Jen Taylor

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title: "Jen Taylor" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "american-film-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "american-video-game-actresses", "american-voice-actresses", "american-web-series-actresses", "actresses-from-seattle", "nintendo-people", "northwestern-university-alumni", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses"] description: "American actress" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jen_Taylor" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Jen Taylor
image	Jen Taylor (52263395059) (cropped).jpg
alt
caption	Taylor at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2022
birth_name	Jennifer Lee Taylor
birth_date
birth_place	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
occupation	Actress, Voice Actress
years_active	1993–present
::

::callout[type=note] the voice actress ::

| name = Jen Taylor | image = Jen Taylor (52263395059) (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Taylor at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2022 | birth_name = Jennifer Lee Taylor | birth_date = | birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S. | occupation = Actress, Voice Actress | years_active = 1993–present Jen Taylor is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Cortana in the Halo games and the Cortana personal assistant, the voice of Zoey in the Left 4 Dead franchise and formerly as Princess Peach, Toad and other characters in the Mario franchise from 1999 to 2008.

Career

Jen Taylor taught herself how to do voice work by recording the radio and imitating what she heard. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in theater. Before starting in voice work, she worked as a radio DJ for KNDD.

Taylor has voiced characters in video games, including Princess Peach and Toad in Mario games between 1999 and 2008. She voiced the character Cortana in Halo games since the first game in the series, Halo: Combat Evolved (2001). Two decades following the original game, Taylor reprised the role of Cortana by voice acting and performance capture in the Paramount+ TV series. At GalaxyCon Columbus in December 2023, Taylor stated her favorite line as Cortana is "Welcome home, John" from Halo 4.

Taylor has played Salem in the web series RWBY, since 2013. She voiced an episode of the radio series The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Taylor has narrated nearly 30 audiobooks, and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her narration of Tami Hoag's Mismatch was nominated for an Audie Award in 2009.

As a stage actress, Taylor has played Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Eliza Doolittle in a Seattle Shakespeare Company production of Pygmalion.

Filmography

Live-action

::data[format=table title="List of acting performances in television and film"]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2004	Inheritance	Abbey
2018	Everything Sucks!	Miss Stock	2 episodes	url=https://www.pcauthority.com.au/feature/hyper-chat-jen-taylor-469916
2022–2024	Halo	Cortana
::

| 2014 || Z Nation || Computer Voice || Ep. "Full Metal Zombie" ( Ep. 4) |- |}

Animation

::data[format=table title="List of voice performances in animation"]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2013–present	RWBY	Mysterious Narrator / Salem		series=RWBY
2015	Halo: The Fall of Reach	Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey
2022	RWBY: Ice Queendom	Mysterious Narrator / Salem	English dub
::

| 2005 || Catscratch || Snouser/Son || Ep. "Scaredy Cat/Requiem for a Cat" (season 1, episode 9) | 2006 || Ergo Proxy || Female Announcer || Ep. 15 ||

Video games

::data[format=table title="List of voice performances in video games"]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
1997	Backyard Baseball	Sunny Day
1998	Thinkin' Things: Sky Island Mysteries	Glove
Backyard Soccer	Sunny Day
1999	Backyard Football
1999–2007	Mario franchise	Princess Peach, Toad, Toadette
Princess Daisy (2000–2003), Birdo (2001)
2000	Backyard Baseball 2001	Sunny Day
Backyard Soccer MLS Edition
2001	Backyard Football 2002
Aliens versus Predator 2	Tomiko / Johnson		title=Aliens Versus Predator 2	developer= Monolith Productions
Halo: Combat Evolved	Cortana / Life Pod Pilot
Super Smash Bros. Melee	Princess Peach
Backyard Basketball	Sunny Day
2002	No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way	Cate Archer / Isako / Ninja Girls
Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal	Roxy
2004	Halo 2	Cortana
2006	SiN Episodes	Jessica Cannon
2007	Halo 3	Cortana
2008	Left 4 Dead	Zoey
2009	F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin	Lt. Keira Stokes
1 vs. 100 Live	Herself
2010	Left 4 Dead 2	Zoey
Halo: Reach	Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, Cortana (Firefight)
2012	Guild Wars 2	Demmi Beetlestone
Halo 4	Cortana, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey	Also motion-capture performance for Halsey
2013		Dota 2	Lina, Puck, Windranger, Medusa
2014	Destiny	City Civil Frame, Archive Security A.I., City P.A.
2015	Infinite Crisis	Atomic Wonder Woman
Halo 5: Guardians	Cortana, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey	Also motion-capture performance for Dr. Halsey
2018	Forza Horizon 4	Cortana
2021	Halo Infinite	Cortana, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, "The Weapon"
2026	Halo: Campaign Evolved	Cortana, Life Pod Pilot
::

