Lisa Michaelson

Description
Lisa Michelson was an American voice actress active in the 1980s and early 1990s, primarily known for her work on English-language dubs of Japanese anime produced by Streamline Pictures. She was born Lisa Paulette Michelson on March 31, 1958.

Michelson's career was closely associated with the early days of anime localization in the United States. Her most iconic and enduring roles are for Streamline Pictures, where she provided the voice for the lead characters in two of Studio Ghibli's earliest films released in North America. She voiced the elder sister Satsuki Kusakabe in the 1988 English dub of My Neighbor Totoro and the young witch Kiki in the 1989 dub of Kiki's Delivery Service. These performances introduced these beloved characters to English-speaking audiences for the first time.

Beyond these famous roles, Michelson had a substantial career voicing characters in other notable anime titles of the era. Her filmography includes roles such as Rasa in Birth, Addy in Zillion, and the Android Girl in the "Presence" segment of the anthology film Robot Carnival. She also contributed additional voices to the English version of the Fist of the North Star movie. In addition to feature films, her work extended to television, with voice roles in series like Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, where she played characters including Nana Doris, Josephine, and Princess Alea.

Michelson's work often placed her among a consistent group of voice actors working with Streamline Pictures. She was married to fellow voice actor Gregory Snegoff, and she was sometimes credited under the names Lisa Michaelson or Lisa Snegoff. Her career was marked by her contributions to some of the most significant English adaptations of Japanese animation during the medium's growth in popularity in the West. Lisa Michelson died on September 14, 1991, in Los Angeles, California. The American localization of the film Robot Carnival includes a dedication to her memory in its end credits.
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