Gerri Lawlor

{{Short description|American actress (1969–2019)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Gerri Lawlor

| image = Gerri Lawlor.png

| caption = Lawlor in 2008

| nationality = American

| occupation = Film, voice actress

| years_active = 1994–2018

| known_for = Developing Simlish

| birth_date = May 16,{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} 1969[http://www.berkeleyimprov.com/about/ Berkeley Improv]

| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|1|28|1969|5|16}}

}}

Gerri Lee Lawlor (May 16, 1969 – January 28, 2019) was an American actress, voice actress and homeless advocate. She was the co-creator, along with Marc Gimbel and Stephen Kearin, of the fictitious Simlish language used in The Sims.{{cite web|url=http://gaming.savvy-cafe.com/2008/09/gonna-play-the-sims-you-gotta-speak-simlish/ |title=Gonna Play the Sims? You Gotta Speak Simlish |accessdate=2009-02-15 |date=2008-09-08 |publisher=Savvy Gaming |quote=The voice actors who were working on the Sims are credited with actually giving voice to the Simlish language. These voice actors were Stephen Kearin and Gerri Lawlor. |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20091014213556/http://gaming.savvy-cafe.com/2008/09/gonna-play-the-sims-you-gotta-speak-simlish/ |archivedate=2009-10-14 }}

Lawlor was the voice of numerous Sims in The Sims, The Sims Livin' Large, The Sims: House Party, The Sims Makin' Magic, The Sims 2, The Sims Life Stories, The Sims: Superstar, and SimCity 4.

Lawlor played the "Vanna White" hostess in the 3DO game Twisted.

In her spare time, Lawlor was a homeless advocate. In the #BeRobin campaign of 2014, Lawlor performed improvised music and comedy on the street to raise money for the homeless with Margaret Cho. Some of those performances appeared in the 2016 documentary #BeRobin The Movie by Kurt Weitzmann.{{Citation|last=Chicago Comedy Film Festival|title=#BeRobin The Movie (Trailer) - 2016 Official Selection Chicago Comedy Film Festival|date=2016-09-01|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnKYOcILL3k |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/NnKYOcILL3k| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|access-date=2019-02-25}}{{cbignore}}

Lawlor starred as Elizabeth Goodman in the deconstructive comedic film Suckerfish in 1999. She was the voice of "The Bully" in the Annie Award-winning animated short Hubert's Brain.

Lawlor was a Company Player at BATS Improv.

Between 2006 - 2007 and in 2011, Gerri Lawlor worked closely as a female vocalist for the anonymous art collective The Residents.

Lawlor died suddenly on January 28, 2019, from causes that have not been disclosed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/in-memory-gerri-lawlor|title=In Loving Memory of Gerri Lawlor|last=Arts|first=Electronic|date=2019-02-06|website=Electronic Arts Inc.|language=en|access-date=2019-02-25}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.improv.org/gerri-lawlor/|title=In Memoriam – Gerri Lawlor|last=Improv|first=BATS|date=2019-02-20|website=BATS Improv|language=en|access-date=2023-06-30}}