Last International Women’s Day, we celebrated 5 Malaysian voice actresses who have made their mark on the entertainment industry in various ways. This year, we’re expanding that list to include more actresses of Southeast Asian descent who hail from all over the world.
From the world’s biggest videogames to appearing in popular anime, here’s 8 talented Southeast Asian voice actresses you should know:
1. Risa Mei
Risa Mei is a Chinese-Indonesian singer and voice actress from Los Angeles, California. If you’re a Hoyoverse fan, then you’re probably familiar with some of her recent roles, which include Sangonomiya Kokomi from Genshin Impact, Burnice from Zenless Zone Zero, and Lynx from Honkai: Star Rail, just to name a few.
She is also a motion capture artist and suit actress with experience performing for Universal Studios Osaka and Netflix, and is additionally notable for being an actress with dwarfism.
2. Anne Yatco
Hailing from a small town in Illinois, Anne Yatco is a Filipino voice actress whose roles include being the English voice for Nobara Kugisaki from Jujutsu Kaisen, Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact, and Ho’olheyak from Arknights, among many others.
While she started her professional career as a forensic scientist, she ultimately chose to pursue her dream of being an actress and comedian. She has performed in theaters all over the world in both dramatic stage productions, and as part of comedy sketch teams.
3. Vanille Velasquez
Vanille Velasquez is a Filipino voice actress who got her start in the voice acting industry through Dubbing Academy, a Filipino reality TV contest. She emerged as the show’s first runner-up, which led her to various opportunities in the Filipino dubbing industry, landing roles such as Lana and Lisa in the Tagalog version of The Loud House.
Her first original role would come in 2020, when she was cast as Kokeko in the Singaporean animated TV series Lil’ Wild. A year later, she would land the titular role of Jelly in PBS Kids’ Jelly, Ben & Pogo, as well as two of her biggest roles to date – Zeri from League of Legends, and Neon from Valorant.
4. Xanthe Huynh
Xanthe Huynh is an American voice actress of Vietnamese descent, who first discovered her passion for acting in middle school, and would go on to earn her degree in the Dramatic Arts from the University of California. While studying, she participated in a voice acting competition at Anime Expo, where she placed as a finalist.
The competition led her to be discovered by Bang Zoom Entertainment, an anime dubbing studio who she has continued to work with to this day. Some of her most recent roles include being the English voice of Osaragi from Sakamoto Days, Dagger from Marvel Rivals, and Juno from Overwatch.
5. Ratana
Ratana Therakulsathit, simply known as Ratana, is an American Thai-Filipino voice actress best known for playing Yae Miko from Genshin Impact. She has also appeared in a number of games and TV series, with roles including Wave from Marvel Super War, Leonie from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and additional voices for the English dub of Trese.
She is also a brand strategist with over 10 years of experience in the industry, who provides training for both companies looking to grow their businesses, and individuals wanting to improve their networking, leadership or personal branding skills.
6. Lauren Choo
Singaporean-Taiwanese actress Lauren Choo is known for being the English voice of Grave from Goddess of Victory: Nikke and Seorin from Solo Leveling: Arise, as well as providing additional voices for Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and Diablo IV.
She got her start at UC San Diego, where she studied for a Bachelor’s in Theatre. A voice actor’s visit to her school inspired her to take up voice acting. Being fluent in three languages, she cites her exposure to multiple cultures as a strength in her line of work.
7. Sumalee Montano
An investment banker-turned-voice actress, Sumalee Montano is an American actress of Thai and Filipino descent. Having had a passion for acting since she was a child, Montano originally decided to pursue voice acting as she felt she would have more opportunities in the field as opposed to on-camera roles, especially as she began her career in the 90’s, a time when on-screen Asian representation was fairly limited.
Montano has played over 200 animated roles across TV, games, and film, with notable examples including the female Inquisitor from Dragon Age: Inquisition, Yuna from Ghost of Tsushima, and Arcee from Transformers: Prime.
8. Tania Gunadi
Tania Gunadi was born in Bandung, Indonesia, where she spent her childhood before moving to Los Angeles as a teenager. She was inspired to take up acting after landing a role in a Disneyland commercial, and has made appearances in various live-action and animated projects ever since.
Gunadi is known for playing Lunox in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Alune from League of Legends, and Miko Nakadai from Transformers: Prime, among many others.
Who’s your favourite Southeast Asian voice actress? Let us know in the comments!
