Parents, Tell Your Kids: The Longtime Voice of Peppa Pig is Stepping Down and Is Only 18-Years-Old

Published on February 1, 2020

Since she was five-years old, Harley Bird, now 18, has provided the voice of one of the most infamous characters in children’s television, Peppa Pig. But now, Bird has decided that it is time to move on from the show.

Entertainment One, the Canada-based studio responsible for bringing Peppa Pig to life, announced that Bird is leaving her role as Peppa. The 18-year-old has provided her voice to 185 episodes of the show since 2007, and even won a BAFTA for her role in 2011—she was also the youngest actor to win a BAFTA award.

In a statement, she said that the people she has worked with over the years have become like family to her and have given her unforgettable memories:

“Becoming the voice of Peppa Pig at the age of 5 was the start of an incredible journey and I’ll never forget my time on the show… I… am looking forward to starting the next chapter in my life.”

So who can fill her shoes?

That would be 9-year-old Amelie Bea Smith replacing Bird as the voice of Peppa. Her agent, Mark Jermin, stated that Smith has been a huge fan of the show “so voicing the title role is like a dream come true and she’s thrilled to become part of the voice cast.”

Peppa Pig: The Legend, The Meme

Peppa Pig became one of the most beloved characters in children’s tv, but she also became one of social media’s beloved memes.

Yes indeed, she is a meme.

Back in July, jokes about Peppa Pig’s height began to surface on Twitter. Supposedly, Google “reported” the young pig’s height as over seven feet tall. Afterwards, jokes about her and basketball player, Shaquille O’Neal, came about.

She also her made her way onto the TikTok scene, with thousands of users piggybacking (no pun intended) on the meme created by user @beasinthetrap.

Said meme involves the user biting into a chocolate egg, only to find a miniature Peppa Pig figurine inside; the user then says, in a flirtatious manner, “Peppa! What are you doing in my chocolate?

And as if those were not enough, she also released her first album in July, peaking at No. 25 on Billboard’s Kid Albums chart. Her album release prompted Twitter’s music fandom to support the character. Rappers Lil Nas X and Iggy Azalea even joined in on the fun.

https://twitter.com/IGGYAZALEA/status/1151211544195158016?s=20

From children’s tv to memes to the music scene, for a 4-year old, Peppa Pig is really out here doing it all.

Feature image is authorized through Nickelodeon

Lexi Jones is an award-winning journalist and Staff Writer at Grit Daily. Based in Las Vegas, she covers startup brands in entertainment, internet and LGBTQ+ startup news. She is also an editor of Grit Daily's "Top 100" entrepreneur lists.

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