Michaela Jill Murphy
{{short description|American voice actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Michaela Jill Murphy
| image = File:Michaela Jill Murphy.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Murphy in 2024
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|8|18}}
| birth_place = Southern Indiana, U.S.
| other_names = Jessie Flower
| alma_mater = Yale University (BA)
| occupation = {{Hlist | Voice actress}}
| years_active = 2003–present
| website = {{URL|https://www.michaelajillmurphy.com}}
}}
Michaela Jill Murphy (born August 18, 1994), also known by her stage name Jessie Flower, is an American voice actress. She is best known for voicing Toph Beifong in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Chaca in Kronk's New Groove and The Emperor's New School.
Early life
Murphy was born in Southern Indiana and is of Irish descent.{{cite web|last=Glover|first=Dominic|url=https://www.thedominicglover.com/michaela-jill-murphy|title=Michaela Jill Murphy|website=Dominic Glover|quote=Michaela was born on August 18, 1994 in southern Indiana. At the age of four she moved to Los Angeles and began her acting career appearing in advertisements for Barbie and Mitsubishi.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509173426/https://www.thedominicglover.com/michaela-jill-murphy|archive-date=May 9, 2024|url-status=live|access-date=May 9, 2023}}{{cite podcast |url=https://omny.fm/shows/avatar-braving-the-elements/michaela-jill-murphy-on-playing-toph-beifong |title=Michaela Jill Murphy on Playing Toph Beifong |website=Avatar: Braving the Elements |publisher=Omny Studio |host1=Janet Varney |host2=Dante Basco |date=April 11, 2023 |time= |access-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509174116/https://omny.fm/shows/avatar-braving-the-elements/michaela-jill-murphy-on-playing-toph-beifong |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |quote=Yeah, so I am from the Midwest. Anybody from Indiana, Hello, Hello. So my whole family is out there and very much like eight or nine generations of Irish people...I'm four years old, and she kept trying to go out to LA}} She became interested in acting at the age of four, and her mother, Evette, moved them to Los Angeles to begin her career, where she appeared in commercials for Barbie and Mitsubishi. She starred as an orphan in Oliver! when she was five.
Career
File:Jessie_flower_anime_north.jpg in 2009]]
At the age of 7, Murphy began auditioning for voice over roles and parts where she provided automated dialogue replacement (ADR) and additional voices. Her first voice role was in the Pixar animated film Finding Nemo, where she played one of the school fishes and baby turtles.{{cite interview |last=Murphy |first=Michaela Jill |interviewer=Aliza Majid |title=Junior actress Michaela Murphy was a star in Avatar: The Last Airbender |work=The Daily Illini |date=March 30, 2021 |publisher=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |location=Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois |url=https://dailyillini.com/news-stories/around-campus/2021/03/30/voice-actor-from-avatar-the-last-airbender-hosts-qa-light-wellness-week/ |access-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630113856/https://dailyillini.com/news-stories/around-campus/2021/03/30/voice-actor-from-avatar-the-last-airbender-hosts-qa-light-wellness-week/ |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |url-status=live}} Murphy played the role of Chaca in Kronk's New Groove, and reprised the role in the spin-off series The Emperor's New School. She later called it the "most fun" voice acting she has ever done.
