"Grey DeLisle, the actress who plays Azula, is just unbelievable. She was able to bring a really amazing realism to Azula, without being kind of a cackling villain."
— Michael Dante DiMartino in "The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender".
Grey DeLisle had a difficult childhood; her mother was addicted to drugs. She was primarily raised by her grandmother, Eva Flores Ruth, a vocalist who performed with salsa legend Tito Puente.
DeLisle was heavily into goth bands like The Cure, but her mother, who had become a born-again Pentecostal, set a strict rule forbidding secular music. In her late teens, she started singing old gospel tunes, and entered the world of stand-up comedy on the advice of a close friend. In her comedy routine, DeLisle imitated voices very well, and was advised to take a shot at voice acting. Her first starring role came in the first English version of Crayon Shin-Chan, as the voice of characters Cosmo and Uma, in 1994.
In 2002, DeLisle married musician Murry Hammond, the bassist for the Old 97's, after a few months in a long-distance relationship. They were featured in an episode of The Learning Channel program A Wedding Story. Their first child, Jefferson Texas "Tex" Hammond, was born on January 31, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.
Billed as a "Superstar Voice Actress" on the Anime News Network, DeLisle has played the leading role in many animated series. Harp Magazine has called Delisle "golden-voiced" and recognized her for her roles in Fairly Oddparents, What's New, Scooby-Doo?, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. In addition to her numerous English-speaking roles, she also speaks Japanese as the character Yumi on Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi. DeLisle has had voice acting roles in many computer and video games, such as Escape from Monkey Island, Baldur's Gate 2, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, and several Star Wars games. She also voices the Dark Jedi, Asajj Ventress, in Star Wars: Clone Wars, Therese and Jeanette (Tourette) Voerman in the White Wolf RPG, PC game Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, Samantha Manson in Danny Phantom, Frankie in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and Frida Suárez in El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera. DeLisle has released four music CDs, which include goth-inspired folk and Americana tunes, and a few gospel-style songs.
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