Age: 32
Olivia Rose Olson (born May 21, 1992) is an American actress and singer-songwriter, known for her role as Joanna singing "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in Love Actually (2003), and for her voice roles as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb and Marceline the Vampire Queen in Adventure Time. Olson is also a writer, contributing a section to the best-seller Adventure Time Encyclopaedia and an upcoming book for Cartoon Network.
Personal life
Olson was adopted at birth and raised in Los Angeles, California. She lives with her mother, brother, and father, comedy writer Martin Olson. Olson graduated from Agoura High School in 2010. She is of Jamaican and Swedish descent.
Career
Olson has appeared as a singer and actress on television shows and in live theatre, including Comedy Central Stage, the HBO Theater, The Fake Gallery, and the Disney Channel series Phineas and Ferb. Olson has also appeared on The Tracy Morgan Show and guest starred on The Ellen DeGeneres Show singing with DeGeneres, actor Jack Black and Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth.
She is currently a cast member and singer on two animated series: Cartoon Network's series Adventure Time, playing Marceline the Vampire Queen, and on Disney's animated series Phineas and Ferb playing Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, the sarcastic daughter of the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz. In Adventure Time, her father, Martin Olson, plays Marceline's dad Hunson Abadeer, and Marceline sang a short song about him eating her French fries. She also sings a number of songs in "Phineas and Ferb", including the duet "Busted!" with Ashley Tisdale as well as popular solo songs, including "I'm Me", "Not So Bad a Dad After All", "I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun", "Happy New Year", and many other, including her song in the special "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation", "Got That Christmas Feeling". She has written songs for Phineas and Ferb, and has written and recorded her own songs with renowned music producers Rick Nowels, Camara Kambon and Hollywood jazz great Rob Mullins.
2003: Love Actually
Olson rose to fame for her role as Joanna Anderson in the 2003 holiday film Love Actually, singing the song "All I Want for Christmas Is You". 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 to Mariah Carey's voice. They had to train her so her singing would sound more believable, and add the sounds of inhalations to the track.
This led to guest spots on The Ellen Show, The Tracy Morgan Show, and singing with Jack Black, and Kristin Chenoweth. Olson also posted original songs on her YouTube account.
2007-present: Phineas and Ferb, Adventure Time, and Beauty Is Chaos
As of 2007, Olson voices 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. Her character is described as a punk goth, the sarcastic daughter of the not-so-evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz. She occasionally attempts to thwart her father's evil schemes regarding her mother, always ending in failure. Although she is a sarcastic and spoiled teenager, she also has a kind heart and loves her parents. Olson's father Martin Olson was a head writer for the first season of the show, and one of the main songwriters at Disney throughout the series.
Later in 2010, Olson got the role of Marceline the Vampire Queen, on the animated Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. The series has been a commercial and popular success, and her character is one of the most popular ones. Her character is similar to that of Vanessa on Phineas and Ferb, in which she has problems with her evil father, along with their dark personalities. Marceline is a fun-loving, mischief-seeking 1,005-year-old vampire who looks like a teenager. She has an involved back story that is explored throughout the show. She first appeared as an antagonist, but later appears to be the main characters' (Finn and Jake's) friends. Like Phineas and Ferb, she sings often on the show, including the popular song "The Fry Song", in which she sings about her father eating her fries, and how sad she is, even though it is something much deeper. Her character has become popular with fans and there is a wide range of Marceline products available, such as shirts, action figures, key chains, plushes, wallets, belts, necklaces and bracelets, etc. She frequently posts original music on her YouTube account Olivia Olson.
On July 18, 2013, Olson released her debut EP Beauty Is Chaos.
In August 2014, Olson told a crowd of fans, gathered at a Barnes & Noble book signing for The Adventure Time Encyclopedia, that series creator Pendleton Ward had told her Marceline and Princess Bubblegum dated in the past, but because the series airs in some areas where homosexual relationships are illegal, the show hadn't been able to officially make clear the relationship. However, Olson later claimed via Twitter that she likes to joke at conventions and that fans should not take all of her comments seriously. This might have been in reference to the book signing. However, this post was deleted not long after.
She appears at Comic-Cons and pop conventions around the world with other cast members from her shows.
Discography
Albums
- The Father-Daughter Album Of Unspeakable Beauty (With Martin Olson)
Extended plays
- Beauty Is Chaos
Soundtrack albums
- Love Actually
- Phineas and Ferb
- Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites
- Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
- Phineas and Ferb: Across the 1st and 2nd Dimensions
- Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You
- Phineas and Ferb-ulous: The Ultimate Album
- Phineas and Ferb: Rockin' and Rollin'
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Love Actually | Joanna Anderson | |
2011 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | 2nd Dimension Vanessa Doofenshirmtz (deleted scene) | Voice role Third time working with Thomas Sangster |
Television
Television Roles | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Show | Role | Appearances |
2004 | The Tracy Morgan Show | Julia | One episode, "Career Day" |
2006 | Zoey 101 | Girl #1 | One episode, "Broadcast Views" |
2008-2015 | Phineas and Ferb | Vanessa Doofenshmirtz | Voice role Second time working with Thomas Sangster |
2010-present | Adventure Time | Marceline the Vampire Queen | Voice role |
2015 | Steven Universe | Pop Singer | Sings "Haven't You Noticed (I'm a Star)" |