Lisa Ann Beley

Lisa Ann Beley is a Canadian actress and voice teacher from Edmonton, Alberta. She has worked extensively in animation, often voicing regal characters and authority figures. Some of her better known characters are Cammy White in "Street Fighter", Madame Hydra/Ophelia Sarkissian in "X-Men: Evolution", Teela in "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe", Medusa/Medusalith Amaquelin in "Inhumans", Scarlett/Shana M. O'Hara in both "G.I. Joe: Spy Troops" and "G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom", and Thena in "Eternals". Beley grew up in Edmonton, but moved to Vancouver to pursue a college education. She attended the University of British Columbia's acting program. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990. She went back to school in 1995, graduating from York University with a Master of Fine Arts in 1997. She also earned a diploma in voice teaching. Beley voiced Chi-Chi in Ocean Group's English dub of the animated films "Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone" (1989) and "Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest" (1990). She resumed the role in the Ocean Group's dub of the series "Dragon Ball Z" (1989-1996). The character was the wife of the protagonist Goku. Chi-Chi was typically depicted as tough and feisty, but her superhuman abilities were less advanced than those of her husband and she lacked Goku's taste for adventures. In the space opera series "Exosquad" (1993-1994), Beley voiced the young lieutenant Nara Burns. Nara was the least experienced member of an elite unit of exoframe pilots, fighting in an 22nd-century interplanetary war which had already cost the lives of both her parents. Nara eventually became her unit's leader, replacing her predecessor J.T. Marsh. In "Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture" (1994), Beley voiced the female ninja (Kunoichi) Mai Shiranui. The film was based on the then-popular fighting game series "Fatal Fury" (1991-1999), where Mai was one of the main characters. Mai was typically depicted as having a fascination for traditional Japanese arts and rituals, combined with an enthusiasm for heavy metal music. In the short-lived fantasy series "Darkstalkers" (1995), Beley voiced two of the main characters. She voiced both the American werecat Felicia and the Chinese jiangshi girl (hopping vampire or revenant) Hsien-Ko. The series was an adaptation of the video game series "Darkstalkers" (1994-1997). The original series took inspiration from the gothic horror genre, and most of the featured characters were sentient monsters. Character types in this series included bigfoots, demons, dhampirs (vampire-human hybrid offspring), ghosts, golems resembling Frankenstein's monster, jianghshi-type revenants, mermen, mummies, succubi, vampires, werecats, werewolves, witches, and zombies. In "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" (1995-1996), Beley voiced the series' female lead, Relena Darlian / Relena Peacecraft. Relena was the adoptive daughter of a senior diplomat, and (by birthright) the last surviving heir to the throne of the Sanc Kingdom. Following the assassination of her adoptive father, Relena was pushed to a leadership position by the Romefeller Foundation. The leading members had planned to use her as a mere figurehead, but Relena used political maneuvers to gain enormous political influence in her own right. In the action series "Street Fighter" (1995-1997), Beley voiced Cammy White. The character was portrayed as a member of Delta Red, as the main love interest to the protagonist William F. Guile, and as a brainwashed agent of the ruthless general M. Bison. The series was based on the popular video game series "Street Fighter", where Cammy was one of the main characters. In the video games, she was given the background of an amnesiac assassin, who became a skilled operative for Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). In most incarnations of "Street Fighter", Cammy is depicted as the result of M. Bison's project to create super-soldiers. In "X-Men: Evolution" (2000-2003), Beley voiced a version of the female super-villain Madame Hydra/Ophelia Sarkissian. Her version of the character was depicted as the true leader of the espionage organization HYDRA. In comic books, Ophelia (code-named Viper) has been depicted as a Hungarian orphan girl who was trained for decades as a HYDRA operative, before starting her solo career as a villain. Ophelia has been variously depicted as a leader for the villain teams Serpent Squad and Serpent Society (composed of snake-themed super-villains), as a member of the inner circle of the Hellfire Club, as a ruler of the island nation of Madripoor, as the ex-wife of the superhero Wolverine/James Howlett, as a lover for the villains Silver Samurai/Kenuichio Harada and Red Skull/Johann Shmidt, and as a surrogate mother for the superheroine Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew (who is also a former HYDRA operative). Also in "X-Men: Evolution", Beley voiced the original character of Dr. Deborah Risman. Deborah was depicted as a scientist who has worked for both of the rival espionage organizations HYDRA and SHIELD,. She was responsible for the creation of X-23, Wolverine's female clone. When X-23 was adapted into into the mainstream Marvel universe, the role of her creator and mother was given to a character similar to Deborah, but named as "Sarah Kinney". In "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" (2002-2003), Beley voiced Murrue Ramius, the female captain of the assault ship "Archangel". She was depicted as skilled at her job, but