Lenne Hardt

Lenne Hardt
Born May 10
Alaska, United States
Other names Lennne Hardt
Occupation Voice actress, Ring announcer
Website www.lennehardt.com

Lenne Hardt (born May 10) is a voice actress and ring announcer for Japanese mixed martial arts organizations including DREAM, ONE Championship, the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships,[1] as well as Glory World Series. She is also the official announcer for Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z.

Biography

Hardt was the youngest of six children and an Air Force brat. Although she was born in Alaska she spent much of her childhood in Idaho.[2] Hardt and her siblings were home-schooled. At the age of 17, Hardt lived in Japan for a year with her brother and sister-in-law, who were already long-time residents of the country. Hardt returned to the U.S. and attended New York University to study the Japanese language and arts before permanently moving to Japan in 1988. While in Tokyo she met her future-husband, a New Zealander. In addition to working as a disc jockey and announcer for TV and radio, she has worked as a voice actress for the English dubs of Japanese anime and video games. She also performs as a theater actor and comedian.[3]

Ring announcing

Hardt entered into a career as an English language announcer for mixed martial arts events in 2000 at PRIDE's first Grand Prix. PRIDE officials needed an announcer fluent in English and Japanese. Although she had no experience with the sport, her agent contacted her about the job and she took it simply because it fit into her schedule. Hardt became a self-described fan of the sport and continued as the English announcer for PRIDE until its final event. When the former staff of PRIDE created DREAM, Hardt was carried over as well, continuing her duties at DREAM just as she had in PRIDE. Hardt has also worked with Japanese pro wrestling organization New Japan Pro Wrestling as a special guest English language ring announcer for their January 4 Tokyo Dome shows, announcing both Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 2014 and Wrestle Kingdom 9 in 2015.

Hardt's energetic style, which usually includes high-pitched screeching and long alveolar trills, has earned her notoriety within the promotion. Fans have dubbed her "Crazy PRIDE Lady" and many fighters admit to getting "pumped up" by her introductions.[4] She uses singing techniques to prevent damage to her throat rather than take measures to mitigate the damage.[5]

Filmography

Anime roles

Video game roles

References

  1. ↑ "Legendary MMA Announcer Lenne Hardt Joins ONE FC". ONE. 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  2. ↑ Kapp, Ed (2012-12-21). "Lenne Hardt's Gift Idea for Hardcore Fight Fans". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  3. ↑ Kenrick, Vivienne (2004-05-01). "Lenne Hardt". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  4. ↑ "Lenne Hardt's 'Crazy Pride Lady' Ring Announcing Was Born Out of Boredom". MMA Fighting.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  5. ↑ TheFightNationTV (2007-02-24). "Up Close and Personal: Lenne Hardt". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-04-21.


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