Taeko Kawata

Taeko Kawata (born Taeko Yamada) is a freelance Japanese voice actress best known for voicing Amy Rose from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. During her childhood, she was a tomboy and enjoyed imitating the main characters of anime, such as Heidi from Heidi, Girl of the Alps and Calimero from Calimero. While in junior high and high school, she was a member of a folk song club where she played guitar. After graduating from Jissen Commercial High School and still yearning for a career in acting, she landed a job in a department store in Yokumoku and became a complaint handler for Noshishi. While working at a confectionery and pastry shop, she passed a voice acting school exam and attended a voice acting school in the evenings and during holidays at the Tokyo Announce Academy's voice acting department. She would eventually pass an audition for 81 Produce, a voice talent management based in Shibuya, Tokyo, where she was later employed until 2010. Though she lost some confidence in acting due to tough directors, she became a member of the Haiko Theater Company, which encouraged her interests in the entertainment industry. On October 1, 2019, she announced on her Twitter that she was forming her own private firm, T-River LLC, as well as opening a private school. On October 1, 2022, she started working as the Konosu Tourism Ambassador of Konosu City, Saitama Prefecture, where she resides.