Zehra Fazal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zehra Fazal
NationalityAmerican
OccupationVoice actress
Years active2007–present

Zehra Fazal is an American voice actress, known for voicing Nadia Rizavi in Voltron: Legendary Defender and Halo in Young Justice: Outsiders.[1][2][3] Greg Weisman, the co-creator of Young Justice: Outsiders said "I wrote the role with her in mind. She plays Halo, but she also plays about a dozen other characters."[4]

Career[]

Prior to her voice acting career, Fazal, who is Muslim-American and of Pakistani descent, was known for her irreverent comedy often poking fun at Muslim identity.[5] Her one-woman musical comedy show Headscarf and the Angry Bitch which she described as partly fictional and partly autobiographical, created Muslim parodies of holiday comedy songs The Ramadan Song instead of The Hanukkah Song and discussed living in America with a "hyphenated identity."[6][7] Fazal, who self describes as "the Muslim Weird Al", explains that the show explores the fact that "the definition of what it is to be Muslim is expanding and it's okay to be vocal about it."[8][9] She created the show's character, Zed Headscarf, as "her tougher, bolder, prouder side" partly in response to post-9/11 Islamaphobia she encountered.[10] Her performance won the "best solo performance award" at the Capital Fringe Festival in 2009 and was sold out throughout its New York International Fringe Festival run in 2010.[11][12]

Fazal has also portrayed Adolf Hitler in an adaptation of Yukio Mishima’s play, My Friend Hitler.[13] She studied with Japan’s Takarazuka Revue Company as a research intern in 2004. On her return to the U.S., she translated and staged Takarazuka Revue's The Rose of Versailles at Wellesley College where she was a student.[14] Fazal explains "I have a knack for taking something that already exists and making it fit into a new mold."[14] Fazal is one of the actresses in the video comedy series F#@K I Love U where she plays doctor Amanda Jain.

Personal life[]

Fazal has a B.A. from Wellesley College.[15] She speaks Japanese, French and Urdu.[16] Fazal is a passionate supporter of Paani Project, a nonprofit that works with community partners and institutions in the United States and Pakistan to help alleviate clean water inaccessibility, advocate for gender equity, and address a variety of pressing health disparities in rural South Asian communities.[17]

As a kid, she was a fan of the Disney animated show Darkwing Duck; she drew on inspiration on the titular character for her performance as General Yunan on Disney's Amphibia.[18]

Filmography[]

Animation[]

List of voice performances in animation
Year Title Role Notes Source
2018 Voltron: Legendary Defender Nadia Rizavi, Hunk’s Mother [1][19]
2018–present Craig of the Creek Faraday, Shannon, Aggie (The Squashinator) [20][21]
2019 Young Justice: Outsiders Halo, Cassandra Savage, Harper Row, Hawkwoman, Lian Nguyen-Harper, Windfall, Trajectory, Antonia "Big Words" Rodriguez, Madia Daou, Evelyn Fox [22][23][24][25]
2019 Trolls: The Beat Goes On! Celine Starburst, Timpani [22][16]
2019 Pinky Malinky Aisha Episode: "Advanced" [22][26]
2019–20 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Mara 4 episodes [27]
2019–21 Big Hero 6: The Series Basemax, Officer Flynn [22][28]
2019 Bojack Horseman Demi, Ilana and Ilana Episode: “Surprise!” [29][30][31]
2020 Glitch Techs Zahra, Sabrina [32]
2020 Where’s Waldo? Film Director Episode: “Mumbai Dance Party” [33]
2020–present Amphibia General Yunan 5 episodes [34]
2020 Vampirina Dr. Millweed [35]

Web series[]

List of voice performances in animation
Year Title Role Notes Source
2018-2019 Kuroba Mari 1st Voice [36]

Film[]

List of voice performances in film
Year Title Role Notes Source
2018 The Laws of the Universe Part I Zamza English dub [37]
2020 Batman: Death in the Family Talia al Ghul Direct-to-video [38]
2022 Catwoman: Hunted Talia al Ghul, Nosferata Direct-to-video

Video games[]

