Rachael Ann MacFarlane Laudiero (born March 21, 1976) is an American voice actress and singer. Her voice credits include Hayley Smith on the

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

television show ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'', Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 in the television series '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', and Kate Lockwell in the video game ''

Starcraft II ''StarCraft II'' is a military science fiction video game created by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the successful ''StarCraft'' video game released in 1998. Set in a fictional future, the game centers on a galactic struggle for dominance ...

''. She is the younger sister of

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series '' Family Guy'' (since 1999) and '' The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creat ...

. In addition to voice acting, MacFarlane has also been involved in other aspects of animation, such as being a

production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non ...

for '' The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' and '' Welcome to Eltingville'' and she wrote an episode of ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'', titled "

Educating Grim ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network. The series originally premiered as segments of ''Grim & Evil'' on August 24, 2001. The segments were spun-out into the ...

Early life

MacFarlane was born in Kent, Connecticut. Her parents, Ronald Milton MacFarlane (born 1946) and Ann Perry Sager (1947–2010), were born in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

. Her brother is filmmaker, animator, and actor

(born 1973). She and her older brother are of English, Scottish, and Irish descent. MacFarlane's parents met in 1970, when they both lived and worked in Boston, Massachusetts, and married later that year. The couple moved to Kent in 1972, where Ann began working in the Admissions Office at

South Kent School South Kent School, a private all-boys boarding school in South Kent, Connecticut, United States, is located on a campus in western Litchfield County. It is sited on Spooner Hill east of Bull's Bridge, overlooking the former Housatonic Valley ...

. She later worked in the College Guidance and Admissions Offices at the

Kent School Kent School is a private, co-educational, college preparatory boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, United States. Frederick Herbert Sill established the school in 1906. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States. Acade ...

, a selective

college preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educat ...

where Ronald also was a teacher. MacFarlane went to

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

but did not graduate before moving to Los Angeles to begin a career in voice acting.

Career

MacFarlane first started voicing characters on

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

shows including ''

Johnny Bravo ''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired fr ...

'' and ''

Dexter's Laboratory ''Dexter's Laboratory'' is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It follows Dexter, a short, enthusiastic boy-genius with a hi ...

''. Then after her work with Hanna-Barbera ended, MacFarlane began voicing many characters on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

. In addition to voice acting, Rachael has also been involved in other aspects of animation, such as being a

for ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' and '' Welcome to Eltingville'', and wrote an episode of ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'', titled "

" – where she also met her husband. Seth MacFarlane asked her to help him with his new pilot for the

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

, which would become ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ch ...

''. Rachael MacFarlane worked on the show providing incidental voices, and her brother told her she was good at it and asked her to stay, prompting her to move from New York City to Los Angeles. This launched her career as a voice actress; she remained an incidental cast member on ''Family Guy'' for several years and began getting other voice-over work on her own, working for both

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

and

. In 2005, her brother Seth cast her in his second major prime time animated show, ''American Dad!'', where she voices Hayley Smith, protagonist

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cha ...

’s rebellious teenage daughter. MacFarlane also continues to contribute to ''Family Guy'', on a regular basis. In September 2012, she released her first album '' Hayley Sings'', which is a jazz vocal tribute to Hayley Smith, her character on ''American Dad!''. MacFarlane and her husband, Spencer Laudiero, have also published picture books for children.

Personal life

MacFarlane is married to animator Spencer Laudiero. They have two daughters. On July 16, 2010, MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry Sager, died of cancer. Her death was reported by

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

on his show ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'', who acknowledged a conversation he had with her during an interview with her son in May 2010. MacFarlane has noted her similarities to Hayley Smith on ''American Dad!'', revealing "We both share the same political views".

Filmography

Film

Animation

Video games

Discography

Studio albums

Bibliography

* ''Eleanor Wyatt, Princess and Pirate'' (Imprint, 2018, illustrated by Spencer Laudiero) * ''Harrison Dwight, Ballerina and Knight'' (Imprint, 2019; illustrated by Spencer Laudiero)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacFarlane, Rachael 1976 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Connecticut American women jazz singers American jazz singers American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent American television writers American video game actresses American voice actresses Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni Concord Records artists Living people Singers from Connecticut People from Kent, Connecticut 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Jazz musicians from Connecticut