Early life and education
Soucie was born in Cleveland, Ohio.1 She trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and built an early career on the New York stage before moving into screen work.2 After appearing in late-1970s television, including the made-for-TV film The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel, she found the physical constraints of on-camera acting limiting and shifted almost entirely to voice work, where her ability to invent and switch between distinct characters had far more room to operate.1
Career
Soucie's first voice-over job came in 1986, supplying several girls' voices for the animated series Rambo: The Force of Freedom.1 From there she became one of the busiest voice actors in the industry, prized for an unusually wide range that lets her play women, men, children, and infants, often several within the same production.2
Her best-known role began in 1991 as the bickering twins Phil and Lil DeVille, and their mother Betty, on Rugrats, parts she carried into the spin-off All Grown Up!. Her other signature animation roles include Bubbles in the What a Cartoon! shorts and The Powerpuff Girls, Kanga across Disney's Winnie the Pooh projects, Lola Bunny in Space Jam and later Looney Tunes productions, and Maddie Fenton in the Ghostbusters-adjacent Nickelodeon series Danny Phantom. On Futurama she recurs as the cloned boy genius Cubert Farnsworth as well as the orphans Albert and Nina.2
Her range across both genders and all ages is reflected in a long list of further credits: Fifi La Fume and Little Sneezer in Tiny Toon Adventures; Princess Katherine, Ophelia, Maggie Reed, and the Weird Sisters in Gargoyles; Linka in Captain Planet and the Planeteers; Dexter's mother in Dexter's Laboratory; Miriam Pataki in Hey Arnold!; Nerissa in W.I.T.C.H.; Jetta and Daffodil in PBS Kids' Clifford series; Morgana Macawber in Darkwing Duck; Princess Sally Acorn (and her computer NICOLE) in the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon; and Ray Ray in The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. Her talent for voicing boys turns up again and again, from Blake in As Told By Ginger to the Bitterman kids in Baby Blues.2
Soucie is equally established in video games. Her roles there include Aerie and Queen Ellesime in BioWare's Baldur's Gate II, Amanda Evert in Tomb Raider: Legend, Sally and Shock in the Kingdom Hearts series and The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge, Tavion in Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy, Maureen in LucasArts' Full Throttle, Angela Cross in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, plus assorted voices in World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Fallout.4
Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters
Soucie became the voice of Janine Melnitz on The Real Ghostbusters beginning with the show's third season, following the departure of original voice Laura Summer.3 She continued in the role through season seven, the longest stretch any performer voiced the character on the series.3 The handover coincided with the period in which Janine's sharper, more sarcastic edge was softened into a warmer, more conventionally maternal figure, a change in characterization that fans still discuss alongside the voice change itself.
As is common for animated series of the era, Soucie also filled out dozens of one-off incidental parts across the show's run, voicing background women, children, and assorted ghosts and creatures in episodes ranging from "Baby Spookums" to "Attack of the B-Movie Monsters."
Soucie has said she was a fan of the original Ghostbusters film but had never seen the animated series before being cast, learning the role and its history as she went. She later returned to discuss the part as a participant in the commentary recorded for The Real Ghostbusters DVD box set.5
Slimer!
Soucie carried the role of Janine into the spin-off series Slimer!, and again voiced incidental characters there, including parts in segments such as "Nothing to Sneeze At," "Doctor Dweeb, I Presume," and "The Dirty Half-Dozen."3
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Encyclopedia.com, "Soucie, Kath 1967, ," accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/soucie-kath-1967. Confirms birth date (February 20, 1967), Cleveland, Ohio birthplace, late-1970s television including The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel, and her first voice-over job in 1986 on Rambo: The Force of Freedom.
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"Kath Soucie," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kath_Soucie. Training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and New York stage start; Rugrats (1991) and All Grown Up!, Bubbles, Kanga, Lola Bunny, Maddie Fenton, Futurama, and the wider animation filmography.
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The Real Ghostbusters (animated series, 1986 to 1991) and Slimer! Janine Melnitz voiced by Kath Soucie for seasons three through seven, following Laura Summer (seasons one and two). Documented in the series character guide via Spook Central.
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IMDb, "Kath Soucie," accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815718/. Video-game voice credits, including Baldur's Gate II, Tomb Raider: Legend, Kingdom Hearts, Full Throttle, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, and others.
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The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection DVD box set bonus disc and cast commentary, on which Soucie appears credited as the second voice of Janine Melnitz.
