You may not recognize Jessica DiCicco's face but you'll definitely know her voice. The talented voice actress currently has roles in some of the most popular preschool cartoons. She currently portrays Hissy on Puppy Dog Pals and Summer Penguin on Muppet Babies both on Disney. DiCicco also has the joy of voicing Donald Duck's triplet nieces April, May, and June on the new Disney Plus show Legend of the Three Caballeros.

DiCicco also had a small role as Princess, a poodle from the hit movie Secret Life of Pets 2 and will be heard on the new Universal Studios Hollywood ride alongside Patton Oswalt and Tiffany Haddish. She also voices the Fiesty Flame Princess from Adventure Time and both Lucy and Lynn on The Loud House.

Next up for DiCicco? She will be welcoming her second child later this year! She also has the lead role on Nickelodeon's newest cartoon. Its Pony premiered on January 18th and DiCicco plays Annie. Annie is a 9-year-old city girl who just so happens to have a pony to do pony things with in the city.

If kid cartoons aren't your thing, DiCicco will also be appearing in an upcoming cartoon premiering on HBO Max. Close Enough is an animated series that definitely isn't for kids but that's what makes it good.

Learn more about her pregnancy, relatable worries about adding a second child, and how pregnancy affected her voice at the worst time.

 

BabyGaga (BG): How did you get into voice acting? When did you discover your talent?

Jessica DiCiccio (JD): I got into voice-overs when I started acting professionally as a kid, but it wasn't until many years later when I got an audition to play a 4-year old that I discovered I can realistically sound this young. I was so excited when I discovered I could do this! Eventually, I auditioned for a Disney movie for the role of a very young kid, I was away at college at the time, so I sent them the audition, and when they heard me they actually thought I was a kid.

I had a very awkward call-back after that where they were expecting to talk to a child and were surprised to learn I was actually a college kid (at the time). The casting director suggested I move to LA to pursue animation, which I’m so glad I did.

 BG: Have you ever had any training or is the ability to voice young character natural?

JD: It’s natural! I think my voice naturally sounds young, and in addition, I figured out how to realistically sound like a baby, a toddler, a kid, and can do every age from 0-18 years old. I’ve never taken classes, I just honed my skills by practicing, and by watching lots of shows. In this case, screen time was a great thing (trying to not feel guilty giving my 2-year-old screen time during this pandemic, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Maybe this is laying the foundation for his future career in VO!).

RELATED: 10 Awesome Perks Of Having Baby Number Two

BG: What's your typical schedule as a voice actress and a mom? Are you able to just ever record from home?

JD: It actually might be the best possible job to have as a mom. Each episode only records once a week, and it can take as little as 15 minutes, and never more than 4 hours at the maximum. I typically have anywhere from 3-6 sessions a week, and even with these sessions, I have a ton of free time. I’m able to record some things from home, which I love, especially when my toddler wanders into my studio and wants to imitate me and do what Mommy does.

I’ll take him on my lap and teach him how to talk into the mic and wear the headphones. I've been saving his voice recordings over the past couple of years, you can really hear the development in his speaking! So happy to be able to document the evolution of his voice. I think he might have a raspy voice just like me!

BG: What has been harder about working since having a child?

JD: It’s been quite an adjustment and I still don’t feel fully acclimated two years in! I really need to ask my friends with older kids if it will ever get back to the way it was, or if it’s just my new normal- which I really think it is. But it’s really hard to leave him when I go to work, I’ve really had to hone my compartmentalizing skills.

It’s easy once I’m physically at work, but after I leave him I’m still thinking about a million baby-related things. I still absolutely love my job and I’m still passionate about it, but now I love this fuzzy-headed little creature a ton, so I have to balance.

BG: What surprised you most about becoming a mom? And what are you most scared about adding a second one to the family?

JD: I’m most surprised by how exciting it is to watch each and every milestone, no matter how small. We beam with pride when our toddler does stuff like put his train tracks together himself, makes up his own words to a song, and signs happy birthday to his markers. And the milestones keep getting more exciting. I was also surprised to learn that being a mom is basically just figuring out logistics. Parenthood = Logistics. I honestly can’t even visualize what life will look like when adding a second baby to the mix...I’m scared.

It’s this dark, foggy gray area and we’re headed straight for it. I definitely gained more confidence in entering the unknown with the first baby, so I feel somewhat prepared to just trust the process, and that everything will settle into place, but yikes… can’t help but to be a little scared. I really need to start asking around and getting tips from other Moms of two. That’s always the best way to start figuring these things out. Moms are the absolute best resource for other Moms.

BG: Who has been your favorite character to voice? What is your favorite show to watch that you’ve been in?

JD: Choosing a favorite character is like choosing a favorite child! I love them all. But now that I have a toddler who can watch preschool shows, it’s so fun to see how he reacts to the shows I’m on. His biggest reaction so far was watching “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” on Amazon Prime. He literally howls with laughter, it brings me so much joy to watch him laughing like that. He also likes Muppet Babies and Puppy Dog Pals, both on Disney Jr.

Out of the non-preschool shows, I love watching It’s Pony (Nickelodeon) and I’m so excited for Close Enough to premiere on HBO Max! It’s a prime time show, and it’s hilarious...and definitely not for kids.

BG: Has your child heard any of your work before? Or even recognized you?

JD: Yes! I’m just starting to show my toddler some of the preschool shows I’m on, and it’s been so fun to see his reaction to each! He’s been into Muppet Babies, and he really likes my character, Summer Penguin. I wonder if he likes her because she sounds familiar to him, or if he genuinely likes the character… I guess I’ll never know. I haven’t told him it’s me, and I’m planning to let him figure it out himself. I can’t wait to see the look on his face once he realizes these characters he’s been watching is actually… Mommy!! One of my friends almost spilled the beans and told him and shot laser beams out of my eyes before he could get the words out.

BG: Have your two pregnancies been different? In which ways?

JD: Yes, a few differences. I had such bad smell aversions the first time that we had to get rid of an entire couch… just to discover the culprit was actually the cleaning product we’d been using on the floors. This time around I have very minimal smell aversions… thank goodness, because I really like our new couch. I would also have to bring a change of clothes with me in case I hugged anyone wearing perfume or cologne, the smell would stick to me constantly make me want to throw up so I would have to change clothes.

I had a boy the first pregnancy, and this time it’s a girl, though I’m not sure if I believe that pregnancy is different because of the gender of the baby. Other than smell aversions, I was nauseous all first trimester for both, and then it magically disappeared on the stroke of midnight of the first day of my second trimester.

BG: Does pregnancy ever affect your voice or ability to do characters?

JD: Sadly, it does. VO is the best job for being a mom, and the worst job for being very pregnant. The problems didn’t really start until the end of my third trimester. I definitely noticed a difference in my voice, and apparently so did others. I remember when my friend (and fellow voice actor) told me my voice got deeper. I ended up having to re-record some of my lines post-pregnancy because they didn’t sound exactly like the character.

I noticed the other voice actors started bringing jackets to our group recording sessions because I would get so hot and need the AC on full blast. And no matter how hard I tried to muster, I had very low energy towards the very end, which affected the way I delivered my lines. Because I'm so petite, the baby was pressing against my lungs, so it was also hard to say long lines because it was hard to catch my breath. I literally worked until the last second, my water broke at Nickelodeon moments after walking out of a Loud House recording session!

BG: You voice babies a lot. Have you ever had a conversation as a baby with your baby?

JD: Of course! And he just laughs in my face.

Thank you so much, Jessica! Our kids' love your work and we can't wait to hear more of you.