BIGSONG:
Jodi Marie Benson (née Marzorati; born October 10, 1961) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for providing the voice of Ariel in Disney’s 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid and throughout other films, including its sequel, prequel, and television series spin-off, as well as many other Disney works going up to the present day of the 2020s. Benson also filled in for Paige O’Hara as the voice of Belle in House of Mouse and voiced the character Barbie in the second and third films of the Toy Story franchise (1999–2010), and in the Toy Story Toons short Hawaiian Vacation (2011). For her contributions to Disney, Benson was named a Disney Legend in 2011.
She also gave voice to the spirited “Weebo” in Disney’s live action Flubber, starring Robin Williams. For Warner Bros., she did the voice of the title character in Thumbelina in 1994, a Don Bluth animated feature film with songs by Barry Manilow. Her other projects include Secret of the Wings, Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure, 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure, Balto: Wolf Quest, and Balto III: Wings of Change. She appeared as Patrick Dempsey’s assistant Sam in Disney’s live-action feature film Enchanted. While being a Disney Legend, she also voiced Jane Doe and Patsy Smiles in Cartoon Network’s Camp Lazlo. She also voiced the character Tula in Hanna-Barbera’s animated series The Pirates of Dark Water.
Benson was born and raised in a Catholic family, graduating from Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois, and Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.
She experienced a religious conversion while dating actor/singer Ray Benson (not to be confused with frontman Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel). The two of them later married in 1984. They have two children, McKinley and Delaney. An article originally published in 2013 by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said the couple “live north of Atlanta, GA.”
