Biography
Though audiences may not be familiar with Russi Taylor's face, many know her by her legendary voice roles including, among others, Minnie Mouse. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1944, Taylor actually met Walt Disney himself during a childhood visit to Disneyland, when the creative mogul happened to be sitting in the area where Taylor's family was buying popcorn. When Disney asked the young Taylor what she wanted to be when she grew up, she precociously responded that she would like to work for him-a statement that would prove prescient. Taylor lived in Europe for a time early in her adulthood, and while there, she found work dubbing movies into English. This experience illuminated her strengths as a vocal performer, and she returned to the United States determined to pursue a career as a voice actor. Though she did not yet have the customary recording of her talents to offer potential employers, Taylor's first break came nonetheless in 1976, when she was allowed to audition live to provide the voice of Ted and Georgette's baby on the sitcom "Mary Tyler Moore" (CBS, 1970-77). Taylor's audition convinced workers in the next room that a real baby was on the premises and she was quickly hired. In 1980, she landed not only the voice role of baby Pebbles on "The Flintstones Comedy Show" (NBC, 1980-81) but the starring voice role of Strawberry Shortcake on the character's new and popular series of cartoon specials as well. Still more notable cartoon voices followed during this period, including Gonzo on the beloved "Muppet Babies" (CBS, 1984-1991), before Taylor was chosen by Disney to provide the voice of Minnie Mouse in 1986. In a turn of events deserving of a Disney movie, Taylor developed a relationship during this time with Wayne Allwine, the voice actor who portrayed Mickey. The two were married in 1991 and remained so until Allwine's death in 2009. Over the coming decades, Taylor would portray Minnie in everything from Disney sing-along videos to TV series like "Mickey Mouse Works" (ABC, 1999-2000) to video games that happened to feature the Minnie Mouse character, like the "Kingdom Hearts" series. And in addition to Taylor's work at Disney portraying Minnie, she also signed on as the official voice of Donald Duck's mischievous nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie as well, which led to her working extensively on the animated series "Ducktales" (Syndicated, 1987-1990). Though her Disney work kept her very busy, Taylor still took on other roles, voicing the awkward fourth grader Martin as well as twins Sherri and Terri on "The Simpsons" (Fox, 1989-), Dutchess the Cat in the hit movie "Babe" (1995), and Annie, Ferny, and Mom on "Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks" (PBS, 2003-07). Taylor continued to portray Minnie until she died in 2019 at the age of 75.
