Voice of Amazon's Alexa reveals eerie reality of what happens when she speaks to device
The name Susan Caplin might mean nothing to you, but according to one corner of the internet, millions of you might’ve spoken to her without even knowing it.
There are plenty of distinct voices out there in pop culture, with the likes of James Earl Jones, Christopher Walken, and Jennifer Tilly all being instantly recognizable.
Elsewhere, no one is missing out on President Donald Trump’s voice thanks to his viral soundbites, or what about Joanna Lumley providing the iconic 'You've Got Mail' to AOL in the United Kingdom?
There's been a massive boom in people getting celebrity messages via Cameo, with even Halo announcer Jeff Steitzer carving out a lucrative career.
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As for Susan Caplin, her legacy lives on as the voice of Amazon's Alexa...or so we're told.
In a viral video from Mike Weist, we see a hilarious interaction between Caplin and an Alexa device, with the latter being clearly confused about what's going on.
In the bizarre exchange, Caplin says she's constantly getting stopped and asked if she's the voice of Alexa. Apparently, depending on her mood, she'll sometimes indulge and she'll sometimes play dumb.
Reiterating that her life is pretty normal, Caplin says her daily routine involves cleaning the house and picking up the dry cleaning, "Nothing really exciting."
Then comes a dystopian conversation where she asks her Echo to play her favorite playlist. Alex replies, saying: "You sound familiar, who is this?"
When a defiant Caplin says, "I'm Alexa," an equally stern Alexa replies with: "No, I'm Alexa."
The angered Alexa jokes about its humanoid owner buying it a Coca-Cola, but it seems there's more to the story.
The comments expose that Caplin might not actually be Alexa, as there are conflicting reports. Journalist Brad Stone's book, Amazon Unbound, spectacularly claimed that voiceover artist Nina Rolle was the original voice of Alexa.
This gained traction back in 2021, when Wired shared an excerpt from the book that named Rolle as having one of the most famous voices in the world.
Despite the secrecy surrounding Alexa's 'real' voice, Stone said: "I learned her identity after canvassing the professional voice-over community: voice actress and singer Nina Rolle, who is based in Boulder, Colorado."
He noted how adverts on Rolle’s professional website promoted the likes of Mott’s Apple Juice and the Volkswagen Passat in a voice that sounds uncannily like Alexa. Back in February 2021, Rolle said she wasn't allowed to discuss it with him, while Amazon also declined to speak about it.
It's still never been confirmed who Alexa is, although Rolle seems to be the top choice – sorry, Susan.
Even if Rolle is Alexa, it's suggested that the familiar twang was created using many voice recording sessions and then processed with AI and speech synthesis.
Either way, Susan Caplin (if that even is her name) seems to be a hired actor who's just very good at doing an Alexa impression.
If the tech giant is ever looking to update the voice, maybe consider giving her a call.