Siri, whose voice do you have?
The question has intrigued millions of Apple iPhone and iPad fans, who use the devices' voice-activated personal assistant for help with everything from finding restaurants and directions to organizing their day.
On Friday, CNN reported it has discovered the original voice. The person had never before been identified publicly.
The network named Susan Bennett, a voice-over actress from Atlanta, as the voice behind Siri, which was first introduced on Apple's iPhone 4S in 2011.
"I'm the voice actor who provided the voice of Siri," Bennett told CNN in an interview.
Trudi Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment on the CNN report. Bennett could not be immediately reached for comment.
CNN said an audio-forensics expert "has studied both voices and says he is '100 percent' certain the two are the same."
Bennett told the network she worked four hours a day for the entire month of July 2005 recording segments in her home recording booth. She said she was paid by the hour but would not reveal the amount.
"A colleague e-mailed me and said, 'Hey, we've been playing around with this new Apple phone. Isn't this you?'" Bennett told CNN.
Her voice may also be familiar to airline passengers who have passed through a Delta Airlines terminal.
The CNN reporter who helped identify Bennett as the voice of Siri met her while researching a story about voices at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world's busiest.
Bennett also provided the radio and TV voice of First National Bank's "Tillie the All-Time Teller," the first ATM machine, she told CNN.
"I began my career as a machine many years ago," Bennett told the network. "I'm sure that you hear my voice at some point every day."
Reuters
