IMDB

Actor

1960-02-20 · Los Angeles, California, USA · Female

28 series in the catalog

Wendee Lee is an American voice actress, writer, and director.

Early life

Lee studied dance and theater and later became a full-time dancer in her teens. According to her interview on the Magic Knight Rayearth DVDs, she started doing voices at school and got in trouble for it.

Career

Lee's first anime voice role was in Harmony Gold production Robotech in the 1980s, where she voiced Vanessa Leeds, one of the operators aboard the SDF-1 Macross. She also worked with Streamline on several anime productions including Dragon Ball. She would continue dance and work part-time as a make-up artist, choreographer, and dance instruction.

Lee's major voice roles in anime include Kei in the Pioneer dub of Akira, Faye Valentine on Cowboy Bebop, Myōjin Yahiko in Rurouni Kenshin, Takeru "T.K." Takaishi on Digimon Adventure, Haruhi Suzumiya on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Konata Izumi on Lucky Star. She has also worked as an ADR director on Bleach, Love Hina and Outlaw Star and a casting director on The Night B4 Christmas. In 2014–2015, she voiced Queen Serenity in the Viz Media re-dub of the classic Sailor Moon series and the new Sailor Moon Crystal series.

In 2023, Lee was embroiled in controversy after a decision by Viz Media and Studiopolis to not move forward with Anairis Quiñones as Yoruichi Shihōin, with the role in Bleach being reprised by Lee.

In popular culture

Professional wrestler AJ Mendez adopted the latter part of her ring name in honor of Lee.

Bibliography

Mendez Brooks, AJ (April 4, 2017). Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules. Crown Archetype. ISBN 978-0451496669.

Wendee Lee on X

Wendee Lee at Anime News Network's encyclopedia