We’re pleased to introduce our final Boss of Honor. This Boss of Honor has spent time as an administrator of mass destruction, a robot, and yes, briefly as a potato. She thinks you are fashion-stunted, unlikable, and a horrible person.
You’ll love her.
She’s Ellen McLain, the voice actress from many of Valve’s games, including Half-Life 2 (as the Combine Overwatch) and Team Fortress 2 (as the Administrator). Her most recognizable role is that of the Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, also known as the villainous sentient robot GLaDOS. Initially seen as a guide to Chell in Portal, it soon becomes clear that the AI in charge of the Aperture Science Research Facility wants nothing more than to kill her off. Needless to say, when she is reactivated in Portal 2 she is NOT happy to see Chell.
With a snarky, passive-aggressive personality that is sinister to the core (pun intended), GLaDOS was ranked by IGN in 2010 as the number one video game villain of all time. GLaDOS and Ellen have won several other video game awards, and Ellen herself won the Spike VGA for “Best Performance by a Human Female” for GLaDOS in Portal 2 in 2011. Ellen has long been a supporter of GaymerX, including being featured in one of the early advertisements for the convention (formerly GaymerCon):
When she’s not busy voicing homicidal robots, Ellen is a diva! But not, like, divas you find in the gay bars… she’s an actual diva in the world of opera. Her singing talents can be found at the end of both Portal games, as she sings both “Still Alive” and “Want You Gone” from Portal and Portal 2 respectively. Her operatic talents are also featured in Portal 2 in the track commonly referred to as the Turret Opera, “Cara Mia Addio.”
Ellen’s work is expanding beyond the video game – her voicework will be featured in the upcoming film Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth). Del Toro has confessed to being a huge Valve fan, and insisted on Ellen as the voice of Jaeger AI as a tribute to her work in the Portal series. She will also star in the web series Wish It Inc. as the Fairy Godmother, which recently met its Kickstarter goal.
Ellen is married to fellow Boss of Honor John Patrick Lowrie and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She’ll be featured in the opening ceremonies as well as panels and two autograph sessions! You can follow her on Twitter at @EllenMcLain.
And now, Ellen doing what she does best… voicing a murderous piece of machinery: