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On April 15th, 2014 Kirsten Bishop (real name: Kirsten Bishopric) passed away at the age of 50 after battling lung cancer for about a year. She is survived by her husband, two children, two step-children, her mother, and her brother.
As quoted in The Globe and Mail, Kirsten had this to say about her career:
“Over the years … I’ve played debutantes and psychos, corrupt cops, zombies, Soviet spies, mermaids, frazzled moms, cartoon lunatics, depraved whores, aliens and even dead bodies. At age 11, I appeared in [David] Cronenberg’s first, thoroughly gruesome film, Shivers, where an octopus climbed down my throat.”
Sailor Moon fans will remember Kirsten as the voice of the “cartoon lunatic” Zoisite (or Zoycite in the original English dub). She brought a distinctive voice to the character and an iconic laugh. She also played Emerald, Kaori Knight, Telulu, and Lady Badiyanu (among others).
Her acting debut on stage was at 19, at the Stratford Festival. From then on, she worked as an actor on stage, on television, and in film. Her specialties were made for TV movies and voice acting.
One of her most lucrative television commercials was for Weetabix, where she played a pregnant mother speaking to her unborn baby. Her brother, Thor, recalls that the commercial kept being played for years. the residuals came close to $100,000.
Kirsten underwent treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, and The Globe and Mail notes that one of the doctors recognized her name from her role in Sailor Moon:
When she was receiving care at Princess Margaret Hospital, one of the doctors recognized her name from the most popular voice-over series she ever worked for: Sailor Moon. It was an animated feature made in Japan and Ms. Bishopric did several voices when it was dubbed into English, but she was best known as the voice of Zoisite, one of the main characters.
“Sailor Moon was a bit of a cult thing. The doctor at the hospital recognized her name from the credits. Kirsten sometimes went to Sailor Moon conventions,” [her husband] Mr. Roberts said.
You can read Kirsten’s complete obituary on The Globe and Mail.
We will remember Kirsten as a voice who convincingly made Zoisite “beautiful” and, although it was a point of controversy among the fandom that an originally male role was played by a woman, she inspired many a fan to try to imitate her signature laugh.
Our sympathies to her family and loved ones.
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