Vanessa Marshall is an American voice actress known for her extensive work in animation, video games, and anime dubbing. Born in Los Angeles in 1969, she is the daughter of actress Joan Van Ark and journalist John Marshall. She pursued higher education at Princeton University, where she majored in English, before earning a master of fine arts in acting from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, a program where she focused on learning various dialects. Her entry into voice acting was serendipitous; she was discovered by a talent agent during a solo sketch comedy performance in which she portrayed fifteen different characters.

In the realm of anime dubbing, Marshall is recognized for providing the English voice of Bella Yaga in the Studio Ghibli film Earwig and the Witch. Bella Yaga is a blue-haired witch who adopts the film's protagonist to serve as her assistant in spell-craft. Her other credits in anime include roles in the series Scissor Seven, where she voiced a Normal Assassin and the Master of the Heaven Lily Sect, and in Terminator Zero as Natsuko, along with additional voices. She has also contributed voices to animated series dubbed from other languages, such as the French-Canadian film Snowflake, the White Gorilla.

Marshall's career is far more expansive than her anime roles, featuring prominently in Western animation and video games. She has lent her voice to a host of iconic characters, including Hera Syndulla in Star Wars Rebels, Wonder Woman in several DC animated films like Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Black Widow in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series. Her video game work is equally prolific, with performances as Olga Gurlukovich in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Samus Aran in the Metroid Prime series, and Strangelove in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

Throughout her career, Marshall has frequently collaborated with a consistent circle of fellow voice actors, including Steve Blum, Grey DeLisle, and Jennifer Hale. Her education in dialects and her background in sketch comedy have been instrumental in her ability to create diverse and distinct character voices. Beyond performing, she has also worked as a voiceover coach, sharing her expertise with aspiring artists.