Who Is the Voice of Siri? Susan Bennett, 77

The Short Answer

Susan Bennett, 77, is the original American voice of Siri. Born July 31, 1949, she was a veteran Atlanta voiceover artist and former backup singer (Roy Orbison, Burt Bacharach) when she recorded voice sessions in 2005 - not knowing they would become Siri six years later. When the iPhone 4S launched on October 4, 2011, friends recognized her voice immediately; she confirmed it publicly in 2013. She voiced Siri until iOS 7 (September 2013). She is married to ex-NHL player Rick Hinkle.

Early Life and Background

Susan Alice Bennett (nee Cameron) was born on July 31, 1949, and built a decades-long career in music and voiceover before becoming the most famous voice on earth. As a young singer, she worked as a backup vocalist for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach - genuine pop history - and sang commercial jingles, including the famous "I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid" era of advertising vocals.

Settling in Atlanta, she became a first-call voiceover artist: GPS systems, airport announcements, corporate phone trees. In July 2005, she spent a month recording seemingly random phrases and sentences for a company called ScanSoft - tedious session work she thought nothing of. Six years later, Apple bought the technology, built Siri, and shipped it on the iPhone 4S (October 4, 2011) - with Bennett's 2005 recordings, chopped into phonemes and reassembled, as the American female voice.

She didn't know until friends started calling: "Is that you?" Apple never told her. She confirmed her identity publicly in 2013, becoming an unlikely celebrity - the woman behind the world's most-heard voice, heard billions of times a day until iOS 7 replaced her in September 2013.

Bennett's pre-Siri career was the working musician's grind perfected: Atlanta-based, she sang backup for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach - genuine pop royalty - voiced the "I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid"-era jingles, and became the Southeast's first-call voiceover artist: GPS voices, airport announcements, corporate phone systems, thousands of sessions. The July 2005 ScanSoft sessions - a month of recording nonsense phrases, her voice chopped into phonemes - were just another gig; she was paid by the hour and thought nothing of it. Six years later, Apple stitched those phonemes into Siri, shipped it on the iPhone 4S (October 4, 2011), and Bennett's voice entered a billion pockets - without her knowledge, until friends started calling.

Career Highlights

Susan Bennett's career is two stories: the 40-year grind and the accidental immortality. The grind - jingles, backup singing for Orbison and Bacharach, thousands of voiceover sessions - made her a respected Atlanta pro. The immortality came from a month of 2005 session work she barely remembered, transformed by Apple into Siri.

Since revealing herself in 2013, she has embraced the role: convention appearances, interviews, even a memorable 2015 meeting with the other famous Apple voice. Her story is a parable of the digital age - a human voice, recorded in a booth in 2005, becoming the sound of the smartphone era. At 77, she remains active in voiceover and public speaking.

The reveal (October 2013, CNN) made her an overnight celebrity at 64: the woman behind the world's most-heard voice, doing the talk-show circuit, convention appearances, and the surreal experience of hearing herself everywhere. She voiced Siri until iOS 7 (September 2013) replaced her recordings - but the 2011-2013 Siri remains the iconic one, the voice an entire generation associates with the smartphone's arrival. Since: voiceover work continues, speaking engagements, and the delightful party trick of speaking "in Siri" for fans. Her story is the digital age's parable: a human voice, recorded in an Atlanta booth in 2005, becoming the sound of the future.

Family and Children

Susan Bennett is married to Rick Hinkle, a former NHL hockey player - a pairing of voiceover artist and athlete that has lasted decades. The couple lives in the Atlanta area, where Bennett built her career.

She keeps her family life private - fitting for a woman whose voice is known to billions but whose face was unknown until 2013. Her son has occasionally been mentioned in profiles, but Bennett has never made her family part of the Siri story. The voice belongs to the world; the life belongs to her.

Marriage and Relationships

Rick Hinkle, Bennett's husband, played professional hockey in the NHL before their life together in Atlanta. While Bennett's voice became globally famous, Hinkle has remained out of the spotlight - the steady partner behind an accidental celebrity.

Their marriage spans the entire arc of her career: the jingle years, the session years, the surreal 2011 moment when the world started talking to his wife. Through Siri-mania and beyond, theirs is a private partnership in a very public story.

Family Roots and Extended Family

The Bennett-Hinkle family: husband Rick Hinkle, the former NHL player (Vancouver Canucks system), whose athletic career and her artistic one make an unlikely, enduring pair - married for decades, based in Atlanta. Her son (mentioned rarely in profiles) and extended family stay private. The Cameron side - her birth family - is glimpsed only in passing. For a woman heard by billions, Bennett's private life is remarkably her own: the voice belongs to the world, the life does not.

Rick Hinkle, Bennett's husband, played professional hockey in the Vancouver Canucks system before the couple settled in Atlanta - an athlete-artist pairing that has lasted decades. Bennett has kept her family almost entirely out of the Siri spotlight, granting only rare mentions of her son in interviews. Her birth family, the Camerons, watched with amazement as their daughter's voice became the most-heard female voice on Earth. For all the fame, the Hinkles live an ordinary Atlanta life - the voice of the future, doing the dishes, walking the dog, and delighting the occasional fan who recognizes her.

Where Are They Today?

As of October 2026, Susan Bennett is 77 and still the definitive "voice of Siri" in the public imagination - even though Apple replaced her recordings in 2013, her 2011-2013 Siri remains the iconic one. She does voiceover work, speaking engagements, and fan conventions, where she delights audiences by speaking "in Siri."

At 77, her story only gets better with time: the backup singer for Roy Orbison who became the voice inside a billion pockets. The question "who is the voice of Siri" will be asked as long as people talk to their phones - and the answer will always be Susan Bennett.

At 77, Bennett remains the definitive Siri in the public imagination - the 2011-2013 voice that defined the assistant's personality (dry, a little sassy, unmistakably human). She does voiceover, speaks at tech and voice-industry events, and delights convention crowds by slipping into Siri mid-sentence. Each iPhone generation rediscovers her; the question "who is the voice of Siri" is evergreen, and at 77, she answers it with the same warmth that made a billion people trust a phone.

Her 2011-2013 Siri remains the iconic one, even after Apple replaced the recordings in iOS 7. She does voiceover work, speaking engagements, and fan conventions, delighting audiences by speaking in Siri. The backup singer for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach became the voice inside a billion pockets - the human behind the machine, still active at 77.

Why Fans Keep Asking

People ask "who is the voice of Siri" because everyone has heard her - billions of times - but almost no one knew her. The 2013 reveal was a genuine "wait, Siri is a real person?" moment, and curiosity has never faded: each iPhone generation rediscovers the mystery. At 77, Bennett is the human behind the machine - and her age surprises those who assumed Siri's voice belonged to someone younger, or to no one at all.

People ask because the mystery is delicious: everyone has heard her, almost no one knew her - and the 2013 reveal ("Siri is a real 64-year-old from Atlanta?!") remains one of tech's great human moments. At 77, she is the human behind the machine, the backup singer for Roy Orbison who became the voice inside the future. The question will be asked as long as people talk to their phones.

Frequently Asked Questions

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