|
The female counterpart of both Kevin Michael Richardson and Phil LaMarr.
Born in Los Angeles in 1969 and raised in Canada, Summer's voice-acting career began in 1983 when she was cast as the voice of niece Penny on the original cartoon version of Inspector Gadget. Her unique, throaty voice was instantly recognizable to casting agents (as well as viewers even today), who began frequently casting her in animated programs.
In all, Summer has voiced over 100 animated characters since 1983, many of them African-American girls (she herself is half-white, a quarter African American, and a quarter Native American), though she has voiced her fair share of white girls, such as Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toon Adventures and Penny from Inspector Gadget. These have spanned the realm of video games, cartoon television series, animated films and commercials.
She's done live-action work as well, most notably as Freddie Brooks on A Different World, and is an accomplished singer-songwriter with two albums to her credit (though most of her singing has been "in character").
Sometimes credited under her full name, Cree Summer Francks.
Notable roles[]
- Aka Pella in Histeria!
- Blackarachnia in Transformers Animated
- Dr. Penelope Young in Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Dulcy the Dragon in Sonic the Hedgehog
- Elmyra Duff and Mary Melody (the black girl who looks like So White from Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs and is often seen as Furball's master—if she ever gets screentime at all) in Tiny Toon Adventures and Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain
- Foxxy Love in Drawn Together
- Freddy in A Different World (her only significant live-action role)
- Lady Macbeth in Project Gee Ke R
- Madame Xanadu and Aquagirl in Young Justice
- Maxine Gibson in Batman Beyond
- Miranda from As Told by Ginger
- Numbuh 5 and her sister Cree Lincoln in Codename: Kids Next Door
- Penny on the original cartoon version of Inspector Gadget
- Princess 'Kida' Kidagakash in Atlantis the Lost Empire, her first major role in an animated film
- Princess Kitana in Mortal Kombat Defenders of the Realm
- Selendis in Starcraft II
- Susie Carmichael in Rugrats and All Grown Up!
- Summoner Belgemine and young Tidus in Final Fantasy X
- Lenne in Final Fantasy X 2
- Tiff on My Life as a Teenage Robot
- Valerie Gray in Danny Phantom
- The green M&M.
- Cleo the purple poodle, on Clifford the Big Red Dog
- Chilly Cooper in Slimer! and The Real Ghostbusters
- Chloe in Sabrina the Animated Series
- Panthera in ThunderCats (2011)
- Catnip the blue siamese cat, in Hello Kittys Furry Tale Theater
- Nefertina in Mummies Alive!
- Dr. Sinclair in Freelancer
- She Hulk in The Incredible Hulk (season 2)
- Alison Crestmere/Magma in X Men Legends
- Pilgrim the dog, Kermit's star, and Kermit's mother in Kermit's Swamp Years
- Medusa in Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Granny May from Word Girl
- Penelope the dragon from Barbie as Rapunzel
- Evil Cynder from the first The Legend of Spyro game.
- Storm from The Superhero Squad Show
- Cookie BaBoom, the Mayor's deranged "exotic dancer" ex-girlfriend from The Mask episode "Flight as a Feather"
- Prince Louie from the later episodes of Jungle Cubs
- The offscreen singer for the "Tiger Prince" episode from Animaniacs
- Archangel Auriel of Diablo
- Roller Brawl from Skylanders