Lady Ella James

I had the distinct pleasure to meet and photograph a lady whose voice I have heard countless times over the last twenty years and it was a wonderful moment for me. With her instantly recognisable honeyed tones, you will feel like you’ve known Ella James forever. And you probably have...Ella has over 20 years experience in the Australian media in radio, tv and print. She has appeared on Television, film, and on stage, both as an actor and stand up comedian. If you’ve phoned for a taxi, or you have a sat nav. You will have heard her across Australia on radio and television commercials, and on the web. And if you’ve been on the phone today trying to get through to a company or corporation…it’s likely it was Ella asking you to ‘press 1…’ She is even the owner of those voluptuous and sensual tones that appear on late night television. You know, the ones that say, call me now on 1900..... Not that I ever did or anything! too funny!

Ella began researching positive psychology 10 years ago while working on ABC radio and has since made the key elements of optimism and resilience a part of her life. Handy tools to have when you’ve been fired as many times as she has. Not because she failed mind you....but the media and performance industries are industries that capture the notion of ‘change’ like no other.

In her career, Ella has worked as a journalist, read radio news, hosted the breakfast show on Sydney’s 2DAY FM; hosted talkback on 2GB, 2UE and nationally on ABC radio. She has presented TV shows on Channel 9 and Channel 10. She has broadcast to UN peacekeepers in the Middle East and Asia, appeared at conferences across Asia and Australia, and travels to Japan to record Satellite Navigation systems for Denso Corp. Ella has appeared in a Tropfest finalist film, on stage, and got as far as the state finals of the International Comedy Festival.

Always looking on the bright side of life saw Ella James being lured back to radio (2GB, ABC local radio across Australia then Sydney’s 2UE) to interview world experts on happiness and psychoneuroimmunology (the link between mind and body in health). On the way she has collected stories from her celebrity interviews with everyone from supermodels to politicians and beyond including Elle McPherson, Whoopi Goldberg, Dr Lee Berk, Dr Bob Cummins, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Magda Szubanski, Bert Newton, writer Elizabeth George (Inspector Linley) and Chrissie Amphlett.

So with such a CV it was a thrill to meet this amazing lady. I shared with her a truthful anecdote from my own life where I first fell in love with a voice at Sydney airport. This woman used to say things like "Passengers leaving on flight 212, this is your final call!" It was the WAY she said what she said, that inflection, that poise and I was in love. I used to go up and down the escalators to find her every time I was in the airport, and sadly never did find her. So all of that emotion and admiration for "the voice" that was latent for these many years was unceremoniously showered on Ella, and what a gracious lady she was and is to listen to my jibberish.

I said to her that I would like her to record a message on my phone that was seductive and she certainly was kind enough to do that for me, and the several people that have heard it are VERY envious and think it is sensational. I will include it here for your listening pleasure below.

I then said I would like to feature her in my little blog and ask her a range of questions which she was again so gracious to entertain and answer. May I also add that she did so within a VERY short span of time, and I am sincerely grateful to her for that. I will include the question and the answer of each below.

1. Was there a single point in your life when you knew you had a voice that made people sit up and listen or was it something you discovered by accident?

Answer:

OMG, people 'sit up and listen'? That's humbling! When I enrolled in the 2CH radio announcers course in 1983, that was the first time I knew I had something. Phil Charley and Roger Pettit who auditioned me were literally gobsmacked. They had 10 people already and that was the max, and I was 11.

2. Once you knew you could utilise your voice in different ways what did you do to maximise the opportunity it provided?

Answer:

Worked as hard as I could, took every opportunity that came my way and sought out others that I couldn't quite see.

3. What do you hope to achieve with your voice? and with your life?

Answer:

I hope to continue finding fulfillment in my creative pursuits. I am going to be doing more acting now, and with my move to the US will be doing a variety of things.

4. What is it like performing for you?

Answer:

It's like breathing. When I first went on stage instead of working in a radio studio, I thought ahaaa! THIS is what I am supposed to be doing.

5. If there are any, what are some of the hurdles you have faced or face now in performing?

Answer:

Getting decision makers to see me so they can put me into positions is the hardest thing, although with a new agent, that is proving to be less of a hurdle. All anyone needs is someone to believe in them.

6. What drives you?

Answer:

I love it when someone sees something in me that I haven't previously considered, and then pursuing it to the max. That's what's happening with my acting, I had never thought of myself as an actor until my first play, and the support I have received has been wonderful. It's the pursuit to be the best of me that drives me.

7. What inspires you?

Answer:

Love. Friendship. Camaraderie. Collaboration. When I am doing a corporate performance to 400 people who enjoy what I do and take something from it. I speak on Optimism and Resilience. It's joyful!

8. If you had one wish, what would that be?

Answer:

To continue to have the health and ability to continue doing what I do.

9. What is your favourite colour, food, place?

Answer:

Red. Broccoli. Wherever my friends are.

10. What do you love?

Answer:

Things of beauty, performing, my friends.

I am so grateful to have met this fantastic lady and genuinely hope our paths meet again, I would love to have more time to take some images of her.

You can read more about her right here!