In 2005, Murphy voiced Meng in an episode of the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.{{cite web |title=Michaela Murphy (visual voices guide) |url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Michaela-Murphy/ |access-date=September 27, 2024 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Her performance convinced creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino to cast her as main cast member Toph Beifong because of the "energy" she brought to the role. Murphy later told The Tab that she continued voicing Toph until her first year in high school and called the role her favorite voice acting experience{{cite interview |last=Murphy |first=Michaela Jill |interviewer= |title=Junior actress Michaela Murphy was a star in Avatar: The Last Airbender |work=The Tab |date=October 6, 2015 |publisher=Tab Media, Ltd. |location=Online |url=https://thetab.com/us/yale/2015/10/06/toph-meet-actress-michaela-murphy-237 |access-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711021943/https://thetab.com/us/yale/2015/10/06/toph-meet-actress-michaela-murphy-237 |archive-date=July 11, 2021 |url-status=live}} and said she felt "pretty connected" to Toph's character, although she was only eleven years old when she was cast.{{cite web|last=Khan|first=Aina J.|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/sep/01/ive-seen-grown-men-cry-why-avatar-the-last-airbender-still-touches-millions|title='I've seen grown men cry' – why Avatar: The Last Airbender still touches millions|website=The Guardian|date=September 1, 2020|access-date=February 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101051637/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/sep/01/ive-seen-grown-men-cry-why-avatar-the-last-airbender-still-touches-millions |archive-date=November 1, 2023|url-status=live}} She would also describe the second-season episode "The Library" as one of her favorite episodes in the series.{{cite interview |last=Murphy |first=Michaela Jill |interviewer=Sloan Varunok |title=Kicking Rocks with Toph! Avatar Voice Actress Michaela Jill Murphy aka Jessie Flower Interview with Jazzy Mag! |work=Jazzy Magazine |date=November 2022 |publisher= |location= |url=https://jazzymag.net/artwork/kicking-rocks-with-toph |access-date=May 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240509181911/https://jazzymag.net/artwork/kicking-rocks-with-toph |archive-date=May 9, 2024 }}
Murphy later admitted that she is rarely recognized in public, even when cosplaying as Toph at San Diego Comic-Con without any recognizing her as the voice actor of Toph. She later appeared as a guest on the official companion podcast for the series, Avatar: Braving the Elements, hosted by Dante Basco and Janet Varney, where she would talk about Toph and what the character "meant to her," with Basco describing Murphy as a "dear friend" and praising Toph's character.{{cite interview |last1=Varney |first1=Janet |subject-link1=Janet Varney |last2=Basco |first2=Dante |subject-link2=Dante Basco |interviewer=Taimur Dur |title=INTERVIEW: Janet Varney teases “fresh new energy” for second season of AVATAR: BRAVING THE ELEMENTS podcast |work=Comics Beat |date=May 9, 2022 |publisher= |location= |url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-janet-varney-second-season-for-avatar-braving-the-elements-podcast/ |access-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211021543/https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-janet-varney-second-season-for-avatar-braving-the-elements-podcast/ |archive-date=December 11, 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite interview |last1=Basco |first1=Dante |subject-link=Dante Basco |interviewer=Taimur Dur |title=INTERVIEW: Dante Basco travels to the Earth Kingdom for new season of AVATAR: BRAVING THE ELEMENTS podcast |work=Comics Beat |date=August 9, 2022 |publisher= |location= |url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/sdcc-22-interview-dante-basco-avatar-braving-the-elements-podcast/ |access-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728190041/https://www.comicsbeat.com/sdcc-22-interview-dante-basco-avatar-braving-the-elements-podcast/ |archive-date=July 28, 2022 |url-status=live}} In a 2023, Murphy said that while she would "love to come back and do stuff" for the franchise, she supported the vision of the show's creators, including possible recasting.{{cite web|last=Peters|first=Megan|url=https://comicbook.com/anime/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-movie-original-cast/|title=Avatar: The Last Airbender Isn't Bringing Back the Original Cast for Its Movie|website=ComicBook.com|date=May 29, 2023|access-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530023242/https://comicbook.com/anime/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-movie-original-cast/|archive-date=May 30, 2023|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/05/new-avatar-the-last-airbender-film-will-be-re-cast-says-voice-of-toph/|title=New ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Film Will Be Re-Cast, Says Voice of Toph|website=Animation Magazine|date=May 30, 2023|access-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230608235936/https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/05/new-avatar-the-last-airbender-film-will-be-re-cast-says-voice-of-toph/|archive-date=June 8, 2023|url-status=live}}
