Bahni Turpin (born June 4, 1962) is an American audiobook narrator and stage and screen actor based out of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Her audiobook career includes some of the most popular and critically acclaimed books in recent years, including ''

The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA Today' ...

'' and ''

The Hate U Give ''The Hate U Give'' is a 2017 young adult novel by Angie Thomas. It is Thomas's debut novel, expanded from a short story she wrote in college in reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant. The book is narrated by Starr Carter, a 16-yea ...

''. She has won 9

Audie Awards The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They ...

, including Audiobook of the Year for ''

Children of Blood and Bone ''Children of Blood and Bone'' is a 2018 young adult romanticAfrofantasynovel by Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi. The book, Adeyemi's debut novel and the first in her ''Legacy of Orïsha'' trilogy, follows heroine Zélie Adebola as she ...

''; 14

Earphone Awards ''AudioFile'' is a print and online magazine whose mission is to review "unabridged and abridged audiobooks, original audio programs, commentary, and dramatizations in the spoken-word format. The focus of reviews is the audio presentation, not th ...

; and 2

Odyssey Award The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association (ALA) upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United ...

s. Turpin has also earned a place on AudioFile magazine's list of Golden Voice Narrators, and in 2016, she was named

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

's Narrator of the Year. In 2018,

inducted her into the Narrator Hall of Fame.

Early life

Turpin was born in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

Career

Turpin began her acting career in 1991 with her debut role in the film ''

Daughters of the Dust ''Daughters of the Dust'' is a 1991 independent drama film written, directed, and produced by Julie Dash. It is the first feature film directed by an African-American woman to receive a theatrical release in the United States.Michel, Martin (No ...

'', the first feature film directed by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States. She has since appeared on television shows such as ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

.'' Turpin is also a member of the

Cornerstone Theater Company Cornerstone Theater Company is a theater company based in the United States that specializes in community-based collaboration. According to the mission statement published on the company's website, "Cornerstone Theater Company is a multi-ethnic ...

. Outside of acting, Turpin has been a long-time yoga instructor.

Reviews

Discussing the power Turpin brings to every role she plays,

wrote, "Turpin's embodiment of characters helps to further pull you into the author's world and drive home all of the pain and emotion they are carrying." They continued, stating that "her embodiment of characters that span a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds is unparalleled." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' wrote of ''House of Rougeaux'': "Actor Turpin's skill with a vast array of accents brings the characters of Jaeckel's multigenerational novel to life. …Turpin's multifaceted performance enhances this rich tapestry of a novel." Of ''

'', the same website wrote "Turpin's remarkable sensitivity carries this performance to the ranks of greatness."

Awards and honors

Awards

Best of the Year lists

Selected narrations

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin, Bahni 21st-century American actresses Audiobook narrators Living people 1962 births People from Pontiac, Michigan Actors from Michigan American voice actresses