For many people, the film “Love Actually” has been an integral part of the Christmas season since 2003. The now 31-year-old actress and singer Olivia Olson still enchants viewers in her role as sweet Joanna, who performs the Mariah Carey song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on stage. She was just ten years old at the time. 20 years after the film’s release, Olivia Olson recently took to the stage again to perform the Christmas song from her debut film.
According to the Daily Mail, she created nostalgic moments with her voice at the Comic Relief Gala in New York on Monday. Based on her famous film scene, she performed “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in a glittering outfit at the charity event “All I Want for Christmas Is You” organized by “Love Actually” director Richard Curtis (67). But what has happened in the twenty years since her breakthrough as a child star?
In fact, shortly after the success of Love Actually made her famous, Olivia Olson made the decision to retire from traditional acting. Instead, she shifted her focus in her teens to lending her voice to animated characters. Best known and most popular among fans are her appearances as the voice of Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in the Disney series “Phineas and Ferb” (2008 – 2015) and as the speaking and singing voice of Marceline in the cartoon series “Adventure Time”. and Jake” (2010 – 2018).
In September, Olson appeared on the podcast “It’s Real with Jordan and Demi” and spoke candidly about why she chose not to become an actress as a teenager despite her successful debut. “I was very tall and I was a very curvy twelve-year-old, I looked a lot older than the little actor boys I played with,” she explained in an interview. At the time, she was fed up with auditions. Being rejected again and again is hard on a child’s psyche.
She continued to report that she came to dubbing through her father, the screenwriter Martin Olson. “My dad is an animation and comedy writer and he started writing for Disney’s ‘Phineas and Ferb.’ They also wrote a lot of songs for that show and whenever they needed a demo, he would ask me if I could can absorb quickly.” When those in charge at Disney heard her voice, they wanted her there. As a result, she also heard of the inventor of “Adventure Time”. “I consider myself very lucky to have been able to work on two such successful cartoon series.”
Her dream as a ten-year-old was to become a pop star, says Olivia Olson about her motivation to start as an actress at the time. “I’ve been writing and singing songs since I was little. I wasn’t really an actress when I got the role (in Love Actually). I had to take a lot of acting classes for it.” There aren’t many ways for a twelve-year-old to become a pop star. “Acting was my road to becoming a Disney child star. But I’m glad that didn’t work out for me.”
In 2017 she celebrated a small Joanna comeback again alongside Sam actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster (33) in the “Actually… Love” sequel – the BBC short film “Red Nose Day Actually”. In 2019, she also appeared as a candidate in the talent show “X Factor Celebrity” and presented her singing skills on stage in front of the jury, but had to leave the show after the first live show.
She is currently working on a new album, as Olivia Olson revealed in her recent podcast interview. She also worked on a “Phineas and Ferb” reboot in 2023. The cult cartoon series is looking forward to 40 new episodes – and Olivia can once again lend her voice to Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.
She also recently posted a photo with the “Adventure Time” crew. Because since August 2023 there has been the spin-off “Fionna