She would voice other characters in animated films and series after Avatar: The Last Airbender. This included the character Peggy in Random! Cartoons (2008-2009), young Franny in the film Meet the Robinsons (2007), and other characters in the film Curious George (2006), along with Chaca in The Emperor's New School (2006) and The Emperor's New Groove 2: Kronk's New Groove (2005).{{cite web|url=https://lionsbanebooking.com/project/jessie-flower-michaela-murphy/|title=Jessie Flower / Michaela Murphy|website=Lionsbane Booking|access-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509182356/https://lionsbanebooking.com/project/jessie-flower-michaela-murphy/|archive-date=May 9, 2024|url-status=live}}
In 2014, Murphy guest-starred in The Legend of Korra as Toph's daughter Suyin Beifong.{{cite web|last=Fuentes|first=Terry|url=https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/a32631557/cast-and-characters-avatar-the-last-airbender/|title=Meet the Cast and Characters of "Avatar: The Last Airbender"|website=Seventeen|date=May 21, 2020|access-date=February 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118233438/https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/a32631557/cast-and-characters-avatar-the-last-airbender/ |archive-date=January 18, 2022 |url-status=live}} It was later described as helping lay the groundwork of Suyin's "personality while also paying tribute to her original role."{{cite web|last=Edwards|first=Belen|url=https://screenrant.com/avatar-legend-korra-actors-characters-voice-return/|title=Every Avatar Actor Who Returned In Legend Of Korra (And Who They Played)|website=Screenrant|date=December 11, 2020|access-date=February 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427080715/https://screenrant.com/avatar-legend-korra-actors-characters-voice-return/ |archive-date=April 27, 2023 |url-status=live}}
Murphy became an assistant theater manager at Yale University in fall 2014, but did not perform until the next year, joining the university's theater scene, working on a production of Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play and performing in the musical Hello Again, among other productions.{{cite web|url=https://collegearts.yale.edu/biography/michaela-murphy|title=Michaela Murphy|website=Yale College Arts|publisher=Yale University|access-date=February 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922180310/https://collegearts.yale.edu/biography/michaela-murphy |archive-date=September 22, 2023 |url-status=live}} She graduated from Yale University in 2017, where she majored in a dual B.A. in Theater and Film Studies with concentrations in Playwrighting and Screenwriting.{{cite web|url=https://www.backstage.com/u/michaela-murphy/|title=Michaela Murphy|website=Backstage.com|access-date=February 20, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240221042134/https://www.backstage.com/u/michaela-murphy/ |archive-date=February 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theozymandiasproject.com/podcast-guests/michaela-jill-murphy|title=Michaela Jill Murphy|website=The Ozymandias Project|access-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211062212/https://www.theozymandiasproject.com/podcast-guests/michaela-jill-murphy|archive-date=December 11, 2023|url-status=live}} Before that, she voiced the English dubbed voice of Eiko Carol in the World of Final Fantasy video game.
In 2021, Murphy provided the voice of Nasse in the English dub of Platinum End.{{cite web|last=Mateo|first=Alex|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-10-28/crunchyroll-announces-dubs-casts-for-platinum-end-oddtaxi-dont-toy-with-me-miss-nagatoro-sakugan-/.178953|title=Crunchyroll Announces Dubs, Casts for Platinum End, ODDTAXI, Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro, Sakugan, More Anime|website=Anime News Network|date=October 28, 2021|access-date=February 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605231433/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-10-28/crunchyroll-announces-dubs-casts-for-platinum-end-oddtaxi-dont-toy-with-me-miss-nagatoro-sakugan-/.178953 |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.made-in-asia.nl/2024/02/07/michaela-jill-murphy-aka-jessie-flower-is-our-new-special-guest/|title=Michaela Jill Murphy (aka Jessie Flower) is our new Special Guest!|website=Heroes Made in Asia|date=February 7, 2024|access-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509182134/https://www.made-in-asia.nl/2024/02/07/michaela-jill-murphy-aka-jessie-flower-is-our-new-special-guest/|archive-date=May 9, 2024|url-status=live}} The next year, she provided the voice of a minor character in the English dubbed version of Super Cub.
