Heather North was a renowned American voice actress from Pasadena, California. Born in 1945, she began her acting career at the tender age of 11, around 1956. Throughout the 1960s, she made guest appearances in various television series, including "My Three Sons", "Gidget", and "The Monkees". Her film debut came in 1965 with the drama film "Git", where she played Elaine Garrett, the adolescent daughter of dog breeder Andrew Garrett.
In 1967, North joined the cast of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives", where she portrayed Sandy Horton, a granddaughter of the original main character Dr. Thomas Horton. She remained in this role until 1972, when her character was written out. Sandy was reintroduced in 1982, but played by a different actress.
In 1969, North became roommates with fellow actress Nicole Jaffe, who was voicing Velma Dinkley in the animated series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!". After Stefanianna Christopherson quit the role of Daphne Blake, Jaffe recommended North to replace her. North voiced Daphne in several episodes of the animated series' second season.
In 1971, North played the female lead Jennifer Scott in the comedy film "The Barefoot Executive". That same year, she married television producer H. Wesley Kenney, whom she met on the set of "Days of Our Lives". They remained married until his death in 2015.
North's association with Hanna-Barbera began with the animated series "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" (1972-1973),where she voiced Daphne Blake. She then went on to voice Daphne in "The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour" (1976),"The Scooby-Doo Show" (1976-1978),and "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels" (1978-1980).
Her next appearance in a Scooby-Doo series was in "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" (1979-1980),where Daphne's role was increasingly de-emphasized. Daphne was eventually written out of the series. North returned to voice Daphne in "The New Scooby Doo Mysteries" (1983-1984),where Daphne was re-introduced as a co-protagonist.
North's last regular appearance in a Scooby-Doo television series was in "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" (1985). She then mostly retired from acting, emerging from retirement once in 1997 and twice in 2003 to reprise her role as Daphne.
North was widowed in 2015 and passed away in November 2017 at the age of 71, due to bronchiolitis. Despite her limited success in live-action roles, North remains one of the most beloved voice actresses of the 1970s and 1980s, with several actresses since voicing Daphne Blake, but none as iconic as North.
