Carolyn Hopkins
Carolyn Hopkins is an American public service announcer. Hopkins' recorded voice announcements are heard in major transportation systems around the world.
Career
Hopkins' recorded announcements range from service status updates to safety tips. Her voice can be heard in more than 200 airports over the world; including Denver International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Incheon International Airport and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.[1] She has also recorded for such public transit systems as the New York City Subway, the Staten Island Ferry, Grand Central Terminal, and the Paris Métro.
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Hopkins’ first voice recording was for RCA in Indianapolis; while her first airport service announcement was for O’Hare International Airport.[2]
When co-founder Hardy Martin and three other partners started IED (short for Innovative Electronic Designs), they chose Hopkins as one of their first voices. It was for the Typhoon Lagoon attraction at Disney World in Florida in 1989.[3]
Hopkins records all the public address announcements from her home studio in Hampden, Maine and sends them via email.[1][4]
She made the voice recordings for the new World Trade Center in New York City. "I was so thrilled to do those," Hopkins said, "because it made me feel like things were becoming whole again. To read out those locations, that station, ‘World Trade Center’, made such a difference to me.”[2]
Hopkins was named one of the 500 most important people in history, according to Mental Floss Magazine in December 2015 (Hopkins is No. 349).[4]
According to Hopkins, she has ridden the New York City Subway just once, in 1957.[1]
As of 2016, Hopkins still records for IED from her home.[3]
See also
- Emma Clarke, the voice on a majority of the London Underground
- Bernie Wagenblast, another voice on the New York City Subway, AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark
References
- Barron, James (November 14, 2010). "The Speakers: how two people became the voice of 110 airports and the NYC subway". www.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- Hobson, Jeremy (March 10, 2015). "Meet The Voice Of Hundreds Of Airports, Subways And Theme Parks". www.wbur.org. Here and Now. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- Anderson, Lessley (July 18, 2013). "The Speakers: how two people became the voice of 110 airports and the NYC subway". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- Curtis, Abigail (January 10, 2016). "From a Tiny Studio in Maine Her Voice is Heard Around the World". www.bangordailynews.com. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved October 28, 2016.