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Olivia Olson (born May 21, 1992) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and writer, largely known for her voice roles as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb and Marceline the Vampire Queen in Adventure Time. She also played the character of Joanna in the 2003 film Love Actually and its 2017 short sequel Red Nose Day Actually.
Olivia Olson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Olson at GalaxyCon Oklahoma City in 2024 | |
| Born | May 21, 1992 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Father | Martin Olson |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels | RoseGold |
Along with this, she is also a writer, having written the Boom! Studios graphic novel Marcy and Simon, co-authored Adventure Time: The Enchiridion and Marcy's Super-Secret Scrapbook, and contributed writing to the best-seller Adventure Time Encyclopedia for Cartoon Network. In 2023, she began writing for the Phineas and Ferb revival.
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Olson was adopted at birth and raised in Los Angeles, California. She lives with her father, Martin Olson, mother Kay Olson, and brother Casey Olson. Olson graduated from Agoura High School in 2010. She is of Afro-Jamaican descent through her biological father.[1]
Olson has appeared as a singer and actress on television shows and in live theatre, including Comedy Central Stage, the HBO Theater, and The Fake Gallery.
2003: Love Actually
Olson moved into the mainstream with her role as Joanna Anderson in the 2003 holiday film Love Actually, singing the song "All I Want for Christmas Is You".[2][3] Her singing was praised, with director Richard Curtis stating in the commentary in the music section of the Love Actually DVD that Olson's singing was so perfect, they were afraid the audience would not believe that a ten-year-old could really sing the way she did and would assume she was lip-synching. They had to train her so her singing would sound more believable, and add the sounds of inhalations to the track.[4] This led to guest spots on The Ellen Show, The Tracy Morgan Show and singing with stars Jack Black and Kristin Chenoweth. Olson also posted original songs on her YouTube account. In 2017, Olson reprised her role as Joanna in Red Nose Day Actually, a short film which is a sequel to Love Actually.[2]
2008–2017: Phineas and Ferb, and Beauty Is Chaos
From 2008 to 2015, Olson voiced the recurring character Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb along with actor Thomas Sangster (Ferb Fletcher), who played Joanna's love interest Sam in Love Actually.[5][6][7] Olson said that she and Sangster talked "about the whole Ferb-Vanessa situation 'cause it's pretty funny."[4]
In Phineas and Ferb, she sings a number of songs, including the duet "Busted!" with Ashley Tisdale as well as popular solo songs, including "I'm Me", "Not So Bad a Dad", "I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun", "Happy New Year" and many others, including her song in the Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation special "Got That Christmas Feeling". She has written songs for Phineas and Ferb and has written and recorded her own songs with music producers Rick Nowels, Camara Kambon and Hollywood jazz great Rob Mullins, while Olson's father wrote "over 200 songs for the series" and various episodes.[8] In 2011, Olson voiced Vanessa in a deleted scene of Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, which included a musical number, but sang a song for the film "I Walk Away".[9]
Her role as Vanessa led to her role as Marceline the Vampire Queen in Adventure Time. During the show's production, the show creator, Pendleton Ward, contacted Olson's father, Martin Olson, then writing for Phineas and Ferb, asking if he knew who played Vanessa in the show.[10][11] He was not aware, at the time, that Martin was Olson's father.[11] She would also voice Marceline in the 2012 video game, Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!.[9]
2013-2018: Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Phineas and Ferb
In 2010, Olson got the role of Marceline the Vampire Queen on the animated Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. Olson said she was impressed by her character's fashion design and the costuming for Marceline, saying she occasionally admired the unique designs for the character in episodes.[12] During the audition for the role, Olson first read for Princess Bubblegum, but later read for Marceline.[12] Reportedly when getting into character for the role she often dressed similar to Marceline when she recorded her lines[10] In the show, her father played Hunson Abadeer, the father of Marceline.[13] In the series, Olson also sings Marceline's songs, which were written by storyboard artists, or other people affiliated with production.[14][15][16][17] As such, The Guardian praised Marceline as a character, noting in particular that "she's ... responsible for some of the show's best songs."[18]
The series was a commercial and popular success and her character attracted positive critical attention from critics,[19][20] and fans alike,[21] along with the production crew of Adventure Time.[22][23] This popularity was even recognized by the company that owns Adventure Time with the official press release for the Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens companion comic book referring to Marceline as a "fan-favorite".[24] Olson later said she was "honored" to be voicing a character in a show pushing the limits, including on "what a female character in a TV series brings to the table."[25]
In the Adventure Time mini-series "Stakes", Olson performs the popular song "Everything Stays", which was revealed by Olson and Rebecca Sugar at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con.[26] In 2015 Olivia and her father, Martin Olson, co-authored a book adapted from the series Adventure Time, Adventure Time: The Enchiridion & Marcy's Super Secret Scrapbook.[8] Olivia wrote her section in first person as her character Marceline. The book was illustrated by artists including Mahendra Singh, Tony Millionaire, Renee French, Celeste Moreno and Sean Tejaratchi.
