If you have been any kind of nerd or geek or pop culture enthusiast in the last 20 years, chances are you know the voice of Rabbi Yoshi's guest this week on the Search for Meaning Podcast: voiceover actress Vanessa Marshall.
Though she has lent her voice to 226 shows, games, and movies, Vanessa is perhaps most famous for originating the role of the Rebel Alliance's Twi'lek pilot and general Hera Syndulla in the acclaimed Star Wars animated series Star Wars: Rebels, voicing the character in her subsequent appearances in the series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and continues to voice her in games and online web series.
During her career, she has voiced heroes -- Marvel's Black Widow and Gamora, and DC's Wonder Woman and Black Canary -- and villains - - DC's Poison Ivy and Catwoman, and Marvel's Hela, goddess of the underworld.
She's lent her voice to characters in multiple Star Wars video games (including Knights of the Old Republic II). You can hear her work in the Metal Gear Solid (Strangelove), Doom, Diablo, Ratchet & Clank, Mortal Kombat (Sonya Blade and Sheeva, and Mass Effect video game franchises; video game adaptations of the Dune novels, the James Bond franchise, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Conan, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Oh, and she also happens to have been Rabbi Yoshi's dorm neighbor during their freshman year at Princeton. From her parents -- news reporter John Marshall and actress Joan Van Ark -- to her unconventional path from a stand-up comic and plus-sized model to nerd queen, Vanessa tells her story with fun, excitement, and humor, while reflecting on the lessons she's learned.