Lara Jill Miller

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Lara Jill Miller bigraphy, stories - Actress, voice actress

Lara Jill Miller : biography

April 20, 1967 –

Lara Jill Miller (born April 20, 1967) is an American actress, voice actress, and attorney. She is perhaps best known for her role as Samantha "Sam" Kanisky on the 1980s sitcom Gimme a Break!. She has also done a voice work for numerous animated series.

Biography

Miller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Allentown’s William Allen High School. Her mother a homemaker and her father a pajama factory owner. Miller’s professional acting career began on Broadway, where she appeared as Amaryllis in a revival of The Music Man with Dick Van Dyke.

In 1981, after her appearance on Broadway, she joined the cast of Gimme a Break!, playing the role of the tomboyish Samantha "Sam" Kanisky, opposite Nell Carter. When the series ended its six year run on NBC in 1987, at age 20, Miller returned east, from New York University, where she also played on the university’s women’s varsity tennis team and continued to perform on stages around the country. Four years later, she graduated from Fordham University School of Law, leaving graduation early to portray Peter Pan in a production at the Pennsylvania Youth Theater in Pennsylvania. She subsequently obtained her Bar association license to practice law in New Jersey, New York and her native Pennsylvania.

In 1999, Miller returned to Hollywood, California and resumed her on-camera acting career with recurring roles on the Nickelodeon series The Amanda Show and All That, as well as General Hospital. She also began working in animated series, lending her voice to characters such as Kari in Digimon (both the series and the feature film), Koko in Zatch Bell!, Alejo in Astro Boy, one of the Tachikoma mini-tanks in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Scheris Adjani in s-CRY-ed. Miller also provided the singing voice of Dorothy Gale in the National Public Radio adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the voices of the titular characters on Cartoon Network’s The Life and Times of Juniper Lee and the PBS Kids "prequel" to Clifford the Big Red Dog, Clifford’s Puppy Days.

In addition to the recurring roles of Pookie, Wiki and Tini on Disney Channel’s Higglytown Heroes, Heruka of Daigunder and regular guest-starring roles on several other animated series. She currently stars in the Nick Jr series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! as Widget, the show’s problem solving pink rabbit, and in both PBS Kidsseries Curious George as Allie and SciGirls as Izzie. – Disney Channel Medianet

Filmography

Anime roles

  • .hack//Legend of the Twilight– Random Girl, Hotaru
  • Argento Soma – Second Lt. Sue Harris
  • Astro Boy – Mimi, Alejo
  • Blood+ – Min, Lulu, Javier
  • Daigunder – Haruka Hoshi
  • Digimon Adventure/Digimon Adventure 02 – Kari Kamiya
  • Digimon Tamers – Nami Asaji
  • Figure 17 – Hikaru Shiina (credited as Willow Armstrong)
  • Geneshaft – Julia Seido
  • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Tachikoma
  • Great Teacher Onizuka – Anko’s friend
  • Lucky ☆ Star – Misao Kusakabe
  • Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful – Minawa Andou (credited as Willow Armstrong)
  • Naruto – Matsuri
  • Nodame Cantabile – Yuiko Miyoshi
  • Planetes – Nono
  • Please Twins! – Karen Onodera
  • Rave Master – Haul
  • S-CRY-ed – Scheris Adjani
  • Stratos 4 – Ran Mikuriya
  • Zatch Bell! – Koko

Nickelodeon roles

  • Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! – Widget, Huggy, and Old Lady Zamboni
  • iCarly – Resident in Carly’s apartment building
  • All Grown Up! – Olivia

Western animation roles

  • Clifford’s Puppy Days – Puppy Clifford
  • Curious George – Allie
  • SciGirls – Izzie
  • Doc McStuffins – Lambie
  • Henry Hugglemonster – Henry Hugglemonster
  • Higglytown Heroes – Pookie, Wiki, Tini
  • Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi – Julie
  • Shorty McShorts’ Shorts – April (of My Mom Married a Yeti)
  • The Life and Times of Juniper Lee – Juniper "June" Lee
  • Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! – Widget, Huggy, and Old Lady Zamboni
  • Phineas and Ferb – Sylvia
  • Horrid Henry – Horrid Henry
  • Flapjack – Little Girl
  • Winx Club – Chatta, Tune, Livy

Live action roles

  • Gimme a Break! – Samantha "Sam" Kanisky (series regular, 1981–1987) 107 episodes
  • The Amanda Show – Cathy (recurring, 1999–2002)
  • All That – Nurse (recurring)
  • General Hospital – Kate Whitaker
  • Zoey 101 – Featured
  • Chicken Soup for The Soul – Teacher

Film roles

  • Diaboromon Strikes Back – Kari Kamiya
  • Digimon: The Movie – Kari Kamiya/Young Kari
  • Touch and Go – Courtney
  • Strait Jacket – Kapel Theta

Video game roles

  • de Blob – Comrade Black, Zip
  • Diablo II: Lord of Destruction – Assassin (As Carrie Gordon)
  • Digimon Rumble Arena – Kari Kamiya, Young Kari
  • Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories – Yukimaru (uncredited)
  • Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice – Kyoko Needleworker, Flora Beast, Asagi (uncredited)
  • Dokapon Kingdom – Roche
  • EverQuest II – Kerrie Clayton, Molly Daysun, Merchant Clodia Laeca, Shinska, Tavithi N’sari, Shanura Rukiya, Totuka Everhot, Chayla Gumbleflut, Adaline Oakshaper, Cari Cedarfell, Rala Eurocarry, Billy, Wandering Minstrel (Half Elf), Courtesan Fannia Falx, Luvile Binlee
  • Hot Shots Golf Open Tee – Alia
  • Phantom Brave – Castile
  • Psychonauts – Milka Phange
  • SkyGunner – Femme
  • Suikoden IV – Chiepoo
  • Suikoden Tactics – Chiepoo
  • Suikoden V – Moroon
  • Tak and the Power of Juju – Dinky Juju
  • Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams – Dinky Juju
  • Tak: The Great Juju Challenge – Dinky Juju
  • Ribbit King – scooter
  • Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos – Jaina Proudmoore
  • Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne – Jaina Proudmoore
  • World of Warcraft – Jaina Proudmoore