| 1997 || Backyard Baseball || Sunny Day ||
| 1999 || Backyard Football || Sunny Day ||
| 2001 || Backyard Basketball || Sunny Day ||

| 2002 || Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal || Roxy ||
| 2003 || Hoyle Card Games || ||
| 2003 || Contract J.A.C.K. || Cate Archer ||
| 2004 || EverQuest II || Generic Half Elf Enemy ||
| 2005 || The Matrix: Path of Neo || Red Pill Librarian / Civilian ||
| 2006 || SiN Episodes || Jessica Cannon ||
| 2009 || F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin || Keira Stokes ||
| 2009 || Saw || Amanda Young ||
| 2009 || 1 vs 100 (Xbox 360) || Herself (Avatar) ||
| 2012 || Devil's Attorney || Susan Maple ||
| 2012 || Guild Wars 2 || Demmi Beetlestone ||
| 2013 || Dota 2 || Lina / Medusa / Puck / Windranger ||

Films

::data[format=table title="List of voice performances in direct-to-video and television films"]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
::

::data[format=table title="List of voice performances in feature films"]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
::

---

| 2008 || Taos || Maya | 2012 || Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn || Cortana

Other works

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2014–2017	Windows Phone 8.1	Cortana
2015–2023	Windows 10
2021–2023	Windows 11
::

References

References

1. Kindel, Ryan. (October 2015). "The Voice Behind Cortana, Halo's Dr. Halsey". Tiger Oak Media.
2. "Jennifer Taylor".
3. Brodeur, Nicole. (December 12, 2014). "The voice of Halo's Cortana is a Jane Austen type at heart".
4. (August 19, 2016). "Jen Taylor - South Texas Gamers Expo". South Texas Gamers Expo.
5. Benedetti, Winda. (October 29, 2012). "The heart of Halo: Actress talks a decade spent playing Cortana".
6. Owen, Rob. (April 12, 2022). "Seattle actor Jen Taylor reprises role of the AI Cortana on Paramount+ 'Halo' series".
7. "Master Chief and Cortana's Favorite Lines From Halo".
8. (January 23, 2020). "Video Games and Audio Dramas Meet at Imagination Theater".
9. Wright, Stewart. (April 30, 2019). "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Broadcast Log".
10. "Jen Taylor".
11. "2009 Audie Awards". Audio Publishers Association.
12. (February 11, 2012). "Seattle Actor Profile – Jennifer Lee Taylor".
13. (June 13, 2003). "Inheritance - Press: Interview with Jen Taylor".
14. "Hyper Chat: Jen Taylor".
15. Skrebels, Joe. (November 11, 2020). "Halo TV Series Recasts Cortana With Original Voice Actress". [[IGN]].
16. {{cite episode
17. {{cite episode
18. (October 22, 2001). "Aliens Versus Predator 2". [[Sierra Entertainment]].
19. (2001). "Super Smash Bros. Melee". [[Nintendo]].
20. (2001). "Backyard Basketball". [[Infogrames]].
21. (2002). "Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal". [[Microsoft Game Studios]].
22. "Jen Taylor - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W)".
23. (September 11, 2014). "Destiny – End Credits – IGN Video". IGN Video.
24. (2015). "[[Infinite Crisis (video game)". [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]].
25. "Infinite Crisis Credits".
26. "[[Halo 5: Guardians]]". [[Microsoft Studios]].
27. Skrebels, Joe. (August 21, 2018). "Forza Horizon 4's Halo In-Game Event Is Real, Amazing - Gamescom 2018". IGN.
28. McCaffrey, Ryan. (2025-10-24). "Halo: Campaign Evolved Is a Pretty Remake Coming to PS5, but Not an Exact One".
29. tomwarren. (April 2, 2014). "The story of Cortana, Microsoft's Siri killer". [[Vox Media]].
30. Blair, Nancy. (April 3, 2014). "Who is Cortana? It's Halo's Jen Taylor". [[USA Today]].
31. Aparri, Judith. (May 17, 2015). "Microsoft Corporation Lets Cortana Open Apps in Windows 10". Guardian Liberty Voice.
32. Johnson, Peter. (September 4, 2021). "How to Install Cortana in Windows 11".
33. "Jen Taylor (visual voices guide)".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::