In an interview with CNN on Friday, Susan Bennett claims she is the voice behind Siri. "It seemed like everyone was clamoring to find out who the real voice behind Siri is, and so I thought, well, you know, what the heck? This is the time," Bennett tells CNN.
Bennett, who won't divulge her age, fell into voice work by accident in the 1970s. Today, she can be heard worldwide. She speaks up in commercials and on countless phone systems.
According to her personal website, Bennett has over 20 years of experience doing voice-over work for companies ranging from The Home Depot to The Cartoon Network.
So how did Bennett end up as Siri? She told CNN she signed a contract with software company ScanSoft — now known as Nuance — to lend her voice to recordings for a larger database. Bennett then entered the recording studio to read phrases and sentences for hours. Here's how CNN explains the process:
These snippets were then synthesized in a process called concatenation that builds words, sentences, paragraphs. And that is how voices like hers find their way into GPS and telephone systems.
But it wasn't until a colleague pointed out the Apple iPhone 4S two years ago that Bennett learned she was the voice of Siri. "It's obviously me," Bennett says after hearing Siri for the first time. "It's my voice."
Although Bennett says she's Siri — and judging by CNN's video, it certainly sounds just like the personal assistant — neither Apple nor Nuance would comment. CNN also enlisted an audio forensics expert, who confirmed Bennett's claim as Siri.
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