Susan Bennett

Susan Alice Bennett (nee Cameron, born July 31, 1949) is an American voice-over artist and a former backup singer for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach[3]. She is best known for being the female American voice of Apple's "Siri" since the service was introduced on the iPhone 4S on October 4, 2011; Bennett was the voice of Apple's virtual assistant until the iOS 7 update was released on September 18, 2013.[4]

For the Canadian professor of English, see Susan Bennett (academic).
Susan Bennett
Bennett from a Voice of America interview.
Born (1949-07-31) July 31, 1949[1]
Burlington, Vermont, U.S.[2]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBrown University
OccupationVoice actor
Years active1974–present
Known forVoice of Siri
Home townClinton, New York, U.S.
Websitesusancbennett.com

Early life and education

Bennett was born in Burlington, Vermont, and attended high school at Clinton Central School in Clinton, New York. In 1967, she enrolled in Pembroke College and graduated in 1971 from Brown University after the two schools merged. While in college, Bennett concentrated her studies in the classics and intended to become a teacher. She acted in Sock and Buskin theatrical productions, was a member of a jazz band, and was a singer with the "Chattertocks" a cappella group.[5]

Career

Bennett's career began in 1974 when she was recorded as the voice of First National Bank of Atlanta's "Tillie the All-Time Teller."[6] She has recorded messages for the public address system in all Delta Air Lines terminals worldwide, as well as voicing e-learning software and GPS navigation software,[7] and telephone systems.[8] Bennett's voice has also been used in numerous local and national television advertisements for Ford, Coca-Cola, Fisher-Price, McDonald's, The Home Depot, Goodyear, Visa, Macy's, Hot Pockets, Club Med, and Cartoon Network, among others.

Siri

In June 2005, the software company ScanSoft was looking for someone to be the voice for a database project involving speech construction. ScanSoft inquired with GM Voices and selected Bennett, who happened to be present when the scheduled voice-over artist was absent.[9] She worked in a home recording booth for the entire month of July 2005, more than four hours each day, reading phrases and sentences. The recordings were then concatenated into the various words, sentences, and paragraphs used in the Siri voice.[8] Bennett only became aware she was the voice of Siri when a friend contacted her through email in October 2011.

Despite Apple not having acknowledged or confirmed its use of Bennett, audio-forensics experts hired by CNN expressed 100 percent certainty that Bennett is the voice of Siri.[8]

Personal life

While at Brown University, Bennett met her husband, Curt Bennett, who played in the National Hockey League[5] as well as for the United States national ice hockey team in the 1970s[10]. Bennett now lives in Atlanta, Georgia and has a son.

On October 4, 2013, she appeared on CNN "New Day" explaining how she got picked to play the part of Siri.[11]

In the March 13, 2015 episode of Adult Swim's The Jack and Triumph Show, titled "Siri", Bennett appeared as herself, and was referred to as the "voice of Siri".[12]

In July 2016, Bennett appeared on comedian Anthony Anderson's ABC game show To Tell the Truth, and was revealed as the true voice of Siri.[13]

See also

References
  1. Villarreal, Yvonne (19 October 2013). "Susan Bennett voices her feelings on being 'Siri classic'" – via LA Times.
  2. "The real voice of Siri explains the art of voiceover". 9 September 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  3. Vlahos, James (2019). Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work and Think, p. 111, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston and New York, 2019. ISBN 978-1-328-79930-2.
  4. Broussard, Mitchel (April 14, 2017). "Siri Voice Actress Susan Bennett Reveals More Details About the Origins of Apple's Virtual Assistant". MacRumors. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  5. Nussenbaum, Kate (2013-10-22). "Alum revealed as voice of iPhone's Siri". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
  6. Cooper, Daniel (2013-10-04). "Susan Bennett confirms that she is the original voice of Apple's Siri (video)". Engadget. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  7. Boone, John (2013-10-04). "Meet Siri: Susan Bennett Reveals Herself as the Mysterious Voice Behind the iPhone". E!. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  8. Ravitz, Jessica (2013-10-04). "'I'm the original voice of Siri'". CNN. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  9. "Interview with Susan Bennett". All Things Considered. National Public Radio via WNYC. December 9, 2013.
  10. http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2007/01/curt-bennett.html
  11. "Meet the Voice of Siri", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2bTymnb1uE Cnn.Com, Posted Oct 4, 2013, Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  12. ""Siri"". The Jack and Triuph Show. Season 01. Episode 04. 13 March 2015. Cartoon Network.
  13. "S1 E03 Episode 103". To Tell the Truth. June 14, 2016.
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