Jodi Marie Marzorati Benson (born October 10, 1961) is an American actress, voice actress, and singer. She's best known for voicing Ariel from The Little Mermaid, a role she's reprised in all future projects since, making her the longest running voice actress for a Disney Princess. She was born and raised in a Catholic environment, graduating from Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois. She married actor/singer Ray Benson in 1984. They have two children, McKinley and Delaney.
She has no relation to Robby Benson (the voice of the Beast).
Here is a list of all the major works she's done:
- The Little Mermaid franchise - Ariel
- Toy Story 2 - Barbie ( She would reprise the role for the Toy Story Toons shorts, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 )
- The title character of Thumbelina (1994)
- Hercules - Helen Of Troy
- A Bug's Life video game - Queen Atta
- Aladdin: The Series video game - Nerissa
- Batman Beyond - Aqua Girl
- The Wild Thornberrys - Mother Cheetah
- The Mighty Kong - Ann Darrow
- House of Mouse - Ariel, Belle
- Joseph: King of Dreams - Asenath
- Kingdom Hearts - Ariel
- Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure - Lady
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - The Blue Fairy, Floraculture Lady, Rich Lady
- The Balto sequels - Jenna
- Duck Dodgers - Princess Incense, Captain Tortelli
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Lastelle's mother (2004 English dub)
- Camp Lazlo - Patsy Smiles, Ms. Jane Doe, Almondine
- Enchanted - Sam
- The Little Engine That Could - Jillian
- Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings - Healing Fairy
- Grandia II - Millennia and Reena
- Kinect: Disneyland Adventures - Ariel
- Sofia the First - Ariel, Queen Coraline
- Clarence - Diana
- Star vs. the Forces of Evil - St. Olga's singing teacher
- Ralph Breaks the Internet - Ariel
Here are tropes associated with her:
- Adorkable: She voices plenty of awkwardly endearing young characters with a ton of energy. She's also this in real life, being very geeky and a bit childish, yet still adorable.
- Genki Girl: She voices plenty of spunky and energetic characters. She's also this in real life, showing great enthusiasm.
- Hiccup Hijinks: At times, she gets hiccups from eating too much.
- Older Than They Look: She looks 40, yet is actually 57. Older than she sounds, too, considering that she can still do the young Ariel's voice exactly the same way over thirty years later.
- Role Reprisal: She's voiced Ariel in every Disney production since 1989.
