Kristian Michaels

Crystal Morgan Michaels (born Kenneth Michaels, July 6, 1970), better known by her stage name Kristian Michaels, is a Canadian-American puppeteer, voice actress, actress, and writer. She is best known for her work with the animation studio Nelvana as well as a prominent recurring Muppeteer.

Early life
Michaels was born in, to a Canadian father of Czech origin and American mother. She was born Kenneth Thomas Michaels and was assigned male at birth. Her father, at the time a historian at Auvray College, had been rescued in the and was adopted by a Canadian couple from. Visual artist and cultural advisor Walton Michaels is her older brother.

Michaels graduated from in,  in 1989, and was her class' valedictorian. She studied at the.

Career
From 1991 onwards under the pseudonym of Louise Farlone, Kristian was a prominent writer of fan-fiction. Her The Raccoons fanfiction No, You Are Our Hero won the first annual North American Fanfiction Writers' Prize.

For several years beginning in the mid-1990s, Michaels worked on several Muppets projects - as a writer (co-writing Journey to Eagle Rock and episodes of Eagle Rock), as a puppeteer (she performed Brenda and the Grand Councilor in Eagle Rock, and was an ensemble Muppeteer for Sesame Park and Wacky Works), and doing photo puppet work for several Muppets books. She also performed a walk-around version of Louis the otter in Sesame Park Live: When I Grow Up and Sesame Park Live: 1-2-3 Imagine! and walk-arounds of Zoe and Rosita at Ontario's Playland. She was sometimes referred to in her Muppets works as "Crystal Michaels", her post-transition real name.

She was Creative Director for Latikuu Edacra Entertainment North America from 2008-2015.

Michaels has also worked as a voice artist with the successful -based animation firm, lending her voice to Squeak! The Mouse Show, Redwall: The Movie and other projects.

Michaels puppeteers Noel the Panther in Between the Lions: Let's Explore and the Between the Lions reboot.