She’s iconic!
Cree Summer is a veteran award-winning actress who got her start doing voice acting as a child, Turner Classic Movies reports. The daughter of Canadian actor and singer Don Francks, Summer got her first major role as Penny, on “Inspector Gadget,” IMDB reports. She parlayed her incredible talent into more voice acting roles throughout the ‘80s including performances in “The Care Bears Family” and “Strawberry Shortcake” TV movies.
In 1988, Summer was catapulted into fame, landing a role on the hit NBC sitcom “A Different World.”Her character “Freddie Brooks,” was relatable to young viewers and cemented her as a cultural icon. When her show ended in 1993, Summer continued her work in Hollywood, racking up an impressive resume in animation.
Her most notable roles include characters like Princess “Kida” Kidagakash in Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Elmyra Duff on Tiny Toon Adventures, junior heroine Numbuh 5 on Codename: Kids Next Door, Foxxy Love on Drawn Together, Tiff Crust and Queen Vexus on My Life as a Teenage Robot, Cleo in Clifford the Big Red Dog, Susie Carmichael in Rugrats, Cynder from The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, and Dr. Penelope Young in Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The voice of an entire generation, Summer has become synonymous with some of our favorite cartoon characters. When she’s not lending her voice to the next big animation projects, she has also found success as a singer-songwriter, previously contributing background vocals to Jasmine Guy’s project, forming her own band called Subject to Change, and releasing a solo album produced by Lenny Kravitz in 1999 called “Street Faërie.”
As a Black woman, Summer has used her voice to blaze trails and open doors where there previously weren’t any. Her ability to transform into characters of any type or even objects is a gift and one that has helped expand possibilities for Black girls everywhere. When we think about Cree Summer, let’s remember her many voices, the power she gave to us all through her characters, and a legacy that is simply timeless.
Thank you Cree!
Cover photo: The many voices of Cree Summer/Photo Courtesy of Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images/Illustration
Courtesy of Tekena/@Furie_Rage/@IAmCreeSummer/Instagram