Sonja Ball

Sonja Ball (Reisler Agency photo)

Sonja Ball (misspelled as Sonia Ball in the Toad Patrol credits) is a Canadian actress, voice actress, songwriter, and singer. Her career in show business started when she was only eleven years old after making two appearances on the Tiny Talent Time show. She has since worked for over a hundred video productions, including commercials, documentaries, and video games. Sonja is also a member of ACTRA.

Early life

Born in Montréal in 1956, Sonja went to the Howard S. Billings Regional High School in her early years and later spent one year studying at the University of Liverpool (Rathbone Theatre). She had her first and only son in 1979 and lived in Hemmingford, Québec, between 1990 and 1995. She currently lives with her partner, Roger Sarazin.

Career

Acting and voice acting

Although she had already performed voiceover jobs for commercials and radio shows, Sonja was brought into the voice acting business by a musician from one of her bands. Impressed by her vocal skills, he suggested she auditioned for television, which pushed Sonja's voice acting career to officially begin in 1987 with Ovide and the gang. She has accumulated numerous roles since then, able to cover age ranges from newborn to elderly and for both male and female characters. Her versatility makes her very prized in the industry, which allowed her to live off of her voice acting for more than two decades.

Bewteen 1990 and 1995, Sonja performed with the Hemmingford Shoestring Theatre. She has also played a small role in two live-action productions, My Lovely Bank (1982) and FORD: The Inspiring Story of Henry Ford (2005).

Songwriter and singer

Sonja has been singing all throughout her life, from her childhood to this very day. She has performed with many bands, including Suzy Q, which recorded the hit single "Can't Live Without Your Love" in 1986 (#10 on the US Billboard dance charts and #1 for a month in the UK). During her time as a voice actress, Sonja has also sung the opening theme of various animated series she has worked on, including Adventures of the Little Koala (1984), Ovide and the Gang, and Wimzie's House (1995). She currently actively performs in a band called Sonja Ball and the Chain (sometimes shortened to Ball and Chain) with Roger Sarazin on lead guitar, Craig Miller on harmonica and as backup vocalist, Eddie Divine on keyboards, Carl Rohf on bass, and John McCulkin on drums.

Animated roles

Sonja Ball - Animation Voice-over Clips

Toad Patrol

• Beauty Stem (season 1-2)
• Panther Cap (season 1-2)

Others

• The Legend of Sarila (2013) - Kimi
• Yummy Gummy Search for Santa: The Movie (2012) - Gummibar
• Ludovic (2009) - Ludovic
• Fred's Head (2008) - Madame Butterfly / Boon Mee
• Doggy Day School (2008) - Lucas / Suki
• Gofrette (2007) - Gofrette
• My Goldfish is Evil (2006) - Beanie / Standford / Nanna
• Martin Morning (2006) - Additional voices
• Spookley the Square Pumpkin (2005) - Spookley the Square Pumpkin
• Walter & Tandoori (2005) - Female voices
• Tupu (2005) - Various voices
• Yakari (2005) - Braid Night
• Postcards from Buster (2004) - Jane Read
• Arthur's Halloween (2004) - Jane Read
• Pinocchio 3000 (2004) - Pinocchio
• Creepschool (2004) - Elliot Kaufmann
• Dragon Hunters (2004) - Jennyline
• Tripping the Rift (2004) - Additional voices
• Woofy (2004) - Bobby
• Penguins Behind Bars (2003) - Oily Doily Valdeez
• Ludovic: Magic in the Air (2002) - Ludovic
• Glasses (2001) - Norbert
• Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (2001) - Nai-Nai
• Inuk (2001) - Sedna
• Ludovic: Visiting Grandpa (2001) - Ludovic
• For Better or for Worse (2000) - Additional voices
• Arthur's Perfect Christmas (2000) - Mom / Quackers
• Lion of Oz (2000) - Additional voices
• Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) - Kerrie
• Mega Babies (2000) - Buck
• Ludovic: A Crocodile in My Garden (2000) - Ludovic
• Mona the Vampire (1999) - Madge Bryerson
• Rotten Ralph (1999) - Mom
• The Judy Show (1999) - Mrs. Sabrina the Lady at the Office (Only appearance)
• Ludovic: The Snow Gift (1998) - Ludovic
• The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures (1998) - Additional voices
• Kit & Kaboodle (1998) - Heckaddy / Fluff
• Princess Sissi (1997) - Anita
• How the Toys Saved Christmas (1996) - Jingles
• The Magical Adventures of Quasimodo (1996) - Angelica
• The Little Lulu Show (1995-1998) - Mrs. Wrigley (Only appearance)
• Arthur (1996-2003) - Mrs. Jane Aardvark (Arthur, DW and Baby Kate's Mom) / Miss Esmeralda the Rabbit Teacher / GPS Voice
• The Busy World of Richard Scarry (1994) - Huckle Cat
• David Copperfield (1993) - The Cheesemonster
• Gulliver's Travels (1992) - Fosla
• The Legend of White Fang (1992) - Various characters
• Bush Baby, Little Angel of the Grasslands (1992) - Jackie's Mom, Sally
• The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You (1992) - Olivia
• The Legend of the North Wind (1992) - Ane
• Kitty Cats (1992) - Tango
• Young Robin Hood (1991) - Will Scarlet
• A Bunch of Munsch (1991) - Various voices
• C.L.Y.D.E. (1991) - Additional voices
• Madeline in London (1991) - Nicole
• Madeline and the Gypsies (1991) - Nicole / Gypsy
• Sanban's Adventures of the Little Mermaid (1991) - Marina / Hedwig
• The Littl' Bits (1990) - Browniebit / additional voices
• Madeline and the Bad Hat (1991) - Nicole
• Madeline's Rescue (1990) - Nicole / Marie
• Madeline's Christmas (1990) - Nicole / Marie
• Samurai Pizza Cats (1990) - Polly Ester / Mama-san / various voices
• The Little Flying Bears (1990) - Various voices
• Ovide and the Gang (1987) - Various voices

Awards

• Winner of Montreal Vocal Wars Contest (1986).
• Winner of Stars on Stage competition (1989) - For her performance as Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Trivia

• Sonja Ball's first name is sometimes misspelled as Sonia or Sonya.
• Sonja is represented by the Reisler Talent agency in Montréal, Québec.
• One of Sonja's hobbies is going hiking.
• Sometime during her career, Sonja was a professional horse hoof-trimmer for six years and a horseback riding instructor.

See also

• Sonja Ball's IMDb page.
• Sonja's Facebook page.
• Sonja's official page.