Jen Taylor

Jen Taylor
Jen Taylor
	Taylor at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2022
Born	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
	Show more

Jen Taylor is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Cortana in Halo games and the intelligent 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.

Career

Jen Taylor taught herself how to do voice work by recording the radio and imitating what she heard.^[1] She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in theater.^[2] Before starting in voice work, she worked as a radio DJ for KNDD.^[3]

Taylor has voiced characters in video games, including Princess Peach and Toad in Mario games between 1999 and 2008.^[4] She voiced the character Cortana in Halo games since the first game in the series, Halo: Combat Evolved (2001).^[5] Two decades following the original game, Taylor reprised the role of Cortana by voice acting and performance capture in the Paramount+ TV series.^[6] At GalaxyCon Columbus in December 2023, Taylor stated her favorite line as Cortana is "Welcome home, John" from Halo 4.^[7]

Taylor has played Salem in the web series RWBY, since 2013.^[8] She voiced an episode of the radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes^[9]^[10]

Taylor has narrated nearly 30 audiobooks, and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards.^[11] Her narration of Tami Hoag's Mismatch was nominated for an Audie Award in 2009.^[12]

As a stage actress, Taylor has played Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice^[3] and Eliza Doolittle in a Seattle Shakespeare Company production of Pygmalion.^[13]

Filmography

Live-action

List of acting performances in television and film
Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2004	Inheritance	Abbey		^[14]
2018	Everything Sucks!	Miss Stock	2 episodes	^[15]
2022–2024	Halo	Cortana		^[16]

Animation

List of voice performances in animation
Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2013–present	RWBY	Mysterious Narrator / Salem		^[8]^[17]
2015	Halo: The Fall of Reach	Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey
2022	RWBY: Ice Queendom	Mysterious Narrator / Salem	English dub

Video games

List of voice performances in video games
Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
1997	Backyard Baseball	Sunny Day		^[18]
1998	Thinkin' Things: Sky Island Mysteries	Glove
1998	Backyard Soccer	Sunny Day		^[18]
1999	Backyard Football	Sunny Day		^[18]
1999–2007	Mario franchise	Princess Peach, Toad, Toadette Princess Daisy (2000-2003,) Birdo (2001)
2000	Backyard Baseball 2001	Sunny Day		^[18]
2000	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]
2002	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]
2009	1 vs. 100 Live	Herself
2010	Left 4 Dead 2	Zoey		^[18]
2010	Halo: Reach	Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, Cortana (Firefight)		^[18]
2012	Guild Wars 2	Demmi Beetlestone		^[23]
2012	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]
2015	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"

Other works

Year	Title	Role	Source
2014–2017	Windows Phone 8.1	Cortana	^[29]^[30]
2015–2023	Windows 10		^[31]
2021–2023	Windows 11		^[32]

References

^ Kindel, Ryan (October 2015). "The Voice Behind Cortana, Halo's Dr. Halsey". Seattle Magazine. Tiger Oak Media. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
^ "Jennifer Taylor". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Brodeur, Nicole (December 12, 2014). "The voice of Halo's Cortana is a Jane Austen type at heart". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
^ "Jen Taylor - South Texas Gamers Expo". South Texas Gamers Expo. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
^ Benedetti, Winda (October 29, 2012). "The heart of Halo: Actress talks a decade spent playing Cortana". NBC News. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
^ Owen, Rob (April 12, 2022). "Seattle actor Jen Taylor reprises role of the AI Cortana on Paramount+ 'Halo' series". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
^ Master Chief and Cortana's Favorite Lines From Halo, retrieved December 5, 2023
^ ^a ^b RWBY. Season 1. Event occurs at Closing credits.
^ "Video Games and Audio Dramas Meet at Imagination Theater". Imagination Theatre. January 23, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
^ Wright, Stewart (April 30, 2019). "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Broadcast Log" (PDF). Old-Time Radio. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
^ "Jen Taylor". Cedar House Audio Productions. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
^ "2009 Audie Awards". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
^ "Seattle Actor Profile – Jennifer Lee Taylor". Seattle Shakespeare Company. February 11, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
^ "Inheritance - Press: Interview with Jen Taylor". June 13, 2003. Archived from the original on June 13, 2003. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Hyper Chat: Jen Taylor". Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
^ Skrebels, Joe (November 11, 2020). "Halo TV Series Recasts Cortana With Original Voice Actress". IGN. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
^ RWBY. Season 3. Episode 12. Event occurs at Closing credits.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "Jen Taylor (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Retrieved September 14, 2017.
^ Monolith Productions (October 22, 2001). Aliens Versus Predator 2 (Windows). Sierra Entertainment. Scene: Credits.
^ HAL Laboratory. Super Smash Bros. Melee. Nintendo. Scene: Ending credits, 0:26.
^ Humongous Entertainment. Backyard Basketball. Infogrames. Scene: Ending credits, 1:33 in, Featuring Voices of.
^ Dream Publishing. Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal. Microsoft Game Studios. Scene: Ending credits, 16:28 in, Voice Talent.
^ "Jen Taylor - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W)". wiki.guildwars2.com. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
^ Destiny – End Credits – IGN Video. IGN Video. September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
^ Turbine, Inc. Infinite Crisis. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Scene: Credits, Voice Over Talent.
^ "Infinite Crisis Credits". Archived from the original on October 11, 2014.
^ 343 Industries. Halo 5: Guardians. Microsoft Studios. Scene: Closing credits, 7 minutes in, Main Voice and Performance Cast.
^ Skrebels, Joe (August 21, 2018). "Forza Horizon 4's Halo In-Game Event Is Real, Amazing - Gamescom 2018". IGN. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^ tomwarren (April 2, 2014). "The story of Cortana, Microsoft's Siri killer". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
^ Blair, Nancy (April 3, 2014). "Who is Cortana? It's Halo's Jen Taylor". USA Today. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
^ Aparri, Judith (May 17, 2015). "Microsoft Corporation Lets Cortana Open Apps in Windows 10". Guardian Liberty Voice. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
^ Johnson, Peter (September 4, 2021). "How to Install Cortana in Windows 11". ITechBrand. Retrieved April 9, 2022.

