News ► Russi Taylor, voice of Minnie Mouse, dies at 75

[Sign]

Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse, passed away on July 26th, 2019. She was 75. 

Since she was a little girl, Russi had dreamed of working for Disney. A beloved story of hers involved a chance meeting with Walt Disney himself.

“When I was a little girl, I was with my mom and my brother, and it was late at night at Disneyland. We had just come off the Mark Twain Riverboat and were getting some popcorn. I looked over and saw Walt sitting on a bench, so we introduced ourselves and shared our popcorn with him. At one point during our chat, he asked me what I wanted to do when I grow up, and I said, ‘I want to work for you!’ So he said, ‘Okay!’—and now I do!”

Her dream came true in 1986, where she won this coveted role in a highly competitive audition. Russi would bring this beloved character to life in countless works ranging from film, video games, theme park experiences, and more. Among other roles, she's also well known for providing the voices of Donald Duck's mischievious nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie.

Russi was married to the late Wayne Allwine, who provided the iconic voice of Mickey Mouse from 1977 until his passing in 2009. Speaking of herself and Wayne, Russi expressed one wish:

“I really want whoever comes after us to be aware of the history and the tradition, and to love the characters as much as we do.”

 

[Launchpad]

Heartbreaking

It must have been so hard living without Wayne for ten years

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Truly devastating. She seemed like such a gentle, fun soul.

 

[Cyborg009]

this sums up what i'm feeling inside.

 

[disney233]

At least the two can see each other again. It wounds me. Of all the actors I'm aware of that passed, this one hits home for me. Especially as a fan of Disney.

 

[Zettaflare]

Heartbreaking

It must have been so hard living without Wayne for ten years

Oh wow Mickey and Minnie's VA's were married like their animated counterparts? I had no idea, that's incredible.

Anyway RIP. I loved her performance both in KH and other Minnie Mouse content

 

[Absent]

I actually teared up in IKEA when I read the headlines.

This is the last thing I saw with her.

The song now hits harder.

 

[Launchpad]

I actually teared up in IKEA when I read the headlines.

This is the last thing I saw with her.

The song now hits harder.

I watched this the day it went online, and I couldn't help but notice how good Russi sounded

 

[Zettaflare]

It's too bad Minnie didn't have a speaking appearance in KH3. I would have liked to have heard Russi in Kingdom Hearts at least one more time

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

It's too bad Minnie didn't have a speaking appearance in KH3. I would have liked to have heard Russi in Kingdom Hearts at least one more time

Reading this makes me wonder how long she had been sick for...

 

[Recon]

Aww, so sad. Her work was great. She lived a great life.

 

[Chaser]

Absolutely devastating. May she rest in peace with Wayne for the rest of eternity.

This will also be the largest retirement of Simpsons characters (at least from this picture I’m looking at), so I’m wondering how they’ll go with retiring a lot of Bart’s classmates, especially Martin, who has been voiced by Russi Taylor since the second episode of the first season back in 1990

It's too bad Minnie didn't have a speaking appearance in KH3. I would have liked to have heard Russi in Kingdom Hearts at least one more time

She voiced Huey, Dewey and Louie in Twilight Town, so she did a little bit of work for KH3.

 

[Phantom]

Really sad news, but at least she can reunite with Wayne now. Majority of Disney cartoons were dubbed here where I live, so I remember her mostly from KH and The Simpsons.

 

[horto12485]

Well there's no one to Replace her now... She will be Missed.

 

[Noir]

This will also be the largest retirement of Simpsons characters (at least from this picture I’m looking at), so I’m wondering how they’ll go with retiring a lot of Bart’s classmates, especially Martin, who has been voiced by Russi Taylor since the second episode of the first season back in 1990

I was watching Bart the Genius the other night. She was great as Martin Prince. She also played Wendell and the teins Sheri and Teri, I believe.

Sad day. Not too sure how prominent her characters were now as it's been a good 15 years since I last watched.

 

[AdrianXXII]

Sad to hear of her passing. While she lived a long life, it still seems a bit young to pass away. Her voice was the only one I really knew for Minnie Mouse, it'll be strange hearing anyone else do it.

 

[DizneyXBirds95]

Very saddened that Russi Taylor passed away just one week after Rutger Hauer (Master Xehanort in KH3) passed away.

She was phenomenal as Minnie Mouse and Huey, Dewey and Louie for most media and in the Kingdom Hearts series of games. I also did appreciate her work as the Fairy Godmother, Drizella, and Fauna.

It's going to take some time on who will be the new voice for Minnie Mouse once she makes her debut and for the next KH game.

RIP Russi, your now finally reunited with Wayne Allwine.

It's too bad Minnie didn't have a speaking appearance in KH3. I would have liked to have heard Russi in Kingdom Hearts at least one more time

Perhaps it might be because her character only appears briefly in the final montage in a non-speaking role along with the fact that Yuko Mizutani (Minnie's Japanese voice actress) passed away three years ago. It's very reminiscent to Phil from Hercules Where the original Japanese voice actor passed away and out of respect they left him as a silent cameo.

Although Russi did provided voice for Huey, Dewey and Louie in Twilight Town

 

[DizneyXBirds95]

Reading this makes me wonder how long she had been sick for...

I don't think it's the case, Minnie not speaking in KH3 might have to do with Minnie's Japanese voice actress, Yuko Mizutani who passed away three years ago along Minnie not playing much of a big role in this game which is why you see Chip n Dale being the ones to communicate Sora through the Gummi Phone at Disney Castle.

It's somewhat reminiscent with Phil from the Hercules world where he didn't say any lines in Olympus due to Ichiro Nagai (Phil's original Japanese voice actor) passing away and not playing much of a supporting role like in past visits.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I don't think it's the case, Minnie not speaking in KH3 might have to do with Minnie's Japanese voice actress, Minnie's Japanese voice actress who passed away three years ago along Minnie not playing much of a big role in this game which is why you see Chip n Dale being the ones to communicate Sora through the Gummi Phone at Disney Castle.

It's somewhat reminiscent with Phil from the Hercules world where he didn't say any lines of in Olympus due to Ichiro Nagai (Phil's original Japanese voice actor) passing away and not playing much of a supporting role like in past visits.

What? No, I meant that Zettaflare’s post made me randomly think if she had been sick prior to KH3 or if it was a more recent issue, that was all.

Lol Russi Taylor voiced Huey, Dewey, and Louie so I wasn’t concerned about Minnie specifically.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

This hurts. She'll be missed. Minnie was always my favorite animated mouse.