Julia Whelan is a popular narrator for the company Audible. She is known for her bright, rich voice when narrating, leaving many, such as New York magazine correspondent Olivia Nuzzi, to adore her voice. But what’s the story behind her audio narrator career?
Whelan was raised in Salem, Oregon, where she daydreamed and spent most of her time reading books. At 5-years old she began her acting career, performing in local theater productions.
Later on, she traveled to Los Angeles and auditioned for many shows, such as the role of Grace Manning in a show that portrayed a divorced woman living in Chicago. The creators of the show, Herskovitz and Zwick, were amazed at her talent, saying, “[t]here are people who you meet at an early age who you know understand things that cannot be taught. Julia is one of them.” Whelan played the character Grace for three seasons until the show ended. Afterwards, she attended Middlebury College and Oxford University.
Whelan returned to Los Angeles in 2008 to revive her acting career but struggled to grow her career. Once she graduated from Middlebury, she was offered by the audiobook company Brilliance a chance to be a narrator for audiobooks.
Her audiobook narrator career had 2 big breakthroughs. The first was when she narrated The Witness by Nora Roberts in 2012. The second was when she narrated the main character of Gillian Flynn’s book Gone Girl.
At 27, following her father’s death, she decided that after three years she needed to decide on what career path she would take. When a television show she was cast in in 2014 didn’t get picked up, she chose to switch careers.
After moving to Palm Springs and marrying her acting coach and guardian Geof Prysirr in 2018, she was offered to narrate for an audio company start-up Audm to narrate magazine articles, later becoming head of production. After leaving Audm, she became a freelance narrator.
In early 2020, she began to write “Thank You for Listening” to show the world of the audiobook, describing the book as “perfect for rom-com material.”
Because of Whelan’s success in the audio industry, authors have been able to acquire a deeper understanding of their writing. Her shift from acting has brought her personal and professional achievements and happiness closer together.
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/arts/julia-whelan-audiobook-thank-you-for-listening.html
Whelan was raised in Salem, Oregon, where she daydreamed and spent most of her time reading books. At 5-years old she began her acting career, performing in local theater productions.
Later on, she traveled to Los Angeles and auditioned for many shows, such as the role of Grace Manning in a show that portrayed a divorced woman living in Chicago. The creators of the show, Herskovitz and Zwick, were amazed at her talent, saying, “[t]here are people who you meet at an early age who you know understand things that cannot be taught. Julia is one of them.” Whelan played the character Grace for three seasons until the show ended. Afterwards, she attended Middlebury College and Oxford University.
Whelan returned to Los Angeles in 2008 to revive her acting career but struggled to grow her career. Once she graduated from Middlebury, she was offered by the audiobook company Brilliance a chance to be a narrator for audiobooks.
Her audiobook narrator career had 2 big breakthroughs. The first was when she narrated The Witness by Nora Roberts in 2012. The second was when she narrated the main character of Gillian Flynn’s book Gone Girl.
At 27, following her father’s death, she decided that after three years she needed to decide on what career path she would take. When a television show she was cast in in 2014 didn’t get picked up, she chose to switch careers.
After moving to Palm Springs and marrying her acting coach and guardian Geof Prysirr in 2018, she was offered to narrate for an audio company start-up Audm to narrate magazine articles, later becoming head of production. After leaving Audm, she became a freelance narrator.
In early 2020, she began to write “Thank You for Listening” to show the world of the audiobook, describing the book as “perfect for rom-com material.”
Because of Whelan’s success in the audio industry, authors have been able to acquire a deeper understanding of their writing. Her shift from acting has brought her personal and professional achievements and happiness closer together.
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/arts/julia-whelan-audiobook-thank-you-for-listening.html