Malenia is arguably the most well-known encounter in all of Elden Ring. The daughter of Marika — after Marika split her body and had children with her other half, Radagon — is one of the most intriguing characters in the game. Her unpredictable moves, ridiculous damage, and massive health pool make for a boss battle that is difficult for even the most prepared players. While the character initially grabbed fans’ attention in early images of Elden Ring, Malenia has further cemented herself as the most iconic character in the entire game. Since Elden Ring — and all Souls games — are characterized by their difficulty, the most difficult boss in each title tends to garner the most enduring legacy among fans.
Pippa Bennett-Warner, the voice actress behind Malenia, is also largely responsible for the character’s renowned status. Since each unsuccessful attempt to defeat Malenia is capped off by the same voice line, fans have probably heard Bennett-Warner deliver the line, “I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella,” more times than they’d care to admit. Her performance, however, goes far beyond that single iconic line; Bennet Warner’s delivery during the boss fight’s initial cutscene, the transitional cutscene between Malenia’s two phases, and the monologue following her defeat are all integral in bringing Malenia’s story to life.
Who is Pippa Bennett-Warner
Pippa Bennett-Warner is a British television and film actress hailing from Banbury, England. In light of the character’s unprecedented popularity and status as the gold standard of Elden Ring boss fights, Bennett-Warner’s best-known role to gamers is undoubtedly Malenia. However, Bennett-Warner has had an extensive career beyond her work in Elden Ring. She began her television career with a brief appearance on a show called Holby City, but has since managed to land parts in shows like Southcliffe, Doctor Who, and Gangs of London. More recently, she starred in a six-part thriller called Chloe, available on Amazon Prime.
While she may be best known for her television and voice acting performances, Bennett-Warner has always stayed close to her theater roots ever since starring in a production of The Lion King at age 11. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, she took roles in the plays Ruined and Crocodile. In 2010, she received an Ian Charleson commendation for her performance in King Lear, and followed it up with another acclaimed Shakespearean performance as Queen Isabel in Richard II, where her fellow cast members included Fantastic Beasts star, Eddie Redmayne.
Pippa Bennett-Warner’s History in Gaming
To date, Pippa Bennett-Warner is only credited with appearances in two games: World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. While it’s clear Bennett-Warner’s main focus is on television and film acting, the fact that her first voice-over appearance was in the original World of Warcraft means that she has been lending her talents to the gaming industry since 2004.
It’s also a career that has been conspicuously well-chosen, as World of Warcraft is the best-selling MMORPG of all time, and Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s best-selling title. To put this into perspective, the two titles — since one credit is for the Battle of Azeroth expansion — that Bennett-Warner has done voiceover work for have grossed over 10 billion dollars in revenue collectively.
Since World of Warcraft included such an extensive cast of voice actors, it’s difficult to ascertain exactly which World of Warcraft voice lines belong to Bennett-Warner. However, given the overwhelmingly positive reception to her work as Malenia, gamers will undoubtedly be excited for more performances in the gaming industry from her. With her track record, though, fans should expect it to be a major title.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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