Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She was best remembered for voicing the character of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019 and was married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, from 1991 until his death in 2009. She was the longest-tenured voice actress to voice the character, holding the role for 33 years. She also provided the voices of several characters in The Simpsons, most prominently Martin Prince, Uter Zorker, and Sherri and Terri.
Early life
Taylor was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 4, 1944. Taylor became the voice of Minnie Mouse in 1986, and continued to voice the character for 33 years until her death in 2019 at the age of 75. She also voiced Huey, Dewey, and Louie and Webby Vanderquack in the television series DuckTales and in other appearances. After her death, The Simpsons producers cast Grey DeLisle as her characters.
She voiced Pebbles Flintstone in The Flintstone Comedy Show for Hanna-Barbera in 1980. Taylor was also the original voice of Strawberry Shortcake and the voice of Baby Gonzo in Muppet Babies, Nova in Twinkle, the Dream Being, Pac-Baby in the television series Pac-Man, the high-pitched Nurses that were mice in The Rescuers Down Under, Melissa in the Pound Puppies episode Garbage Night: The Musical, Queen Rosedust in My Little Pony and Birdie the Early Bird in McDonaldland commercials. She was also the voice of Drizella and the Fairy Godmother in the Cinderella sequels, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.
Personal life
In 1988, Taylor met her husband Wayne Allwine, during a recording session of Totally Minnie. They married in 1991 and remained married up until his death in 2009. In 2008, a year before Allwine's death, they were both named Disney Legends.
Death
Taylor died from colon cancer on July 26, 2019, at her home in Glendale, California, at the age of 75. She is now interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park next to Allwine's grave. Kaitlyn Robrock became the current voice of Minnie Mouse later that year.
Filmography
Film
{|class = "wikitable sortable"
|+ List of voice performances in feature films
! Year
! Title
! Role(s)
! Notes
|-
| 1980
| The Private Eyes
| Doll
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1986
| My Little Pony: The Movie
| Morning Glory, Rosedust, Skunk, Bushwoolie
|
|-
| 2003
| Kim Possible
| Rocket Booster #2
|
|-
| 2003–04
| Clifford's Puppy Days
| Mrs. Zablione, Tricsie
|
|-
| 2019
| Kingdom Hearts III
| Huey, Dewey, and Louie
|
|}
Theme park attractions
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of voice performances in theme parks
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2003
| Mickey's PhilharMagic
| Minnie Mouse
| Unseen
|-
|2008
|The Simpsons Ride
| Martin Prince
|
|-
| 2020
| Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
| Minnie Mouse
| Posthumous
|}
Awards and nominations
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Awards and nominations
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Title
! Result
!Refs
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2005
| DVDX Award
| Best Animated Character Performance
| Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
|
|
|-
| Annie Awards
| Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production
| rowspan=4 | Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
|
|
|-
| 2006
| rowspan=2 | Daytime Emmy Award
| rowspan=2 | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
|
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2007
|
|
|-
| Annie Awards
| | Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production
|
|
|-
| 2008
| Disney Legend Award
| Animation - Voice
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2012
| Behind the Voice Actors Special/DVD Voice Acting Award
| Best Vocal Ensemble in a TV Special/Direct-to-DVD Title or Short
| Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess
|
|
|-
| Behind the Voice Actors Video Game Voice Acting Award
| Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game
| Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3 | 2013
| Behind the Voice Actors Special/DVD Voice Acting Award
| rowspan=2 | Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series - Children's/Educational
| rowspan=2 | Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
|
|
|-
| rowspan=5 | Behind the Voice Actors Television Voice Acting Award
|
|
|-
| Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role - Comedy/Musical
| The Simpsons
|
|
|-
| rowspan=4 | 2014
| Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role - Comedy/Slapstick
| Mickey Mouse
|
|
|-
| Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series - Children's/Educational
| Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
|
|
|-
| Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series - Children's/Educational
| Jake and the Neverland Pirates
|
|
|-
| NAVGTR Award
| Best Performance in a Comedy, Supporting
| DuckTales: Remastered
|
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2015
| rowspan=2 | Behind the Voice Actors Television Voice Acting Award
| rowspan=2 | Best Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role - Children's/Educational
| Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
|
|
|-
| Minnie's Bow-Toons
|
|
|-
| 2018
| Primetime Emmy Award
| Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
| The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular!
|
|
|}