Olson also performed the song "Haven't You Noticed (I'm a Star)", which was featured on the September 17, 2015 episode of Steven Universe entitled "Sadie's Song".[27] It was later featured in the Steven Universe mini-episode "Gem Karaoke", released on October 3, 2016. She appears at Comic-Cons and pop conventions around the world as do other Adventure Time cast members.[28]
Olson frequently posts original music on her YouTube and TikTok account. On July 18, 2013, Olson released her debut EP Beauty Is Chaos.[29][8] By December 2015, she had over 19,000 followers on her YouTube channel.[29]
From 2016 to 2019, Olivia voiced the fourth Powerpuff Girl Bliss on Cartoon Network's reboot of The Powerpuff Girls,[30][31] The character's initial announcement was met with negative reactions from some fans,[32][33] but when rumors began to spread that the character would be black, fans began to express a more optimistic tone.[34] Reviewers later called the character a great step forward in terms of racial diversity and a good addition.[35][36][37] Reactions to the character were mainly positive, while others argued she was a stereotype and that the inclusion of the character seemed like tokenism.[38]
In 2019, Olson voiced Jun and PizzaRave in Fast & Furious: Spy Racers.[9] In 2020, she voiced Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in the Phineas and Ferb film, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, and Marceline in the "Obsidian" episode of Adventure Time: Distant Lands.[9] In the film, Olson sang the song "The Universe Is Against Me" with Ashley Tisdale, who voiced Candace, and Laura Dickinson while in "Obsidian", she sang "Woke Up" and "Monster" with other performers.
2018–present: Nowhere Land and The X Factor
On June 22, 2018, Olson released the album Nowhere Land.[39] She worked with K-pop producers Kairos Music Group and producer/singer/songwriter John Defeo on the project. In October 2019, she began competing in The X Factor: Celebrity, being the second act to be evicted from the live shows on October 26, 2019.[40] In 2023, it was revealed that she would be a writer for the Phineas and Ferb revival, in addition to reprising her role as Vanessa.[41]
Olson reprised her role as Marceline the Vampire Queen in the 2023 Adventure Time spin-off series Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake.[42]
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Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Father-Daughter Album of Unspeakable Beauty (with Martin Olson) |
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| Nowhere Land |
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Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Beauty Is Chaos |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (X Factor Recording) | 2019 | Non-album singles |
| "Crows" | 2021 |
Soundtrack appearances
- Love Actually (2003)
- Phineas and Ferb (2009)
- Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites (2010)
- Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension (2011)
- Phineas and Ferb: Across the 1st and 2nd Dimensions (2011)
- Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You (2012)
- Phineas and Ferb-ulous: The Ultimate Album (2013)
- Phineas and Ferb: Rockin' and Rollin' (2013)
- The Music of Ooo (2016)
- Marceline the Vampire Queen – Rock the Nightosphere (2015)
- Steven Universe, Vol. 1 (Original Soundtrack) (2017)
- Adventure Time – Come Along with Me (Original Soundtrack) (2018)
- Adventure Time, Vol. 1 (Original Soundtrack) (2019)
- Adventure Time, Vol. 2 (Original Soundtrack) (2019)
- Adventure Time, Vol. 3 (Original Soundtrack) (2019)
- Adventure Time – The Complete Series Soundtrack (2019)
- Adventure Time: Distant Lands - Obsidian (Original Soundtrack) (2020)
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Film
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Love Actually | Joanna Anderson | |
| 2011 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | Vanessa Doofenshmirtz | Voice; Deleted Scene[43] |
| 2020 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe | Vanessa Doofenshmirtz | Voice[43] |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Tracy Morgan Show | Julia | One episode, "Career Day" |
| 2006 | Zoey 101 | Girl #1 | Episode: "Broadcast Views" |
| 2008–2015, 2025–present | Phineas and Ferb | Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, additional voices | Voice[43] |
| 2010–2018 | Adventure Time | Marceline the Vampire Queen, additional voices | Voice[43] |
| 2017–2019 | Milo Murphy's Law | Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, additional voices | Voice |
| 2017–2019 | The Powerpuff Girls | Blisstina Utonium | Voice, 4 episodes[43] |
| 2017 | Red Nose Day Actually | Joanna | |
| 2019 | The X Factor: Celebrity | Herself / Contestant | |
| 2019–2021 | Fast & Furious Spy Racers | Jun, additional voices | 9 episodes[43] |
| 2020 | Adventure Time: Distant Lands | Marceline the Vampire Queen | Voice, episode: "Obsidian"[43] |
| 2020 | Robot Chicken | Mal, Yellow Power Ranger, Emily Elizabeth | Voice, episode: "Sundancer Craig in: 30% of the Way to Crying" |
| 2023 | We Baby Bears | Ursa Major | Voice, episode: "Little Fallen Star" |
| 2023 | Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake | Marceline the Vampire Queen | Voice, 2 episodes[43] |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!! | Marceline[43] |
| 2013 | Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! | Marceline |
| 2015 | Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations | Marceline, Huntress[43] |
| Lego Dimensions | Marceline | |
| 2018 | Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion | Marceline, Candy Person[43] |
| 2020 | Chex Quest HD | Wheatney Chexworth |
| 2021 | Fast & Furious Spy Racers: Rise of SH1FT3R | PizzaRave[43] |
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