SAMANTHA NEWARK

Samantha Newark is a British-born American recording artist, songwriter, and voice actress best known for her iconic work as the voice of Jerrica Benton and Jem, in the 1980s animated series Jem. The cartoon centered around Jerrica Benton, the owner and manager of Starlight Music and her secret identity, Jem, lead singer of the rock band, Jem and The Holograms. Jerrica adopts the persona of Jem with the help of a holographic computer, known as Synergy, which was built by Jerrica's father and was bequeathed to her after his death. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, Samantha frequently makes live appearances at pop culture conventions nationwide and enjoys a robust and devoted following around the world. 

An award-winning talent behind the mic, on set, and on stage, Samantha carries decades of kaleidoscopic experience in the music, movie, and television industries, including work with the likes of: Leonard Cohen, Steven Spielberg, Juliette Lewis, Molly Ringwald, MTV, and the Transformers. She has released four solo albums of her original music and toured with the longest running American Pink Floyd tribute band.  

Upon a resurgence of popularity amongst a new generation of fans, she appeared as a cameo in the 2015 silver-screen adaptation, Jem and the Holograms (directed by Jon Chu). 

Taking into account her considerable body of work in entertainment, Samantha says playing the roles of Jem and Jerrica stands out as her favorite. In an interview with MTVGeek’s Elizabeth Keenan, Samantha articulates her enduring love for the show: “It has become something that’s a huge part of my world. I love it. What’s not to love? Jem fans are everything good. And we need a lot of that in the world.”