A professional voice actor is pulling back the curtain on the success of some of the most recognizable voices in the world and exactly how much money they earn.
In a TikTok, Kristen DiMercuriothe voice behind a plethora of Bluetooth devices, shared that, despite what many people think, a lot of voice actors for popular brands aren’t paid the big bucks.
“Let’s clear it up,” DiMercurio began in her video. “A ton of you think that I’m Siri. I’m very flattered, I would have loved to be Siri, but Siri was recorded in 2005. I was 12.”
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“The real voice of Siri is a woman named Susan Bennett, and it’s kind of a sad story,” she continued.
DiMercurio explained that Bennett originally recorded the voice of Siri for a company called Scansoft, and Scansoft sold the voice to Apple, a billion-dollar corporation, for almost nothing. Bennett was not told that her voice was being used by Apple, was unaware of how much money the company paid, and did not see a single residual from it.
“She found out she was Siri when we found out she was Siri,” DiMercurio said.
In an interview with Business InsiderBennett revealed that Apple has updated the voice of Siri over the years, so it’s not her anymore, and while she hasn’t received a single check from Apple, she’s still enjoyed being the voice of Siri.
“There’s no way to measure the downside or the work I might have lost as a result of voicing Siri, but I like to look at the positive side. It’s really been fun ‘being’ Siri. It’s really given me a lot of really wonderful opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise, so no complaints here,” she told the publication. “But I do like to joke that if everyone who has an iPhone sends me a dollar, that would be pretty good compensation.”
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DiMercurio also debunked the theories that she was the voice for Google Home and Google Nest, pointing out that it’s actually a woman named Laurie Burke. With a similar story to Bennett, Burke only made $35 an hour to record her voice for Google. Then, when Google decided to compete with Amazon regarding listening devices in people’s homes, they hired someone from within.
“An employee named Kiki Baessell who already worked at Google was hired with no voice acting experience at all because they wanted her to sound like the average Joe,” DiMercurio continued. After her time working for Google, Baessell actually went on to work in a bunch of other voice-acting endeavors.
DiMercurio clarified that she’s not the voice of Alexa, either. That honor goes to a woman named Nina Roll, who DiMercurio pointed out is just another average, everyday person living in Colorado.
“None of us are rolling in it; we’re just regular people who talk into microphones. I mean, it would be nice if Alexa bought me a mansion,” DiMercurio joked. “Now you know — voice actors have been screwed over for all of history.”
It’s disappointing to learn that the people behind the most famous and recognizable voices aren’t getting paid well. Despite being heard by millions of people every day, their compensation is nowhere near that of many well-known actors.
Although, maybe that shouldn’t be surprising, as it’s just another example of compensation inequalities in Hollywood and the entertainment industry as a whole.
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Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.
