Karen Strassman
Actor
Los Angeles, CA
Biography:
Karen Strassman is an actress, voice-over artist and dialect coach, known the world over for hundreds of characters she has created in many forms. She delights in crafting characters that touch the brilliant human spirit and entertain the child within all of us.
Whether on-camera or behind a mic, Karen is extremely versatile. She has played roles as varied as the brilliant and empathic scientist Devra Bogdanovich in Ingress, a dying immigrant from Northern Ireland, doctors and lawyers, to the quirky bookish OCD accountant recurring on Weeds, to a killer's trailer trash mother on Criminal Minds. Upcoming roles include series' regular as the piercing astrologer that guides the powerful elite in Signs, premiering in 2014.
She has created hundreds of voice-over characters of all shapes, sizes, genders, ages, and species, from classic Disney princesses, to iconic villainesses, to talking jellyfish and shy tadpoles. Karen stars as 'Jinja' in the new Nicktoons series, Monsuno, and she also voices every other female character in the show (over 24 at last count).
Karen has dual American/French nationality. She spent almost half her life in France and is fluent in French (although she's also worked in German, Spanish, Danish, Italian and Yucatec!). In France, Karen studied acting at the prestigious Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique in Paris, and also began her dialect coaching career there, teaching classes at the well-known STUDIO VO/VF and coaching famous French actors in their homes and on-set. She soon got into TV, film & voiceover, and continued to dive into as much theatre as she could, both in English and in French.
On-camera in France, Karen has shot films in all kinds of locations throughout Europe, from many artsy little indie projects, to big studio productions, working with icons like Gerard Depardieu, Jan Kounen, Polanski and Merchant & Ivory. She also appeared in many of the popular French TV series at that time.
In American television, you might recognize Karen as the quirky 'Jolene Waite' on Weeds, or in other shows such as Criminal Minds, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives, House, Gilmore Girls, Betas, Big Time Rush, The Young and the Restless, Monk, Big Love, Touch...
Karen is now starring in the breakout role of Devra Bogdanovich in Ingress, Google's new innovative hybrid multimedia crossover project. She just recently performed the motion capture and voice for the lead role of 'Kara' in Red Faction Armageddon. Also, she plays the lead character of a dying Northern Irish immigrant in the new film, Lie With Me, set to come out in 2014. Karen has now been cast as the lead in the new series Luck and Baby Dust, and as one of the lead series regulars in Signs, playing opposite Gary Dourdan, both in pre- production.
Karen has also been privileged to enjoy an extraordinarily rich career as a voice-over artist. She has worked in nearly every aspect of the industry: radio and TV commercials, animation, narration, documentaries, promos, audio books, celebrity voice-matching and voice replacement, internet media, video games, talking toys, dubbing, looping, ADR....
As one of the leading VO talents in Paris for many years, Karen could be heard as the voice for Air France, Euro-star, Disneyland Paris and for audio tours of the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, among many other things... She's dubbed Juliette Binoche into English and Meg Ryan into French! And, you may have heard her as the recurring French woman's voice on the walkie-talkie on the TV series Lost...
Karen marvels at all the rich and exciting adventures she's had in her lifetime and is so deeply grateful for all the wonderful, extraordinary people she has gotten to work with and experiences shared in her short time on this little sphere hurdling through space...
Major VO clients have included Disney, HBO, Sony, Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi, Showtime, The CW, CBS, Klasky- Csupo, Viacom, THQ, Bandai, Atlus, Volition, Namco, Pioneer, Konami, Vivendi, VU Games, Square Enix Co, Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Technicolor, Disneyland, Lancôme, L'Oréal, Clarins, Vidal Sassoon, Acura, Kia, Hallmark, Mattel and Diet Coke (Karen has recently become one the new voices for Diet Coke's "Extraordinary" campaign).
An extensive list of Karen's credits can be found on IMDB or her website, but some of her favorite VO projects include: League of Legends, LEGO Friends, Monster High, Winx Club, Monster, Monsuno, Rugrats All Growed Up, Bleach, StarCraft 2, World of WarCraft, EndWar, Final Fantasy, Fallout, Everquest, Red Faction Armageddon, Persona, Bioshock 2, Castlevania, Rumble Roses, Mortal Combat, Saboteur, Silent Hill, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Tony Hawk, Valkyria, Street Fighter X Tekken, Van Helsing, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dead or Alive, Resident Evil...
Convention Guest Appearances
-
2024
Spooky Empire 2024 - October 11-13, 2024 in Orlando, FLConvention Postponed- Salinas Anime 2024 - September 28-29, 2024 in Salinas, CA
- Colossalcon East 2024 - September 5-8, 2024 in Pocono Manor, PA
- Midsummer Scream 2024 - July 26-28, 2024 in Long Beach, CA
- Tekko 2024 - July 18-21, 2024 in Pittsburgh, PA
- Bak-Anime 2024 - June 1-2, 2024 in Bakersfield, CA
- Kawacon 2024 - March 2-3, 2024 in San Antonio, TX
- Pasadena Comic Con 2024 - January 28, 2024 in Pasadena, CA
- St. Pete Comic Con 2024 - January 6-7, 2024 in St. Petersburg, FL 2023
- Elite Comic Con Waco, TX 2023 - December 2-3, 2023 in Waco, TX
- Kumoricon 2023 - November 17-19, 2023 in Portland, OR
NekoCon 2023 - November 3-5, 2023 in Hampton, VACancelled Appearance- Ronin-Expo 2023 - October 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA 2022
Actors Voice Over Expo 2022 - July 2-3, 2022 in Pasadena, CAConvention Cancelled 2021- L.A. Comic Con 2021 - December 3-5, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA 2020
Actors Voice Over Expo 2020 - July 3, 2020 in Pasadena, CAConvention CancelledKikori Con 2020 - March 6-8, 2020 in Flagstaff, AZCancelled Appearance 2019- Kumoricon 2019 - November 15-17, 2019 in Portland, OR
- Anime Expo 2019 - July 3-7, 2019 in Los Angeles, CA
No Brand Con 2019 - March 29-31, 2019 in Wisconsin Dells, WICancelled Appearance 2018- Anime USA 2018 - October 19-21, 2018 in Washington, DC
Setsucon 2018 - January 27-28, 2018 in Altoona, PACancelled Appearance 2017- Sabakon 2017 - November 18-20, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV
- Colorado Anime Fest 2017 - March 24-26, 2017 in Denver, CO 2016
- Otakuthon 2016 - August 5-7, 2016 in Montréal, QC, Canada
- Kraken Con Spring 2016 - April 23-24, 2016 in Oakland, CA
- Naka-Kon 2016 - March 11-13, 2016 in Overland Park, KS 2015
- Anime NebrasKon 2015 - November 6-8, 2015 in Omaha, NE
- Matsuricon 2015 - August 14-16, 2015 in Columbus, OH
- EvilleCon 2015 - March 27-29, 2015 in Evansville, IN
- Ichibancon 2015 - January 1-4, 2015 in Concord, NC 2014
- Animate! Miami 2014 - November 14-16, 2014 in Miami, FL
- Kumoricon 2014 - August 29 - September 1, 2014 in Vancouver, WA
- Animethon 2014 - August 8-10, 2014 in Edmonton, AB, Canada
FreeCon 2014 - April 18-20, 2014 in Tallahassee, FLCancelled Appearance 2013- San Japan 2013 - August 16-18, 2013 in San Antonio, TX 2012
- Anime Boston 2012 - April 6-8, 2012 in Boston, MA
29 confirmed guest appearances