Personal life
Murphy resides in Los Angeles. Murphy is openly bisexual.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} In June 2021, she celebrated Pride Month in an Instagram post, writing, "Pride is forever...Be kind to those around you, love is love is love!...There have been many who don’t swing my way, on multiple gender fronts, and that’s okay!"{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CQuapNPDwXY/ |title=I was indeed the DD, shook hands with Lance Bass, and danced my tush off. Pride is forever (along with this fur coat) ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜. Happy June and happy love and happy happy! Be kind to those around you, love is love is love!... |author=Michaela Jill Murphy |date=June 29, 2021 |website=Instagram |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/michaelamostly/2607138415213217240_2607133358006634139 |archive-date=February 21, 2024 |access-date=February 21, 2024}} She broke up with her boyfriend before she began attending Yale University in 2014, and dyed her hair purple.
In September 2020, Murphy founded Bandit Basics, an e-commerce platform that sells merchandise inspired by Toph Beifong and the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe.{{cite web |url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/michaelamostly/2408373010676373349_2408370400049309185 |title=Bandit Basics is live!!! Grab the first piece of our first bundle now!! This is a LIMITED EDITION shirt, as the wholesale provider is no longer making this style! Excited for what happens next 💚🌳🌱|author=Michaela Jill Murphy |date=September 28, 2020 |website=Instagram |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/michaelamostly/2408373010676373349_2408370400049309185 |archive-date=November 7, 2023 |access-date=November 7, 2023}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2003
|Additional voices |Credited as Jessie Flower |
| 2004
|ADR cast |Uncredited |
| 2005
| Chaca | rowspan="4" |Credited as Jessie Flower |
| rowspan="6" |2006 |
| Akeelah and the Bee
|ADR cast |
| Over the Hedge
| rowspan="2" |Additional voices |
| The Ant Bully
|Uncredited |
| Brother Bear 2
|Young Nita, additional voices | rowspan="4" |Credited as Jessie Flower |
| Night at the Museum
|ADR cast |
| 2007 |
| 2008
|Additional voices |
| rowspan="2" |2011
|Justin Bieber: Never Say Never |ADR cast |Uncredited |
| That's What I Am
|Additional voices |Credited as Jessie Flower |
=Television=
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2005–2008
|Meng, Toph Beifong |
| 2006
|Girl, Ghost |2 episodes; credited as Jessie Flower |
| 2006–2008
|Chaca |Credited as Jessie Flower |
| 2008
|Peggy |
| 2014
|Young Suyin Beifong |
| rowspan="2" |2021
|Clerk |
| Platinum End
|Nasse |English dub |
| 2022
|Episode: "Sicked Slaughter" |
| 2025
|Mono |An |English dub |
=Shorts=
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2009
|ATLA: Deformed Super Shorts |Toph Beifong |
| 2015
|Recording |Cassidy |Credited as Michaela Murphy |
| rowspan="2" |2016
|The Profit |Diane | rowspan="2" |Credited as Jessie Flower |
| Happy Endings
|Lily |
| 2018
|The Flickering Forest |Forest Sprite |Credited as Michaela Murphy |
| rowspan="2" |2021
|Stalgia |Kate |Also director |
| The Letter
|Ellie | |
= Video games =
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2007
|Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth | rowspan="3" |Credited as Jessie Flower |
| 2008 |
| 2011 |
| 2016
| rowspan="2" |English dub, uncredited |
| 2024 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.michaelajillmurphy.com/}}
- {{anime News Network|people|id=215009name=Michaela}}
- {{IMDb name|id=1402100|name=Michaela Jill Murphy}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Michaela Jill}}
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Indiana
Category:American bisexual actresses
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American video game actresses
Category:American voice actresses