Lenne Hardt (born May 10, 1963) is an American
voice actress
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
and
ring announcer
A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience.
In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...
for
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
organizations. Her resume includes
PRIDE Fighting Championships
PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...
,
DREAM
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
,
ONE Championship
ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...
and
Glory World Series
Glory, formerly Glory World Series, is an international kickboxing promotion based in Singapore, which is owned by Pierre Andurand. It is one of the largest kickboxing promotion companies in the world, and features some of the highest-level fight ...
and she currently works in
Rizin Fighting Federation. She is also the official announcer for Japanese idol group
Momoiro Clover Z
is a Japanese idol girl group, commonly abbreviated as MCZ or .
The four members of MCZ are known for energetic performances, incorporating elements of ballet, gymnastics, and action movies.
MCZ is notable for being the first female group to ho ...
, and was the official athlete announcer for the, 2022 ADCC World Championship hosted by Seth Daniels from F2W
Biography
Hardt was the youngest of six children and an
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
brat
Brat, Brats, The Brat or similar may refer to:
Term for young people
* Spoiled child
* Military brat
** Military brat (U.S. subculture)
* Trenchard Brat, a nickname for aircraft apprentices in the British Royal Air Force
Films
* ''The Br ...
. Although she was born in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
she spent much of her childhood in
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
. Hardt and her siblings were
home-school
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
ed. At the age of 17, Hardt lived in Japan for a year with her brother and sister-in-law, who were already long-time residents of the country. Hardt returned to the U.S. and attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
to study the Japanese language and arts before permanently moving to Japan in 1988. While in Tokyo she met her future-husband, a New Zealander. In addition to working as a disc jockey and announcer for television and radio, she has worked as a voice actress for the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
dubs of Japanese anime and video games. She also performs as a theater actor and comedian.
Ring announcing
Hardt entered into a career as an English language announcer for mixed martial arts events in 2000 at PRIDE's first Grand Prix. PRIDE officials needed an announcer fluent in English and
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
. Although she had no experience with the sport, her agent contacted her about the job and she took it simply because it fit into her schedule. Hardt became a self-described fan of the sport and continued as the English announcer for PRIDE until its final event. When the former staff of PRIDE created DREAM, Hardt was carried over as well. Hardt has also worked with Japanese
pro wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
organization
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
as a special guest English language ring announcer for their
January 4 Tokyo Dome shows, announcing both
Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 2014 and
Wrestle Kingdom 9
Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2015. It was the 24th January 4 Toky ...
in 2015.
Hardt's energetic style, which usually includes high-pitched screeching and long
alveolar trill
The voiced alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar trills is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r. ...
s, has earned her notoriety within the promotion. Fans have dubbed her "Crazy PRIDE Lady" and many fighters admit to getting "pumped up" by her introductions. She uses singing techniques to prevent damage to her throat rather than take measures to mitigate the damage.
In 2022, Hardt was the announcer for the ADCC Worlds No-Gi grappling championship and performed the ceremonial fighters' presentation.
Filmography
Anime roles
*''
BeyWheelz
''BeyWheelz'' is an anime series, a spin-off of the series ''Beyblade''. While produced in Japan, the series has yet to be aired in Japanese. Originally commissioned by Nelvana to make up for '' Beyblade: Metal Fury's'' sho ...
'' - Ring Announcer
*''
Hayate the Combat Butler
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenjiro Hata. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' magazine from October 2004 to April 2017. Shogakukan released 52 volumes in Japan from February 2005 to Jun ...
'' - MC (ep. 28)
*''
Idaten Jump''
*''
Kinnikuman Nisei: Ultimate Muscle II'' - Herself (ep. 9)
*''
Kirarin Revolution
is a Japanese manga series by An Nakahara. The series ran in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Ciao'' from March 2004 to June 2009, with side stories running in ''Pucchigumi'' in 2006. The manga sold a cumulative total of over 10 million ...
''
*''
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
is a novel by popular Japanese author Harutoshi Fukui (''Shūsen no Lorelei'', ''Bōkoku no Aegis'', '' Samurai Commando: Mission 1549''). The novel takes place in Gundam's Universal Century timeline. Character and mechanical designs ar ...
'' - Operator (ep. 1)
*''
Ring ni Kakero 1'' - Ring Call
Television Drama roles
*''
Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger
is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' television drama, the 45th entry in Toei's long-running ''Super Sentai'' series, and the second produced in the Reiwa era. Additionally, it commemorates the 45th anniversary of the ''Super Sentai'' franchise and is th ...
'' - Zenkaiger Equipment Voice
Video game roles
*''
Air Gallet'' - Narrator
*''
Confidential Mission
is a light gun game published by Sega, first available as an arcade game, then ported to the Dreamcast. The game is in the same style as the '' Virtua Cop'' series or ''The House of the Dead'' series, with support for one or two players. The ga ...
''
*''
Countdown Vampires
is a survival horror game for the PlayStation developed by K2 LLC and published by Bandai.
Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to the earlier games in the ''Resident Evil'' series, to the extent of being labelled a " clone", although there are som ...
'' - Jane Dark, Three Witches, Additional Voices
*''
EA Sports MMA
''EA Sports MMA'' is a 2010 sports video game which was developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 19, 2010, in North America and October 22, 2010, everywhere else. Online serv ...
'' - Herself
*''
FantaVision
, sometimes stylized as ''FantaVision'', is a puzzle video game developed by Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 (PS2). The game's objective is to use a cursor to select three or more launched fireworks ...
'' - Announcer
*''
Futari no Fantavision'' - Announcer
*''
Kinnikuman Muscle Grand Prix'' Series - Announcer
*''
Kinnikuman Muscle Generations'' - Announcer
*''
Octomania'' - Angelique, Fei Fei
*''
Phantasy Star Nova
is a video game for the PlayStation Vita developed by tri-Ace as an installment of the '' Phantasy Star'' game series.2013-09-09Phantasy Star Nova announced for PS Vita Gematsu It was released on November 27, 2014 in Japan, while a Chinese-langua ...
'' - System Voice
*''
Pride Fighting Championships
PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...
'' - Herself
*''
Space Griffon VF-9
is a video game developed by Panther Software and published by Atlus for the PlayStation in 1995. An enhanced remake was released on the Dreamcast in 1999.
Gameplay
The player controls James "Jim" Billington (Codename: "Kid"), a mech pilot inve ...
'' - Maria Hansfield
*''
The Transformers'' -
Arcee
Arcee is the name of several fictional characters in the ''Transformers'' franchise. Arcee has been depicted as female Autobots, usually pink or blue in color. Being the most famous of the Female Autobots, she has made more appearances and has h ...
*''
UFC Undisputed 3
''UFC Undisputed 3'' is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a sequel to '' UFC Undisputed ...
'' - Herself (PRIDE mode)
*''
Yakuza 0
''Yakuza 0'' is an action-adventure game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. It is the sixth main entry in the '' Yakuza series'' and a prequel to the original game. It was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in J ...
'' - Coliseum Announcer
References
External links
*
*
Aoni Production pageLenne's Webpage page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardt, Lenne
1963 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Alaska
American expatriates in Japan
American video game actresses
American voice actresses
Dream (mixed martial arts)
Living people
Mixed martial arts announcers
Place of birth missing (living people)
Pride Fighting Championships