Who is Tress MacNeille?
American voice actress Teresa Claire ‘Tress’ Payne was born in Chicago, Illinois USA, on 20 June 1951, thus making her zodiac sign Gemini. She’s had roles in over 400 animated movies and TV series, while she’s probably best known for having voiced Agnes Skinner, Dolph and various other characters in over 600 episodes of the critically acclaimed animated comedy series “The Simpsons” since it began airing in 1989. It was created by Sam Simon, Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, stars Harry Shearer, Nancy Cartwright and Dan Castellaneta, and follows the lives of Homer, his wife Marge and their three children; the series has won 213 of its 556 award nominations.
Education and early life
Tress was raised in Chicago by her parents, but because she respects their privacy, not a lot about them is known; it’s believed that her mother was a dentist, and her father a doctor. It’s also believed that Tress doesn’t have siblings, as she hasn’t spoken of having any.
She loved to watch cartoons while growing up, and dreamed of becoming a voice actress, however, Tress believed that she wouldn’t be able to succeed in the industry, and thus chose a more ‘practical’ life. She studied at a high school in Chicago, from which she matriculated in 1969, and she then enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in broadcasting in 1973.
Tress then spent several years working as a disc jockey, prior to becoming a voice actress.
Roles in animated TV series
Tress’ debut TV series role was her voicing of various characters in the 1979 adventure comedy “Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo”, and the following a couple of years heard her voice characters in the family comedy “Ri¢hie Ri¢h”, the family fantasy “Shirt Tales”, and the family adventure “Saturday Supercade”.
In 1986, Tress voiced various characters in the popular family action “Centurions”; it starred Pat Fraley, Neil Ross and Vince Edwards, and follows the lives of a group of elite soldiers. In the remainder of the ‘80s, she voiced characters in several hit animated series, such as the short adventure “My Little Pony”, the short action “Alvin & the Chipmunks”, and the family comedy “The Flintstone Kids”.
Between 1990 and 1992, Tress voiced Babs Bunny and various other characters in the short animated action “Tiny Toon Adventure”, created by Alan Smart, and in which she starred alongside Charlie Adler and John Kassir. It follows a group of characters from Warner Brothers Looney Tunes, and the series won 10 of its 19 award nominations. Tress could then have been heard voicing Kala and Old Lady in the action adventure “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, Mrs Kanifky and Cheryl Germ in the short action “Bonkers”, and Esmeralda in the short adventure “Cro”. From 1998 to 2000, she voiced Lafitte, Queen Ariella and Lumina in the science fiction adventure “Voltron: The Third Dimension”, which starred Neil Ross, B. J. Ward and Billy West, and follows Voltron and his friends as they’re trying to prevent Prince Lotor and Witch Haggar from destroying the galaxy.
Between 2000 and 2002, Tress voiced Dr. Laura and Melissa Duckstein in the short comedy “Queer Duck”, and her voice could then have been heard in the comedy drama “Mission Hill”, the family comedy “House of Mouse” and the comedy mini-series “Os Rubbles”. In 2007 and 2008, she voiced several characters in the short animated adventure “The Emperor’s New School”, created by Mark Dindal, and which starred J. P. Manoux, Patrick Warburton and Curtis Armstrong; it’s a sequel to the 2000 movie “The Emperor’s New Groove”, and follows Kuzco as he’s attending his kingdom’s school; the series won four of its seven award nominations.
Tress had many notable performances in the 2010 decade, in animated series such as the adventure comedy “The Garfield Show”, the comedy “The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show”, and the short adventure “Legend of the Three Caballeros”.
She’s voiced Caretaker, Roy’s Mother and Mrs Tate in several episodes of the critically acclaimed adventure comedy “Rick and Morty”, which Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon created back in 2013, and which stars Spencer Grammer, Chris Parnell and Justin Roiland. It follows the adventures of the smartest man in the universe and his grandson, and the series has won 20 of its 54 award nominations.
Tress is currently recording for several animated series, including the short adventure “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse”, another short adventure “Animaniacs”, and the adventure comedy “Futurama”.
Roles in animated movies
Tress’s debut voicing in an animated movie was in the 1983 “The Paragon of Comedy”, while a couple of her following roles were in the 1983 short adventure “Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls”, the English version of the Japanese 1984 adventure science fiction “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind”, and the 1984 family comedy “Cabbage Patch Kids: First Christmas”.
