BeyondSims Gerri Lawlor, Original Voice Actor on The Sims, Sadly Passes Away

Robi Kauker, audio director at Maxis, has shared some sad news on The Sims official website today regarding Gerri Lawlor, the original voice actress for The Sims.

Kauker, who has been working on The Sims since it’s inception, has shared that Gerri has sadly passed away. Without her, Simlish wouldn’t have become the phenomenon it turned out to be in the game.

Gerri was an amazing improvisational comedienne who brought her enormous personality to the mic. She was one of the funniest people with whom I ever had the opportunity to work. We were introduced to Gerri by Claire Curtin, who brought her in from the local San Francisco improv scene. Gerri’s generosity and willingness to try anything is one of my most cherished memories from over twenty years of making The Sims. It’s something I still lean on and learn from to this day.

Gerri and her male counterpart, Stephen Kearin, gave us the gift of side-splitting, deeply painful laughter on countless occasions in the studio, to the point of a rib fracturing in one session.

Their combined acts of sheer creative joy while playing with Simlish remain high points in my career and a constant reminder of how wonderful and fulfilling a creative life can be.

Gerri, we will miss you so much and are grateful for our time together.

Dag dag! (Gerri said it first.)
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Our deepest condolences are with Gerri’s family and friends during this time and I am so thankful that she was a part of our favourite video game.

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