Gender Hacks
Ten DEEP Female Voices (with a list of ten deep video examples)
Free your voice box from your gender box
Pitch doesn’t matter that much
Hold on, a deep voice doesn’t automatically make everyone think you’re a man?
It does not!
Just listen to the women in the below list. Many of them probably have deeper voices than you (quiet from the bass section, please). What’s undeniable, though, is that their voices sound like women.
Note: this article is also available as a podcast or video
Deep voices of deep women
- Shohreh Aghdashloo
If you don’t recognize the name, I guarantee you’ll recognize her voice. Shohreh Aghashloo is an Iranian and American actress with a catalog of film, television, and audio work that takes full advantage of her uniquely deep (and uniquely feminine) voice.
Her work includes Arcane, The Expanse, House of Sand and Fog, and X-Men: the Last Stand.
To hear her voice: In Conversation With Actor Shohreh Aghdashloo
2. Julia Stiles
She stole my heart when I tried to sneak into The Matrix and was forced to see 10 Things I Hate About You instead.
Fortunately…that movie was amazing! And Julia Stiles has a voice you’ll swear is deeper than Heath Ledger’s while never sounding like a dude.
To hear her voice: Craig Ferguson Goes Too Far with Julia Stiles
3. Oprah Winfrey
Her voice is obviously deep, right?
It’s only gotten deeper!
And yet it’s hard to imagine a woman’s voice that sounds more iconic, more authoritative, more engaging. A lot of talk show hosts from that era had to resort to Jerry Springer shenanigans to stay on the air, but Oprah moved closer and closer to the life-changing conversations that have come to define her legacy.
To hear her voice: Oprah Winfrey on who she channeled for her “A Wrinkle in Time” character
4. Lorraine Toussaint
Lorraine’s been killing it on the big and small screen for decades, but modern audiences will forever remember her as the sinister Vee in the second season of Orange is the New Black.
To hear her voice: Vee Loses Her Family
5. Whoopi Goldberg
Is there a person alive who doesn’t know who Whoopi is? Please identify yourself, then admit you could have just watched this video and known who she was before leaving a comment. Her voice is unmistakably hers — and unmistakably deep.
My favorite two movies of hers are Sister Act and Sister Act 2. It’s just, like, my opinion man, but I still think we’d have gotten Sister Act 3 a lot sooner if not for Theodore Rex.
To hear her voice: Sister Act 2: the Classroom Scene
6. Laura Prepon
Orange is the New Black is back again. It’s no coincidence that a show committed to expanding the diverse representation of women would also expand the diverse representation of women’s voices.
Laura Prepon took a brief hiatus (ish) in the second season, but then she came back and stayed with the series until the end. Did audiences miss her character? Or was it mostly just us longing for the richly dark tones of her voice?
To hear her voice: Alex & Piper (a love story)
PS. Did you know the real Alex Vaus wrote a memoir telling her side of the story? You can get a copy by clicking/tapping the link below.
7. Scarlett Johansson
Is there a person alive who’d say Scarlett strikes them as anything less than woman? But if you listen to her voice, holy **** dude. That voice is deep. But wow is it expressive. So expressive that Spike Jonze called her in to re-record all of the artificial intelligence character’s voice in his award-winning movie Her.
To hear her voice: HER ‘First meet OS1’ (Operation System One, OS One)
8. Lisa Ling
Journalist, author, and TV personalist Lisa Ling currently hosts This is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN. It’s one of my favorite documentary television series. I come back to it each season for her commanding perspective, yes, but you already know what else keeps me coming back. Her deep voice hooks me and keeps my attention through her investigation of tough topics.
To hear her voice: Sugar Daddies, Sugar Babies | This is Life with Lisa Ling Clip | CNN+
9. Ursula
The sea witch?!
Yep, the sea witch. Her voice is as deep as the caverns where she houses stolen souls.
To hear her voice: The Little Mermaid | Poor Unfortunate Souls | Disney Sing-Along
PS. For a transformative view into the power of one person’s voice, you need to read Wait…the Little Mermaid is Trans??
10. Bridget Everett
Bridget is a sensation. Her voice knows no limits, as evidenced by her acting and singing performances in her semi-autobiographical series Somebody, Somewhere.
To hear her voice: Somebody, Somewhere Official Teaser
Other women with deep voices
Geena Davis | Emma Stone | Mary Elizabeth Winstead | Tiffani Thiesen | Leslie Jones | Rosie O’Donnell | Juliette Lewis | Judy Garland
If you don’t have a deep voice
To listen to a variety of women’s voices with a variety of pitches, check out this video from Trans Voice Lessons: Voices of Women
When you’re done there
I’ve got a nifty trans voice exercise for you below!
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