The year 1986 heard her voice Okami in the English version of the Japanese 1986 family adventure “Castle in the Sky”, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and which starred Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa and Kotoe Hatsui. It follows a boy and a girl as they’re searching for a floating castle, which they have to find before a group of foreign agents and pirates; the movie won an Ofuji Noburo Award at Mainichi Film Concours. The remainder of the ‘80s heard Tress voice characters in the ‘87 adventure “Yogi’s Great Escape”, the English version of the Japanese 1988 family comedy “My Neighbor Totoro”, and the 1989 adventure comedy “Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland”.
The year 1992 heard Tress voice multiple characters in the English version of the critically acclaimed Japanese adventure comedy “Porco Rosso”, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and which starred Schuichiro Moriyama, Tokiko Kato and Bunshi Katsura Vi. It follows an Italian pilot who fought in World War I, and was cursed to become a pig; the movie won three awards. Tress had roles in a couple of other hit animated movies in the remainder of the ‘90s, such as the 1993 family comedy “Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby”, the 1994 comedy drama “Pom Poko” and the 1999 family comedy “My Neighbors the Yamadas”.
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What marked the 2000s for her was perhaps her voicing of various characters in the English version of the 2006 Japanese adventure fantasy “Tales from Earthsea”, directed by Goro Miyazaki, and which starred (English version) Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe and Mariska Hargitay. It follows a man and a boy as they’re investigating strange occurrences around their homeland, and the film was nominated for three awards. Some of Tress’ notable performances in the remainder of the 2000s were in the 2007 family adventure “Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time”, the 2007 adventure comedy “The Simpsons Movie” and the 2009 adventure comedy “Mickey’s Adventures in Wonderland”.
She voiced Selina Kyle, Bruno and Old Lady in the 2013 action crime “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns”, and could then have been heard voicing characters in the 2015 family adventure “VeggieTales: Noah’s Ark”, the 2017 family comedy “The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!” and the 2017 adventure comedy “Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie”.
Tress’ most recent role has been her voicing of High-Pitched Chip and Gadget in the popular 2022 adventure comedy “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers”, which won three of its five award nominations.
Other credits
Tress co-wrote the 1983 movie “The Paragon of Comedy”.
She received special thanks for the 2001 horror comedy film “Elvira’s Haunted Hills”, the 2006 short fantasy movie “The Potato Woman”, and the 2009 video game “Angry Birds”.
Tress has voiced characters in numerous video games, with some of the most popular amongst these having been the 2010 “Kingdom Hearts Re: coded”, the 2013 “Disney Magical World”, and the 2021 “Cookie Run: Kingdom”.
She’s made a guest appearance in talk-shows “The Nerdist Podcast”, “VO Buzz Weekly” and “Minnie’s Bow-Too’s: Party Palace Pals”, amongst others.
Awards and nominations
Tress has won 10 Behind the Voice Actors Awards, most of which are for her performance in the 2017 animated adventure comedy movie “Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie”, and the animated adventure comedy series “Futurama”.
She was also nominated for a 2015 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for “The Simpsons”, and two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program in 2018 and 2021, for “VeggieTales in the City” and “Animaniacs”, respectively.
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Love life and husband
Tress is highly secretive when it comes to sharing the details of her love life with her fans, but it’s still widely known that she’s today a married woman, as well as the mother of one. She married non-celebrity American Kevin Whitsett MacNeille on 30 July 1974 (some sources state on 29 August), in a private ceremony in Carson City, Nevada; only close to 100 of their closest friends and family members attended the wedding.
Tress gave birth to their daughter a couple of years later, but the girl’s name and birthdate remain undisclosed.
Tress hasn’t mentioned other men whom she’s perhaps dated, she’s been married to Kevin Whitsett MacNeille for 48 years as of October 2022, and has a daughter with him.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Tress once suffered from an obsessed fan, Dennis ‘Quozl’ Falk, who sent her many disturbing letters, which made her contact the police. Tress was scared for her life, and didn’t make an appearance at any events organized in Dennis’ hometown.
She’s provided background vocals for Weird Al’ Yankovic’s songs “Jerry Springer”, “Pretty Fly For A Rabbi” and “Ricky”.
Tress isn’t a fan of social media networks, and doesn’t have an Instagram account, however, over 3,000 pictures and videos with the hashtag ‘tressmacneille’ have been uploaded onto Instagram by other users.
Tress is a liberal Democrat.
Her favorite actresses are Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep, and some of her favorite movies include “Changeling”, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”, and “Gia”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Tress’ age is 71. She has blue eyes and her hair is brown, she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs) and is 5ft 4ins (1.64m) tall.
Tress’ net worth’s been estimated at over $10 million, as of October 2022.
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