Samantha Newark (born 27 June 1967) is an English musician and actress. She is best known for her voice-over work as the speaking voice of Jem and Jerrica in the animated cartoon series '' Jem''. As a teenager, Newark became a voice-over talent in mainstream television. Her work on "Jem" produced a serious cult following that persists to this day. She lent her voice to many radio and TV projects while writing and performing her original music as a solo recording artist in Los Angeles CA, Nashville TN and Dallas, Texas. In 2015 Newark appeared in the live-action feature film adaptation on ''

Jem and the Holograms ''Jem and The Holograms'', also known as simply ''Jem'', is an American animated musical television series that ran from 1985 to 1988. The series is about record company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, and the adventures of her ...

'' directed by

Jon M. Chu Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for directing the romantic comedy '' Crazy Rich Asians'' (2018) and the musical fantasy '' Wicked'' (2024), the former being one of ...

Early years

Samantha Newark was born in

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a suburb of southwest London, England, southwest of Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,189 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Wimb ...

. Although she was born in England, her family then moved to Africa and later to the US. She attended several different schools and began her music career in Africa after seeing

Lena Zavaroni Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer. At the age of 10, with her debut album '' Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', she was the youngest person to have had an album in the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. Lat ...

perform. She continued working as an actress and singer and came to prominence when she landed the role of Jem in 1985.

Acting career

Newark is best known for her voice-over work on the animated 1980s cartoon series '' Jem'' as the speaking voice of Jerrica/Jem (

Britta Phillips Britta Phillips (born June 11, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress. Phillips' music career spans more than 30 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s as the singing voice of the title character ...

was the singing voice). "Jem" remains her most well known role and Newark receives invitations to meet the Jem fans at Pop Culture conventions all over the world. Newark made a cameo appearance in the

live action film adaptation. Newark was nominated for a "Young Artist award" twice for "Exceptional young actress in animation, series, specials, or film features" also nominated for her performance in "Best animated series". Other voice-over credits include guest-starring on the original ''Transformers'' cartoon as "Ariel" in the classic ''Transformers'' episode "War Dawn" and in other episodes playing Elise Presser. Newark was also cast as the voice of a young Peter Pan's mother in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

feature film ''Hook'' as well as doing countless on camera and voice-over TV and radio commercials. She also played the role of Debbie in the 1987 thriller film ''

Summer Camp Nightmare ''Summer Camp Nightmare'' is an American 1987 thriller film directed by Bert L. Dragin and starring Chuck Connors and Charlie Stratton. The film is based on the novel '' The Butterfly Revolution'' by William Butler. Plot Donald Poultry is a yo ...

''. In 2012 she was invited to contribute two characters to the Festival favorite animated short ''Pound Dogs'', created by Mike Salva. This project won the MTV "Voice and Vision animation award for writing and animation and garnered two development deals with MTV. Newark also works in video games, providing voices for games including '' Twisted Metal: Black'' and ''

Britney's Dance Beat ''Britney's Dance Beat'' is a rhythm game based around the music and videos of American singer Britney Spears. The game was developed by Metro Creative Graphics, Hyperspace Cowgirls, and Art Co., Ltd–published by THQ. The game was release ...

'', where she played the roles of the Choreographer and the Asian dancer.

Music career

Newark began her professional music career at the age of seven. Signed to Nitty Gritty records she recorded her first record while living in Africa and then toured to support her single "Jimmy Jimbo" produced by Allan Goldswain and Mike Adams. At age 10 she and her family immigrated to America and Samantha was promptly signed to

International Creative Management ICM Partners was a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., and London. The company represented clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, music, publishing, live performance, branded e ...

where she was thrust onto the State fair circuit opening for

Eddie Rabbitt Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as " Kentucky Rain ...

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

and

Mac Davis Morris Mac Davis (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American songwriter, singer, performer, and actor. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he enjoyed success as a crossover artist and writing for Elvis Presley during his early career, pro ...

. She was cast in the title role in the United States Navy band production of the musical '' Annie'' in Washington DC. and eventually moved with her family to Burbank California where she played Rosie in a production of ''

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon, based on the screenplay for the 1957 Italian film '' Nights of Cabiria''. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse sta ...

'' and Dorothy in a Los Angeles production of ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' She was a frequent performer of The L.A. Kids cabaret and performed often with the

Ray Anthony Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini; January 20, 1922) is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Bentleyv ...

orchestra at the famous Shrine Auditorium and on many telethons. She also was a featured guest vocalist at age 14 with the 65 piece Los Angeles Pops orchestra. She won the Los Angeles vocal competition at the age of 17 and then through the late 1990s started to write and record her own original music with many different incarnations of original bands. Newark recorded the song "In Your Eyes" for the 1986 anime film ''

Project A-ko is a 1986 Japanese animated science fiction action comedy film. The film focuses on 16-year-old Japanese schoolgirl A-ko, who defends her best friend C-ko, as they face off against their classmate and rival B-ko while the Earth faces the threa ...