reluctant to endanger her crew, and entirely unwilling to abandon incapacitated subordinates to their fates. In the same series, Beley voiced Eileen Canaver. Eileed was initially depicted as a councilwoman in the PLANT Supreme Council and as the chairwoman of a diplomatic committee. She later became the leader of the PLANT group of space colonies by using a successful coup d'état to her advantage. In "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" (2002-2004), Beley voiced the superheroine Teela. As in previous depictions, Teela was still portrayed as a warrior woman and as the captain of the Royal Guard. But this version was still only 16-years-old, and was more cocky and more aggressive than previous incarnations. She also briefly displayed telepathic powers of her own. She was still depicted as the adoptive daughter of the heroic Man-At-Arms, but her origin story in this series hinted that he was possibly her biological father as well. In the computer-animated films "G.I. Joe: Spy Troops" (2003) and "G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom", Beley voiced Scarlett/Shana M. O'Hara. The character is typically depicted as a prominent member of the G.I. Joe Team and as a skilled martial artist. According to her origin story, Scarlett is a Southerner from Atlanta, Georgia. Her code-name is a reference to her perceived resemblance to Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind" (who was also a resident of Atlanta). Beley resumed the role of Murrue Ramius in the sequel series "Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny" (2004-2005). In this series, Murrue learned that her supposedly deceased lover Mu La Flaga was still alive, but brainwashed into a new identity and given false memories. She eventually helped him to recover his original personality, and they were able to resume their relationship. In "Transformers: Cybertron" (2005), Beley voiced Override, a female Autobot. The character had become the leader of the planet Velocitron in part due to her skills in racing, her quick-witted response to situations, and her sheer determination. Her main flaws were her arrogant belief in her own superiority, and her enthusiasm for taking risks. Override also served as a surrogate sister for the human girl Lori Jiménez. In "Death Note" (2006-2007), Beley voiced the recurring character Halle Lidner. Halle was depicted as a retired CIA agent who joined in the investigation for the serial killer Kira for personal reasons. One of the predecessors of Kira had reportedly killed someone that she cared about, though the identity of the victim was not specified. Halle was perfectly willing to assist both of the rival investigators Near and Mello, as she was uninterested in their power games. In "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" (2007-2009), Beley voiced Sumeragi Lee Noriega. The character was the main strategist aboard the mothership "Ptolemaios", and skilled at making accurate predictions of potential outcomes. However she blamed herself for acting on faulty intelligence in a previous mission, and unwittingly causing the death of one of her loved ones. Sumeragi struggled throughout the series to accept that she was not expected to be perfect and infallible, her allies simply wanted her to perform her duties as best as she could. In the film "Planet Hulk" (2010), Beley voiced the shadow warrior Caiera the Oldstrong. The film was based on the comic book story-line "Planet Hulk" (2006-2007) by Greg Pak. In the original story, Caiera was depicted as the new love interest of the Hulk/Bruce Banner and (briefly) his new wife. While the comic book version of Caiera was killed at the end of the story-line, she was survived by their twin sons, Skaar and Hiro-Kala. In the mini-series "Inhumans" (2013), Beley voiced the Marvel superheroine Medusa/Medusalith Amaquelin. The character has prehensile hair which she regularly uses as a weapon. Medusa is the Queen (originally queen consort, later queen regnant) of the Inhumans, a genetically-modified subspecies of humanity. Medusa has served as a member of both the villainous Frightful Four and the heroic Fantastic Four, teams typically opposed to each other. Medusa is the older sister of the superheroine Crystal/Crystalia Amaquelin, the original wife of the hero Black Bolt/Blackagar Boltagon, and the sister-in-law and main love interest for the villain Maximus the Mad. In the mini-series "Marvel Knights: Eternals" (2014), Beley voiced the Marvel superheroine Thena. Thena is typically depicted as a member of the Eternals, a genetically-modified subspecies of humanity which consists of effectively immortal beings with advanced powers. Thena has named herself after the goddess Athena (who she has met in person), and is the favored daughter of the leader Zuras (who styles himself after the god Zeus). Thena is the past lover of the immortal villain Kro, and the mother of his twin children, Donald and Deborah Ritter. In a 2018 episode of the "Superbook", Beley voiced Queen Bathsheba of Israel. The biblical character was the favored wife of David, King of Israel (who arranged the death in combat of her original husband in order to marry her), and the mother of his successor Solomon. The ambitious queen managed to have her son chosen as the heir, in preference to his older paternal half-brothers. All of the later kings of Judah were supposedly Bathsheba's descendants. Beley has been rather inactive in the 2020s, though it is unclear whether her seeming retirement is permanent. She has gained a cult following among animation fans for her roles in several popular series over the decades of her career.