Natalie Canizares

Natalie Canizares and the Voice That Launched a Legend

When Respawn Entertainment officially announced Vantage as the newest Legend for Apex Legends Season 14 in July 2022, the face behind that voice was Natalie Cañizares – a Chicago-born, Los Angeles-based Cuban American actor who had spent years building her craft across comedy stages, film sets, and animation studios. That announcement, shared directly by Respawn on social media, put Cañizares at the center of one of the most anticipated seasonal launches in the game’s history.

Vantage, real name Mara, is a cold-planet survivalist whose razor-sharp instincts and quiet intensity demanded a voice that could carry both vulnerability and grit. Cañizares brought exactly that. Her performance gave the character a grounded authenticity – not a caricature of toughness, but something lived-in and earned. Apex Legends marked her first video game role, and the debut landed her in a title with millions of active players worldwide.

From the Groundlings to the Animation Booth

The path to voice acting was never a straight line for Cañizares. Her performance foundation started in dance, earning her a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She then pursued formal acting study, completing programs at both the Upright Citizens Brigade and The Groundlings – two of the most demanding improv and sketch comedy institutions in the United States. That comedic training showed up years before Apex Legends, in one of her earliest voice credits.

In the 2021 Sony Pictures Animation film The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Cañizares voiced Catherine the Food Blogger, a sharp and funny small-screen presence within a film that became a critical hit and a streaming phenomenon on Netflix. The role proved she could hold her own in an ensemble stacked with well-known performers, and it planted her firmly on the radar of animation casting directors.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Expanding Reach

In 2023, Cañizares added another animated feature to her credits with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, the Paramount Pictures reboot produced by Seth Rogen. The film featured an enormous ensemble cast and was praised for its kinetic animation style and voice performances that leaned into an improvisational, youthful energy. Her appearance in the project – alongside actors like Ayo Edebiri, Jackie Chan, and Ice Cube – underscored how quickly she had positioned herself within high-profile animation productions.

Live-Action Work and the Filmmaker Behind the Performer

Beyond the recording booth, Cañizares has worked across live-action television and short film. Her credits include appearances in Mayans M.C., Good Trouble, and Griselda, the 2024 Netflix limited series. She wrote and directed the short La Mesa (The Table), reflecting a creative investment that extends well past performing other people’s scripts. That instinct to create as well as perform shapes the kind of actor she is – one who understands story from the inside out.

Most Known Roles of Natalie Canizares

• • Vantage – Apex Legends (Video Game, 2022)
• • Vantage – Apex Legends: Stories from the Outlands (Animated Short, 2022)
• • Catherine (Food Blogger) – The Mitchells vs. the Machines (Animated Film, 2021)
• • Sign My Baby Mom – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Animated Film, 2023)