Siri: You Talk To Her Everyday. Did you know She’s From Clinton?

You've talked to her on a daily basis for a number of years. She's the one who has been giving you directions and helping you with math. She's the woman who assists you in posting to Facebook and Twitter. She provides you with directions, gives you advice, makes meal recommendations, and even offers you driving tips. She seems to do it all!  Her mobile assistant name is Siri. Her real name is Susan Bennett and she's a proud graduate of Clinton Central School. Say what?! Yeah the woman who recorded thousands of clips and sentences for the original Siri app is a Central New York native.

 

Bennett has been recording since the 1970s and recorded the Siri sound bites for the software company ScanSoft for four hours a day, every day, in July 2005, according to CNN.It wasn’t until the release of the iPhone 4S on Oct. 4, 2011, however — when Siri made her debut and a colleague recognized Bennett’s voice — that Bennett knew just how the work was used, she said in the interview.

CNN reporter Jessica Ravitz had the opportunity to interview Bennett about voice-over work. When she heard Susan speak for the first time she came to the realization that the voice she was hearing over the phone was very familiar. For many years Susan kept it a secret that she was the mysterious voice of Siri. She didn't feel compelled to tell anyone. However, she eventually broke her silence and the secret was revealed. Susan is no longer the sole voice of the famous app. When  Apple integrated it's new operating system, the company also elected to use multiple voices. Susan is perfectly ok with this.

I wonder if Susan downloaded Siri to her phone? That would be pretty weird right? It certainly would be a little odd to ask the app a question, only to have it answer in your own voice. I wonder if her husband has the app on his phone. That would be a little crazy too. His wife would literally travel everywhere he went. I could see that being a huge bonus if he ever went out of town on business, but then again, even lovers need some time away.

Here's Susan being interviewed by CNN.