2023 | Dead Space (remake) | Necromorph | [26] | |
| Killer Klowns from Outer Space (the game) | Klownzilla, Tank, Tracker, Scout | Casting, director | [26] |
Podcast
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source[15] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2017 | Liberty: Critical Research | Baal | ||
| 2016–2019 | Liberty: Tales From the Tower | Various | ||
| 2017–2022 | The White Vault | Dr. Rosa De La Torre | Main; season 1-2; guest season 4; recurring season 5) | [36][37] |
| 2020–2021 | VAST Horizon | Commander Graan |