Tamara Levitt
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{short description|Canadian voice actor, writer, and businessperson}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tamara Levitt
| image = Tamara Levitt in Experience Life Magazine.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Levitt in photoshoot for Experience Life magazine in 2019
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|12|02}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Canadian
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for = Narrator of the Calm app
| notable_works =
}}
Tamara Levitt (born December 2, 1971) {{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B5lBStWgHlM/ |website=Instagram |title=What joy it was to kick off my birthday with some of my favorite LA friends. Had so much fun at @gratitudekitchenandbar (Thank you!!) Feeling very grateful and inspired as I head into this year! |access-date=March 11, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=812075236&lst=792134329%3A812075236%3A1583956698&sk=about§ion=contact_basic |website=Facebook |title=Tamara Levitt|access-date=March 11, 2020}} is a Canadian author, mindfulness instructor, and voice-over artist most widely known as the narrator for the Calm app.{{cite news |last1=Hess |first1=Amanda |title=STILL, SMALL VOICE: Desperately seeking sleep, millions use an app that lulls them to oblivion |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/entertainmentlife/20190730/still-small-voice-desperately-seeking-sleep-millions-use-app-that-lulls-them-to-oblivion |access-date=March 11, 2020 |agency=The New York Times |date=July 30, 2019}}{{cite news |last1=King |first1=Jamilah |title=My meditation app is stressing me out. Why is mindfulness so maddening? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/my-meditation-app-stressing-me-out-why-mindfulness-so-maddening-ncna965996 |access-date=March 11, 2020 |agency=NBC News |date=February 2, 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Cornell |first1=Camilla |title=Meet Tamara Levitt, the Toronto woman who soothes millions on the Calm app |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/small-business/going-global/article-meet-tamara-levitt-the-toronto-woman-who-soothes-millions-on-the-calm/ |access-date=March 11, 2020 |agency=The Globe and Mail |date=September 2, 2018}}{{cite news |last1=Hess |first1=Amanda |title=The App That Tucks Me In at Night |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/17/arts/calm-app-sleep-meditation.html |access-date=March 11, 2020 |agency=The New York Times |date=July 17, 2019}}{{Cite news|last=Rose|first=Hilary|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/canada-world/article/meet-tamara-levitt-the-woman-who-sends-people-to-sleep-on-the-calm-app-7ng55xptx|title=Meet Tamara Levitt, the woman who sends people to sleep on the Calm app|work=The Times of London|access-date=April 14, 2020|language=en|issn=0140-0460}}
Biography
Levitt had a difficult relationship with her father growing up. At an early age, she began singing and writing music, which helped her manage her feelings towards her father. Around age 12, she began a professional stage career, singing and acting. However, by the time she was 14, she had developed anxiety, depression and an eating disorder,{{r|TGAM}}{{cite news |last1=Bogart |first1=Nicole |title='Divine timing': How Canadian Tamara Levitt became the voice of the Calm app |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/divine-timing-how-canadian-tamara-levitt-became-the-voice-of-the-calm-app-1.4531179 |access-date=March 11, 2020 |agency=CTVNews.ca |date=July 31, 2019}} and described herself as "an angry punk rocker" whose childhood "wasn't an easy one".{{r|CTVNews}}
When she was 18, she discovered the benefits of meditation at an eight-week mindfulness and meditation course at an eating disorders centre in Toronto.{{r|TGAM|CTVNews}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/celebritytalentbios/Tamara+Levitt/437089|title=Tamara Levitt|website=www.allamericanspeakers.com|access-date=April 14, 2020}}
Career
Levitt continued working as a musician and a voice-over actress{{r|NYT}} until she gave up both in her mid-20s, because of the pressure she put herself under.{{r|TGAM}}
She began developing meditation and mindfulness sessions for corporations, together with short films, television productions, and books on mindfulness.{{r|TGAM}} Her 2017 children's book, The Secret to Clara's Calm, was reviewed by Kirkus, who said "Clara may just be too calm."{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tamara-levitt/the-secret-to-claras-calm/|title=THE SECRET TO CLARA'S CALM {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|language=en}}
In 2014, Levitt reached out via e-mail with a résumé to Calm's co-founders, Alex Tew and Michael Acton Smith.{{r|TGAM}} She has held the title of Head of Mindfulness at the app since November 2014{{r|TGAM}}{{cite news |last1=Shulman |first1=Robyn D. |title=The Number 1 Meditation App Is Now Free For Teachers And Their Students |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robynshulman/2019/02/25/the-number-1-meditation-app-is-now-free-for-teachers-and-their-students/#1ca77fb77d47 |access-date=March 11, 2020 |agency=Forbes |date=February 25, 2019}} and has undisclosed equity in the company.{{r|CTVNews}}{{r|TGAM}} As the Head of Mindfulness, Levitt leads the creative development of content on Calm. "The Daily Calm" is the app's most popular feature, which Levitt writes and then records her narration in a studio in Toronto.{{r|CTVNews}} According to The New York Times, as of July 2019 she had written and recorded "hundreds" of meditations. That same month CTV news said she was "responsible for the daily meditation practice of more than two million people."
In Levitt's first four years at Calm, subscriptions grew from 2,500 subscribers to one million.{{r|TGAM}} Fans of Levitt have described her voice as "marvelous", "hypnotic", and "somehow magic".{{r|NYT}} One stated that if she were to start recording commercials, that they would "probably end up buying three insurance policies and a Snuggie before snapping out of it".{{r|NYT}}
Personal life
Bibliography
- Happiness Doesn't Come from Headstands, {{ISBN|1614294054}}, 2013
- The Secret to Clara's Calm, {{ISBN|1614293902}}, 2017
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Commonscatinline}}
- [https://www.tamaralevitt.com/ Official site]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitt, Tamara}}
Category:Canadian health and wellness writers
Category:Canadian women in business
Category:Canadian women non-fiction writers