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Minnie Mouse Voice Actress Russi Taylor Passes Away at 75

The Walt Disney Company announced on Saturday that voice actress Russi Taylor passed away on Friday. She was 75.

Taylor is best known as the voice actress of the Disney character Minnie Mouse. She began voicing the role more than 30 years ago, and has voiced the role in television shows, theme park experiences, films, video games, and animated shorts. She notably voiced the character Queen Minnie in several games in the Kingdom Hearts video game series.

The Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger provided a statement on Taylor's passing:

Minnie Mouse lost her voice with the passing of Russi Taylor. For more than 30 years, Minnie and Russi worked together to entertain millions around the world — a partnership that made Minnie a global icon and Russi a Disney Legend beloved by fans everywhere. We're so grateful for Russi's talent as well as the tremendous spirit and great joy she brought to everything she did. It was a privilege to have known her and an honor to have worked with her, and we take comfort in the knowledge that her work will continue to entertain and inspire for generations to come. Russi will be sorely missed and our hearts go out to her family and friends, along with our deepest condolences.

Russi married fellow voice actor Wayne Allwine in 1991. Allwine voiced the character of Mickey Mouse starting in 1977. Taylor and Allwine stayed together until Allwine's death in 2009.

She also voiced other iconic characters for Disney, including Huey, Dewey, and Louie in the DuckTales animated series and Nurse Mouse in The Rescuers Down Under. She also voiced the characters Martin Prince, Sherri, and Terri on The Simpsons.

In anime, she has voiced the characters Daisy Nohara, Max, and Shin's Grandmother in the Shin chan anime, and Otama in Pom Poko. She also played additional voice roles in the Tales from Earthsea film.

Image via Disney Animation's Twitter account

Sources: Walt Disney Company's Twitter account, Variety (Nate Nickolai)