Mae Questel's Orthodox Jewish family was strongly opposed to her pursuing an entertainment career. Despite her passion for the performing arts, her parents and grandparents were adamant that she abandon her dreams and instead focus on a more traditional path. In fact, they were so opposed to her career choice that they went so far as to have their wills drawn up in a way that would discourage her from pursuing a life in entertainment.
Undeterred, Mae continued to pursue her love of drama, studying at Columbia University and becoming a member of the American Theatre Wing. It was during this time that she discovered her talent for mimicry, which would ultimately become a hallmark of her career.
At the age of 17, Mae won a local contest to find the girl who most resembled Helen Kane, a popular singer known as the "Boop-Oop-A-Doop Queen". This led to her being signed by an agent and performing in the Vaudeville circuit, where she billed herself as "Mae Questel - Personality Singer of Personality Songs". Her impressive vocal range and mimicry skills allowed her to perform dead-on impressions of famous singers and actors, including Maurice Chevalier, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, and Helen Kane herself. She also provided a range of animal sounds for radio shows, including duck, dog, chicken, owl, monkey, lion, and baby sounds.
It was her "boop-oop-a-doop" routine that caught the attention of Max Fleischer, the creator of Betty Boop. He hired Mae to provide the voice for the character in 1931, a role she would go on to play in over 150 animated shorts until the character was retired in 1939. During this time, she also recorded the hit song "On The Good Ship Lollipop", which sold over 2 million copies during the Great Depression.
In addition to her work on Betty Boop, Mae also provided the voice for other famous cartoon characters, including Olive Oyl in the Popeye cartoons, as well as the toddler Swee'pea and others. She even took on the role of Popeye himself once, in the cartoon Shape Ahoy, when Jack Mercer was serving in the military during World War II.
Mae's versatility as a voice actress is perhaps best showcased in the cartoon Never Kick a Woman, in which she provides the quivery, nervous-Nellie voice of Olive Oyl, based on comedic actress Zasu Pitts, and the deep, assured, alluring voice of the blonde saleswoman, based on Mae West.
Throughout her career, Mae received numerous accolades and honors, including a "Mae Questel Day" in her honor from the City of Indianapolis in 1968 and the Troupers Award for outstanding contribution to entertainment in 1979.
