Apple has a strange way of keeping secrets. While nearly every month of the year is stacked with leaked images of new iOS devices, Cupertino has somehow managed to keep a lid on the U.S. voice actress behind behind Siri--until now. CNN has uncovered Susan Bennett, an Atlanta woman who is clearly the voice of Apple's "virtual assistant."
Image Source: CNN
Bennett's lengthy career has sent her voice to numerous automated systems, including ATMs and corporate phone systems. And when she took a gig back in 2005 recording speech for ScanSoft, she had no idea where the snippets of audio--recorded over four hours each day--would eventually end up. In fact, it wasn't until the launch of Siri in 2011, when a friend mentioned the resemblance, that the actress suddenly realized what had happened.
"Oh, I knew," said Bennett, referring to when she heard Siri speak for the first time. "It's obviously me. It's my voice."
While Apple has declined comment on the matter, there's no denying the striking resemblance between Bennett's voice and that of Siri. CNN went so far as to hire a forensics expert to analyze Bennett's voice, and the results came back overwhelmingly convincing.*"They are identical--a 100% match," said Ed Primeau, the expert who compared Bennett's voice to the iOS speech patterns.
The Verge ran a story last month, detailing the science behind developing the speech technology behind Siri. Another voice actress featured in the video, Allison Duffy, was assumed by some to actually be the voice behind the virtual assistant. And after two years of sitting atop her secret identity, Bennett decided to reveal herself.
Be sure to check out the whole article at CNN--and the video--to hear Bennett's voice; it's a fascinating story.
Matt Clark is a freelance writer covering the world of videogames, tech, and popular culture. Follow him on Twitter @ClarkMatt and MyIGN at Matt_Clark.
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Image Source: CNNBennett's lengthy career has sent her voice to numerous automated systems, including ATMs and corporate phone systems. And when she took a gig back in 2005 recording speech for ScanSoft, she had no idea where the snippets of audio--recorded over four hours each day--would eventually end up. In fact, it wasn't until the launch of Siri in 2011, when a friend mentioned the resemblance, that the actress suddenly realized what had happened.
"Oh, I knew," said Bennett, referring to when she heard Siri speak for the first time. "It's obviously me. It's my voice."
While Apple has declined comment on the matter, there's no denying the striking resemblance between Bennett's voice and that of Siri. CNN went so far as to hire a forensics expert to analyze Bennett's voice, and the results came back overwhelmingly convincing.*"They are identical--a 100% match," said Ed Primeau, the expert who compared Bennett's voice to the iOS speech patterns.
The Verge ran a story last month, detailing the science behind developing the speech technology behind Siri. Another voice actress featured in the video, Allison Duffy, was assumed by some to actually be the voice behind the virtual assistant. And after two years of sitting atop her secret identity, Bennett decided to reveal herself.
Be sure to check out the whole article at CNN--and the video--to hear Bennett's voice; it's a fascinating story.
Matt Clark is a freelance writer covering the world of videogames, tech, and popular culture. Follow him on Twitter @ClarkMatt and MyIGN at Matt_Clark.
More...
