January LaVoy (born in Trumbull, Connecticut) is an American actress and audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is most recognized as Noelle Ortiz on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. LaVoy made her Broadway debut in the Broadway premiere of the play Enron at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2010.
As an audiobook narrator, she has received five Audie Awards and been a finalist for nineteen. In 2013, she won Publishers Weekly's Listen Up Award for Audiobook Narrator of the Year. In 2019, AudioFile named her a Golden Voice narrator.
Personal life LaVoy married Mat Hostetler on September 4, 2011. They divorced in 2019, and she married fellow narrator and author Will Damron in 2022. They reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
Education LaVoy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, where she was a member of Theatre Fairfield, the resident production company. She received her Master in Fine Arts degree from the National Theatre Conservatory at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in Colorado.
Career
Theatre credits In the fall of 2012, LaVoy created the character of Lena in the world premiere of Pearl Cleage's What I Learned in Paris at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work has been seen in regional theatres across America, including the Denver Center Theatre Company, Pittsburgh's City Theatre and Public Theater, CATF in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, Philadelphia's Wilma Theater, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. LaVoy played the character Risa in the 2007 Lucille Lortel Award-winning play, Two Trains Running. She received the 2004 Denver Post Ovation Award, as Best Actress, for her portrayal of Portia in the Denver Center Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
LaVoy played the role of Helen Keller in the play, Helen Keller Speaks, performed first on March 14, 2009, at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University in Connecticut. The play was written by John Orman, a professor of politics at Fairfield University and a former teacher of LaVoy's. The play captures the social activist views of Keller based on her documented speeches and letters between 1913 and 1919.
LaVoy was featured in Signature Theatre Company's Off-Broadway production of Samm-Art Williams' Home playing Woman One/Pattie Mae Wells, as well as productions of Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro, and the world premiere of Will Eno's Wakey, Wakey alongside emmy winner Michael Emerson. She also performed in the world premiere of the musical Coraline at the MCC Theater. She shares a 2019 Lucille Lortel nomination for Outstanding Play with The Mad Ones, Phillip James Brannon, Brad Heberlee, and Carmen M. Herlihy. In 2022, LaVoy was nominated for two Helen Hayes awards -- Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play, and Outstanding Direction in a Play (co-nominated with Adam Immervahr) for her work in Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror at Theater J.
Television and film credits In addition to her role on One Life to Live, LaVoy has been seen on Law & Order (including the SVU and Criminal Intent franchises), All My Children, Guiding Light, and 3 Lbs.. Guest star appearances include Elementary, NOS4A2, and Blue Bloods. She also appeared in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and the short film High Ground.
Voiceover and audiobooks LaVoy has voiced many national commercials, including for Toll House, Revlon, Home Depot, Danone, and UnitedHealth Group.
In 2008, she recorded her first audiobook under a pseudonym because she feared the work may interfere with her roles on soap operas. Since then, she has recorded dozens of audiobooks for publishing houses such as Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Penguin Audio, and Macmillan Audio, including the following:
Awards and honors
Awards YearTitleAwardResultRef.2013 by Libba BrayAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop 10Audie Award for TeensFinalistListen Up Award for FictionFinalistListen Up Award for YA/Children'sFinalist by Libba Bray; The Kill Room by Jeffery DeaverListen Up Award for Audiobook Narrator of the YearWinner by Jeffery DeaverListen Up Award for FictionFinalist2014 by Nicholas SparksAudie Award for RomanceFinalistWilliam Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian DoescherAudie Award for Multi-Voiced PerformanceFinalist2015Faceoff by Linwood Barclay et al.Audie Award for Short Stories or CollectionsFinalistMissing You by Harlan CobenAudie Award for MysteryFinalistWilliam Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian DoescherAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop 102016Lair of Dreams (2015) by Libba BrayAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop 10Audie Award for Best Female