B. J. Ward is an American actress with an extensive career in voice acting, spanning several decades from the late 1970s to the present. Born Betty Jean Ward on September 16, 1944, in Wilmington, Delaware, she began her career in live theatre, making her stage debut in the original off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks in 1960. Before establishing herself as a voice artist, she was also a creator and performer of a one-woman musical show called Stand-Up Opera.

Ward transitioned to voice-over work in 1978 with the Hanna-Barbera production Jana of the Jungle, which marked the beginning of a prolific career in animation. She became a familiar voice in Saturday morning cartoons throughout the 1980s and 1990s, providing voices for numerous iconic characters. Her extensive list of animation credits includes Scarlett in G.I. Joe, Betty Rubble in various Flintstones productions from the 1980s to early 2000s, Wonder Woman in The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, and Velma Dinkley in a series of direct-to-video Scooby-Doo films including Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island and Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost.

In the specific context of anime and anime-influenced productions, Ward is recognized for her work on Voltron, a series adapted from Japanese anime. In the 1986 television special Voltron: Fleet of Doom, she voiced multiple key characters, providing the voice of the heroic Princess Allura, the primary female lead of the Lion Force, as well as the villainous Witch Haggar. This special, which featured crossover footage created by the Japanese studio Toei Animation, saw Ward performing opposite a cast that included Peter Cullen, Michael Bell, and Neil Ross.

Ward also contributed to the English-language version of video games, including those with a strong anime aesthetic. She provided the voice for the character Ohatsu in the 2006 action-adventure game Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. The game, developed by Capcom, is part of the Onimusha series, which features anime-influenced character designs and cinematic presentation. In this production, Ward was part of an English voice cast that included David Berón and Nika Futterman.

Throughout her career, Ward has maintained recurring collaborations with major animation studios, particularly Hanna-Barbera and its successors, contributing to a wide array of their series. Her work in video games also saw her frequently cast by talent directors and studios specializing in English dubs and localization, lending her voice to other titles such as Grandia II, Jade Empire, and Baldur's Gate II.

A notable achievement in Ward's career is her receipt of a succession of roles in the Scooby-Doo franchise, particularly as the singing voice of Velma in multiple films, which cemented her legacy within that long-running series. Beyond her acting, she is a licensed aviator and was married to director Gordon Hunt, stepmother to actress Helen Hunt, until his death in 2016.