Kristian Michaels

Kristian Michaels (born Christopher Columbus Michaels, July 6, 1970) is a Canadian-American voice actress, actress and puppeteer. She has voiced women, men, and children due to her versatile vocal range.

Career
Kristian started her career as the performer of Christopher Johnston in It's the Paul Taylor Program!. Because she had transitioned from male to female midway through her run as the character, for later episodes she wore padding and tied her hair with bows while in the role to hide the fact she was no longer male.

For several years beginning in the mid-1990s, Kristian 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 was the first transgender Muppeteer. 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.

Kristian 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.

Personal Life
Kristian was born in, to a Canadian father of Czech origin and American mother. She was born Christopher Columbus Michaels (named after the explorer) 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. Kristian came out as transgender to her parents on her 16th birthday.

Kristian graduated from in,  in 1989 under the name of "Chris Michaels", and was her class' valedictorian. She studied at the.

Visual artist and cultural advisor Walton Michaels is her older brother.