NarratorFinalistAudie Award for Young Adult TitleWinner201728 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the WorldAudie Award for Young Listeners' TitleWinnerNimona (2016) by ND StevensonAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop 10Odyssey AwardHonor2018Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba BrayAudie Award for Young Adult TitleFinalistBette & Joan: The Divine Feud by Shaun ConsidineAudie Award for History or BiographyFinalistMy Life, My Love, My Legacy (2017) by Coretta Scott King as told to Rev. Dr. Barbara ReynoldsAudie Award for History or BiographyFinalistMother Go by James Patrick KellyAudie Award for Original WorkFinalist2019Any Man by Amber TamblynAudie Award for Multi-Voiced PerformanceFinalistBefore She Was Harriet (2017) by Lesa Cline-RansomeAudie Award for Young Listeners' TitleWinnerCourage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake KogaAudie Award for Business and Personal DevelopmentFinalist2020Birthday Suit by Lauren BlakelyAudie Award for Audio DramaFinalistCharlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. WhiteAudie Award for Audiobook of the YearFinalistAudie Award for Middle GradeWinnerDooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan ScottAudie Award for Multi-Voiced PerformanceFinalist by Josh LevinAudie Award for History or BiographyFinalist (2019) by Alix E. HarrowAudie Award for Best Female NarratorFinalistAudie Award for FantasyWinner2022Class Act by Jerry CraftAudie Award for Middle Grade TitleFinalistFour Hundred Souls (2021), edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. BlainAudie Award for Multi-Voiced PerformanceFinalist2023 (2021) by and The New York Times Magazine, edited by Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman, and Jake SilversteinAudie Award for Audiobook of the YearFinalistAudie Award for Multi-Voiced PerformanceFinalist by Paul Newman, edited by David RosenthallAudie Award for Autobiography or MemoirFinalistSparring Partners by John GrishamAudie Award for Multi-Voiced PerformanceWinnerThistlefoot by GennaRose NethercottAudie Award for Best Female NarratorFinalist2024Twelve Dinging Doorbells by Tameka Fryer BrownAudie Award for Young Listeners' TitleFinalist
"Best of" lists YearTitleListRef.2014Missing You (2014) by Harlan CobenAudioFile Best of Mystery & Suspense (2014) by Marcia ClarkAudioFile Best of Mystery & Suspense2015Lair of Dreams (2015) by Libba BrayAudioFile Best of Young Adult2016Version Control (2016) by Dexter PalmerAudioFile Best of Science Fiction & FantasyJourney to Star Wars: The Force Awakens Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure by Cecil Castellucci and Jason FryAmazing Audiobooks for Young Adults2017 (2017), edited by Veronica ChambersAudioFile Best of NonFiction & CultureCamino Island (2017) by John GrishamAudioFile Best of Mystery & SuspenseMy Life, My Love, My Legacy (2017) by Coretta Scott King as told to Rev. Dr. Barbara ReynoldsAudioFile Best of Memoir2018Before She Was Harriet (2017) by Lesa Cline-RansomeBooklist'''s Audio Stars for Youth
|Hope Nation (2018), edited by Rose Brock |AudioFile Best of Young Adult
|Unicorn Rescue Society, Books 1–2: The Creature of the Pines and The Basque Dragon by (2018) Christopher Smith and others |Booklist's Audio Stars for Youth
| rowspan="7" |2019 |Before She Was Harriet (2017) by Lesa Cline-Ransome |ALSC's Notable Children's Recordings
|Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White |AudioFile Best of Children & Family Listening
|Daisy Jones & The Six (2019) by Taylor Jenkins Reid |AudioFile Best of Fiction, Poetry & Horror
|Eliza Hamilton (2018) by Tilar J. Mazzeo |AudioFile Best of Biography
|Look Both Ways (2019) by Jason Reynolds |AudioFile Best of Children & Family Listening
| (2019) by Alix E. Harrow |AudioFile Best of Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror
|Trailblazer (2019) by Dorothy Butler Gilliam |AudioFile Best of Memoir
| rowspan="2" |2020 |Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White |ALSC's Notable Children's Recordings
|Unicorn Rescue Society, Books 1–2: The Creature of the Pines and The Basque Dragon (2018) by Christopher Smith and others |Booklists Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks for Youth
| rowspan="3" |2021 |Four Hundred Souls (2021), edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain |AudioFile Best of History & Biography
|King of Crows by Libba Bray |Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
|Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold |Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
| rowspan="2" |2022 |Class Act by Jerry Craft |Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
|Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre'' (2021) by Carole Boston WeatherfordAmazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
References
External links January LaVoy website