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Minnie Mouse voice actress Russi Taylor dead at 75

By Karen Butler
Minnie Mouse voice actress Russi Taylor died at the age of 75 on Friday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 2 | Minnie Mouse voice actress Russi Taylor died at the age of 75 on Friday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

July 28 (UPI) -- Voice actress Russi Taylor has died in Glendale, Calif., the Walt Disney Company announced. She was 75.

No cause of death was revealed for the Massachusetts native, who is best known as the official voice of Minnie Mouse.

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For more than 30 years, she was heard playing the iconic character in films, TV shows and theme park attractions.

"Minnie Mouse lost her voice with the passing of Russi Taylor," Bob Iger, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement after the performer's death Friday.

"For more than 30 years, Minnie and Russi worked together to entertain millions around the world -- a partnership that made Minnie a global icon and Russi a Disney Legend beloved by fans everywhere. We're so grateful for Russi's talent as well as the tremendous spirit and great joy she brought to everything she did. It was a privilege to have known her and an honor to have worked with her, and we take comfort in the knowledge that her work will continue to entertain and inspire for generations to come."

In 1991, Taylor married Wayne Allwine, who had voiced Mickey Mouse since 1977.

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Allwine died in 2009.

Taylor also voice characters in the animated TV shows The Simpsons, the original DuckTales, TaleSpin, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Kim Possible, Sofia the First, The Lion Guard and Tangled: The Series. Her film credits include The Rescuers Down Under, Babe and The Simpsons Movie.

"I never wanted to be famous," a Disney press release quoted her as saying. "The characters I do are famous, and that's fine for me."

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