'' and worked with

Richie Zito Richie Zito (born August 21, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of ...

and

Joey Carbone Joey Carbone is a composer, music producer, arranger and keyboardist. After a period as a session musician, Carbone became a music director for television programmes, such as Star Search. Since the 1980s he has worked as a prolific producer fo ...

and was hired to sing multiple songs on the soundtrack for the movie ''Crazy Six'' starring

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American director and actor. He is best known for appearing in ''Heartbreak Ridge'' in 1986, and known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991, and ''USS Indianapolis: ...

. She was one of the 20 finalists out of 10,000 submissions for the

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride (CEO), Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during ...

talent contest sponsored by Star 98.7 radio and Universal contests in 1999. And was one of 15 budding songwriters accepted into the coveted

Lester Sill Lester Sill (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was a United States record label executive, music publisher and recording artist manager within the West Coast Rock & Roll, West Coast R&B and Surf genres. Sill rose to become the president of ...

Ascap songwriting workshop where she met writer producer and long time collaborator composer

Mike Reagan Michael Reagan is an American composer, songwriter and music producer for film, television, and video games. His TV work includes ''The Powerpuff Girls (2016 TV series), The Powerpuff Girls'', ''Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt'', and Bo ...

She and Mike worked together through the late 1990s writing original music performing live and contributing vocals for various PlayStation games. She sang vocals on the movie soundtrack ''

Some Girl ''Some Girl'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Rory Kelly and written by actress Marissa Ribisi, who also appeared in the film. Premise Claire (Ribisi) resents the fact that she has never been in love. She soon falls for ...

'' starring

Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...

and also sang vocals in the movie ''

Material Girls ''Material Girls'' is a 2006 American teen comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge, loosely based on Jane Austen's 1811 novel ''Sense and Sensibility'', updating the setting to modern Los Angeles. Starring Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff, the film ...

''. While living in Los Angeles she worked as a session singer for writer, producer Michele Vice Maslin. She has worked in the EDM world co-writing a song called "Deeper" for the German group

Fragma Fragma is a German Vocal trance, vocal trance music group, originally comprising three producers. The group was successful in the early 2000s when they released several singles that charted successfully across Europe, especially the United Kin ...

. The version with her vocals was remixed by EDM producer Nick Terranova. In late 2006 she auditioned for

Julian Coryell Julian Coryell (born 1973) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Biography Coryell was born in Pennsylvania in 1973 to famed jazz guitarist Larry CoryellAnderman, Joan (February 20, 2004). "Look how they've grown: Two childre ...

to be a backup singer for

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

. The project was set to do a world tour and after two months of rehearsals the tour was cancelled and put on hold for two years where it started up again with a new MD and new team. Newark made her move to Music city Nashville in Tennessee in October 2007. She released her self-titled debut album in 2008. Songs from the album have been featured in numerous television programs including ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', '' Reba'', ''

Life is Wild ''Life Is Wild'' is an American drama television series adapted by Michael Rauch, George Faber and Charlie Pattinson from the British drama '' Wild at Heart''. The show is about a New York veterinarian who moves his second wife and their two s ...

'', and ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'', ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'', as well as MTV's ''

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'', ''

Punk'd ''Punk'd'' is an American hidden camera–practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003. It was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, with Kutcher serving as producer and host. It bears a resemblance to both ...

'', and ''

My Super Sweet 16 ''My Super Sweet 16'' is an American reality television series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, generally with wealthy parents who throw lavish, excessive and expensive coming-of-age c ...

''. In 2008, Newark was invited to be a part of the documentary film "Saravia" written and directed by Joaquin Montalvan about the spiritual journey into the life of painter, writer and composer Mauricio Saravia. Newark and Saravia met in Los Angeles and worked closely together on the soundtrack for the film. Newark composed the melodies for Saravia's poetry that was featured throughout the film and she performed one of the songs live in the movie. Newark released her second album ''Somethin' Good'' in late October 2011, with songs written and performed by Newark and produced by Dave Polich,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's keyboard programmer on the This Is It concerts. Her third album, ''Hologram'' described as a "love letter" to her many fans, was scheduled for release in November 2016 and final debut in 2017. A dance music version of this album, ''Hologram 2.0'', was released in late 2021 and included remixes by musical artists

Hyperbubble Hyperbubble is an international visual art, visual and performing arts electropop/synth-pop duo from San Antonio, Texas, formed by Jeff DeCuir and Jess Barnett DeCuir. The music of this United States, American group is variously described as "ear ...

and

Jipsta John Patrick Masterson (born October 13, 1974), known professionally as Jipsta, is an American rapper, songwriter, and music producer. Jipsta has released six studio albums: ''Bandoozle'' (2011), ''Turnt Up'' (2013), ''Ban2oozle'' (2017), "Swagge ...

.Samantha Newark – Hologram 2.0
Discogs. Retrieved on November 9, 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

Official Samantha Newark Homepage
* * *
Official YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newark, Samantha 1967 births Living people Actors from the London Borough of Merton English expatriate actresses in the United States English women pop singers English rock singers English video game actresses English voice actresses Glam rock musicians Musicians from Burbank, California Musicians from Dallas Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Musicians from Wimbledon, London 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses 20th-century English singers 21st-century English singers 20th-century English women singers 21st-century English women singers People from Wimbledon, London