Junko Hori was a Japanese actress and voice actress born on February 2, 1935, in Tokyo, Japan, and she passed away on November 18, 2024, at the age of 89. She was affiliated with the talent agency Production Baobab and was a graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University. Her career in the entertainment industry began in the 1960s, and she became widely recognized for her distinctive voice, which was frequently cast to play energetic young boy characters.

Hori is particularly renowned for voicing the protagonists in three major works by the legendary manga duo Fujiko Fujio. These roles include Q-Taro in the 1971 series New Obake no Q-tarō, Kanzō Hattori (Hattori-kun) in Ninja Hattori-kun, and the titular character in Chinpui. Her filmography from this era is extensive and includes many of the roles listed, such as Cat Eyed Boy in Cat Eyed Boy, Gaatarō in Kappa no Sanpei, Ikasama in The Adventures of Gamba, Kei in Pink Lady Monogatari: Eiko no Tenshitachi, Tenten in Konchu Monogatari Shin Minashigo Hutch, Tako-chan in Voltes V, and the Devil Child in The Fantastic Adventures of Unico. She also voiced Mii in both the 1969 and 1972 Moomin anime series, Tao in The Mysterious Cities of Gold, and Sasuke in the Ganbare Goemon video game series.

In addition to her work in anime, Hori was a highly active voice actress in dubbing foreign films and television series for Japanese audiences. She is famously known as the long-time Japanese voice of Jerry from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series during the late 1960s and as Bart Simpson in The Simpsons. Her other dubbing roles included Annie in Little Lulu and Woody Woodpecker in DVD editions of the cartoon.

Beyond voice acting, Hori had a significant career in stage acting. Inspired by personal family history related to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, she adapted a children's book into a one-woman play titled Asa-chan, in which she performed all five roles herself. She began performing this anti-war play in 1989 and continued to do so for decades, aiming to reach 500 performances. In recognition of her extensive contributions and lifetime achievement in the voice acting industry, she was honored with the Achievement Award at the 11th Seiyu Awards in 2017.