External links

[1] Kindel, Ryan (October 2015). "The Voice Behind Cortana, Halo's Dr. Halsey". Seattle Magazine. Tiger Oak Media. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

[2] "Jennifer Taylor". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved October 28, 2020.

[seattletimes_2014-3] Brodeur, Nicole (December 12, 2014). "The voice of Halo's Cortana is a Jane Austen type at heart". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

[:0-4] "Jen Taylor - South Texas Gamers Expo". South Texas Gamers Expo. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

[5] Benedetti, Winda (October 29, 2012). "The heart of Halo: Actress talks a decade spent playing Cortana". NBC News. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

[6] Owen, Rob (April 12, 2022). "Seattle actor Jen Taylor reprises role of the AI Cortana on Paramount+ 'Halo' series". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 19, 2022.

[7] Master Chief and Cortana's Favorite Lines From Halo, retrieved December 5, 2023

[RWBY-8] RWBY. Season 1. Event occurs at Closing credits.

[9] "Video Games and Audio Dramas Meet at Imagination Theater". Imagination Theatre. January 23, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.

[10] Wright, Stewart (April 30, 2019). "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Broadcast Log" (PDF). Old-Time Radio. Retrieved October 27, 2020.

[11] "Jen Taylor". Cedar House Audio Productions. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

[12] "2009 Audie Awards". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

[13] "Seattle Actor Profile – Jennifer Lee Taylor". Seattle Shakespeare Company. February 11, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

[14] "Inheritance - Press: Interview with Jen Taylor". June 13, 2003. Archived from the original on June 13, 2003. Retrieved September 14, 2017.

[pca-15] "Hyper Chat: Jen Taylor". Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.

[16] Skrebels, Joe (November 11, 2020). "Halo TV Series Recasts Cortana With Original Voice Actress". IGN. Retrieved November 13, 2020.

[17] RWBY. Season 3. Episode 12. Event occurs at Closing credits.

[btva-18] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "Jen Taylor (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Retrieved September 14, 2017.

[AVP2_credits-19] Monolith Productions (October 22, 2001). Aliens Versus Predator 2 (Windows). Sierra Entertainment. Scene: Credits.

[20] HAL Laboratory. Super Smash Bros. Melee. Nintendo. Scene: Ending credits, 0:26.

[21] Humongous Entertainment. Backyard Basketball. Infogrames. Scene: Ending credits, 1:33 in, Featuring Voices of.

[22] Dream Publishing. Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal. Microsoft Game Studios. Scene: Ending credits, 16:28 in, Voice Talent.

[23] "Jen Taylor - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W)". wiki.guildwars2.com. Retrieved March 5, 2025.

[24] Destiny – End Credits – IGN Video. IGN Video. September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[25] Turbine, Inc. Infinite Crisis. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Scene: Credits, Voice Over Talent.

[26] "Infinite Crisis Credits". Archived from the original on October 11, 2014.

[27] 343 Industries. Halo 5: Guardians. Microsoft Studios. Scene: Closing credits, 7 minutes in, Main Voice and Performance Cast.

[28] Skrebels, Joe (August 21, 2018). "Forza Horizon 4's Halo In-Game Event Is Real, Amazing - Gamescom 2018". IGN. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.

[29] tomwarren (April 2, 2014). "The story of Cortana, Microsoft's Siri killer". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved April 4, 2014.

[USAToday-30] Blair, Nancy (April 3, 2014). "Who is Cortana? It's Halo's Jen Taylor". USA Today. Retrieved May 2, 2016.

[31] Aparri, Judith (May 17, 2015). "Microsoft Corporation Lets Cortana Open Apps in Windows 10". Guardian Liberty Voice. Retrieved May 17, 2015.

[32] Johnson, Peter (September 4, 2021). "How to Install Cortana in Windows 11". ITechBrand. Retrieved April 9, 2022.

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