"Actually... Love" star Olivia Olson - This is what little Joanna has become
For many people, the movie "Tatsächlich... Love" has been an integral part of the Christmas season since 2003. The now 31-year-old actress and singer Olivia Olson still enchants viewers today in her role as sweet Joanna, who performs the Mariah Carey song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" on stage. She was just ten years old at the time. 20 years after the film was released, Olivia Olson recently took to the stage again to perform the Christmas song from her debut film.
At the Comic Relief Gala in New York on Monday, she provided some nostalgic moments with her voice , according to the Daily Mail. Based on her famous movie scene, she performed at the gala, which was directed by "Actually... Love" director Richard Curtis (67) at the charity event "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in a glittering outfit. But what has happened in the twenty years since her breakthrough as a child star?
Olivia Olson: Her career after "Actually... Love"
In fact, shortly after the success of "Love Actually... Love" made her famous, Olivia Olson made the decision to retire from classical acting. Instead, she shifted her focus in her teens to lending her voice to animated characters. Best known and most popular with fans are her appearances as the voice of Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in the Disney series "Phineas and Ferb" (2008 - 2015) and as the speaking and singing voice of Marceline in the cartoon series "Adventure Time with Finn and Jake" (2010 - 2018).
InSeptember, Olson was a guest on the podcast "It's Real with Jordan and Demi", where she spoke openly about why she decided not to become an actress as a teenager, despite her successful debut. "I was very tall and I was a very curvy twelve-year-old, I looked a lot older than the little actor boys I played with," she explained in the interview. At the time, she was fed up with auditions. Being rejected again and again is hard on a child's psyche.
She owes her voiceover career to her father
She came to voice acting through her father, screenwriter Martin Olson, she continued. "My father is a writer in animation and comedy and he started writing for Disney's 'Phineas and Ferb'. They also wrote a lot of songs for this series and whenever they needed a demo, he asked me if I could record it quickly." When the people in charge at Disney heard her voice, they wanted her on board. As a result, the creator of "Adventure Time" also heard her. "I consider myself very lucky to have been involved in two such successful cartoon series."
Her dream as a ten-year-old was to become a pop star, says Olivia Olson about her motivation at the time to make it as an actress. "I've been writing and singing songs since I was little. I wasn't really an actress when I got the part (in 'Love Actually...'). I had to take a lot of acting lessons for it." For a twelve-year-old, there are not many ways to become a pop star. "Acting was my road to becoming a Disney child star. But I'm glad that didn't work out for me."
That's what Joanna from "Actually... Love" today
In 2017, she nevertheless celebrated a small Joanna comeback alongside Sam actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster (33) in the "Love Actually... Love" sequel - the BBC short film "Red Nose Day Actually". In 2019, she also appeared as a contestant in the casting show "X Factor Celebrity" and presented her singing skills on stage in front of the jury, but had to leave the show after the first live show.
She is currently working on a new album, as Olivia Olson revealed in her latest podcast interview. She has also been involved in a 'Phineas and Ferb' reboot in 2023. The cult cartoon series is looking forward to 40 new episodes - and Olivia gets to lend her voice to Vanessa Doofenshmirtz again.
She also recently posted a photo together with the "Adventure Time" crew. Since August 2023, there has been a spin-off of the popular cartoon series, "Fionna & Cake", in which Olivia Olson makes a guest appearance as Marceline.
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Source: www.stern.de