List of voice performances in video games
Year Title Role Notes Source
2016 Blade & Soul Soha, Jinsoyung, Sunyung English dub [16]
2016 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End French Auction Guest, Additional voices [22][16]
2016 Titanfall 2 Lifeboat & Systems AI [22][2]
2017 Final Fantasy XV Townspeople English dub [16]
2019 Apex Legends AI announcer, Narrator [22][39]
2019 Crackdown 3 Additional voices [40]
2019 League of Legends Kayle [41]
2019 Fallout 76: Wild Appalachia ARIC-4, Nia [42]
2019 Eliza Rae [43][44]
2019 Until You Fall Runesmith [45]
2019 Borderlands 3 Amara [22][46]
2019 Rage 2: Rise of the Ghosts Eden HQ AI, Metro Station Guard, Metro Station Civilian [47][48]
2019 Destiny 2: Shadowkeep [49]
2019 Indivisible Thorani [22][50][51]
2019 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Ousa [22]
2019 Shenmue III Li Feng, Niao Sun English dub [22][52]
2020 Maneater Female NPCs [22]
2020 Destiny 2: Beyond Light Guardian: Exo Female [53]
2021 Legends of Runeterra Taliyah [54]
2021 Shin Megami Tensei V Cleopatra [55]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Awards Category Nominated for Result Ref.
2019 Voice Arts Awards Outstanding Promo Campaign - TV or Web, Best Voiceover Fox Sports FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 Nominated

[56][57][58]

Outstanding Animation Character - TV or Web, Best Voiceover Young Justice Outsiders - Halo Won
Outstanding Body of Work, Best Voice Actor N/A Won

References[]

  1. ^ a b Fazal, Zehra [@ZehraFazal] (2018-08-10). "IT'S FINALLY HERE!! Season 7 of Voltron: Legendary Defender is now streaming on @netflix and I'm thrilled to announce I've joined the cast! Excited for y'all to meet my gal Rizavi. #voltron #VoltronLegendaryDefender #VoltronSeason7 t.co/TRlYPPYWWY" (Tweet). Retrieved 2021-06-14 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b "Zehra Fazal". IMDB. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  3. ^ "TV News Roundup: 'SMILF' Season 2 Premiere Date Set at Showtime". MSN. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  4. ^ "'Young Justice' creators talk Jack Kirby "Fourth World" influence, more from SDCC". Newsweek. 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  5. ^ Watch, Muslimah Media (2011-07-06). "Headscarf and the Angry Bitch: A Review of Zehra Fazal's Play". Muslimah Media Watch. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  6. ^ Rampell, Catherine (2017-09-21). "Fringe Festival Journal: A Muslim Woman in America, With Stand-Up". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  7. ^ "Zehra Fazal's Shock-n-Schtick ‹ Muslimah Media Watch". Muslimah Media Watch. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  8. ^ S.D., Trav (2010-09-01). "The "Muslim Weird Al" Offers More Than Parodies". DOWNTOWN EXPRESS | The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  9. ^ "Fringe Preview: Headscarf and the Angry Bitch". DCist. 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  10. ^ "Under suspicion: American Muslims search for identity 10 years after Sept. 11". Washington Post. 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  11. ^ Guide, Going Out (2009-10-10). "From the Fringe to Center Stage". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  12. ^ Borkar, Sonia (2011-07-11). "Headscarf and the Angry Bitch (Zehra Fazal) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review". Mooney on Theatre. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  13. ^ "Zehra Fazal Shines @ The Fringe Festival". DCist. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  14. ^ a b Sands, Ryan. "Electric Ant Zine #2: Interview with Zehra Fazal". Youth in Decline. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  15. ^ Slattery, Chris (2008-07-16). "Thinking outside the barn". Maryland Community News in Montgomery County and Prince George's County -- Gazette.Net. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Resume". Zehra Fazal. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  17. ^ Fazal, Zehra [@ZehraFazal] (2020-10-09). "UPDATE: Back in August, you helped me raise funds for @paaniproject to build wells in water-stressed areas in rural Pakistan. Thanks to your generosity, their incredible team was able to build deep water wells in 3 villages. These are some photos from those wells. t.co/zt2zRLLcEh" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-06-14 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "AMPHIBIA PRE SHOW BABY (34:50)". May 21, 2021. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021.
  19. ^ "Zehra Fazal on Instagram: "Did you know, did you know? I also had the pleasure of voicing Hunk's mom on season 7 of Voltron: Legendary Defender. Grateful to be a…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  20. ^ "Zehra Fazal on Instagram: "So excited to share that my first episode of Craig of the Creek is now airing on Cartoon Network! You can always count on my girl Faraday…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  21. ^ "Zehra Fazal's Instagram profile post: "New episodes of #CraigoftheCreek are airing on @cartoonnetworkofficial! Love playing The Squashinator. So much fun singing her operatic…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Behind the Voice Actors – Zehra Fazal". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved February 16, 2019. Check mark indicates BTVA has verified the entries using screenshots of credits and other confirmed sources.CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  23. ^ "Zehra Fazal on Instagram: "What a ridiculously awesome day at Comic-Con. I can officially announce I've joined the cast of Young Justice Outsiders as the voice of…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  24. ^ Fazal, Zehra [@ZehraFazal] (2019-01-25). "TAIMUR, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I love playing two "Harpers," doing my best to catch up to @CrispinFreeman.