| Indira Stefanianna | |
| Birth Name: | Indira Stefanianna Christopherson |
| Birth Date: | 1946 12, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actress, singer |
| Yearsactive: | 1967–2009 |
| Spouse: | [1] [2] |
| Children: | 1[3] |
Indira Stefanianna (born Indira Stefanianna Christopherson; December 15, 1946), also credited as Indira Danks and Stefanianna Christopherson, is a retired American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her role as the original voice of Daphne Blake on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! during its first (1969) season.
Christopherson was born and raised in San Francisco, California, the daughter of father Lorne Christopherson, who was from Manitoba, and mother Hrafnhildur (née Snorradóttir), who was born in Iceland.[4]
She and her mother would sing nursery rhymes together when Christopherson was a little girl, and she aspired to one day become a professional singer and actress.[4] After graduating high school, Christopherson studied voice and piano at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music, and attended two colleges: the College of San Mateo and San Francisco State University.[4]
Christopherson has worked as a character actor, stage actress, and recording artist in addition to her voice work. At the age of 18, she moved to Iceland and had a singing career in several languages. After returning to the United States, she started her stage career by appearing in such productions as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (directed by Andrei Șerban)[3] at The Public Theater, playing the character of Genevieve, and off-Broadway in Harry Ruby's Songs My Mother Never Sang (directed by Paul Lazarus) and Noo Yawk Tawk (directed by Richmond Shepard), in addition to several film and television roles.[5] She made her television debut in 1967 as that episode's bachelorette on The Dating Game.[6] In 1968, Christopherson was cast as the lead in a film titled Reality, about a girl spending her weekend at a resort.[7] She appeared in the Prince Street Players' musical adaptation of Cinderella in 1972.[8]
She was also the original voice of Daphne Blake on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! for the first season in 1969 before taking leave to move to New York with her husband, Rabindra Danks. Her replacement for the rest of the series (and various spinoffs and specials in the franchise through 2003) was Heather North.[9] Other voice work included the role of Princess Dawn on Here Comes the Grump, which she performed while also voicing Daphne, additional voices on Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and providing voiceovers for Scholastic Media in Clifford the Big Red Dog and the series Your Community Changes Every Day (for which she won the DuKane Citizenship Award).[3]
Christopherson is also well known for penning and singing commercial jingles and songs. She sang in the AT&T jingle Reach Out and Touch Someone, with music composed by David Lucas, and won a Clio Award. She sang and wrote the lyrics to the song "Crystal of a Star", along with composer Doug Katsaros, which was used as the closing song for the 1986 film Star Crystal.
Christopherson married Rabindra Danks, an artist,[10] on October 24, 1969.[1] During their marriage they worked on albums together.[4] After eleven years of marriage, the couple divorced on October 31, 1980.[2] She has one son named K.C.Katsaros.[3]
| Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
| 1970 | The Grasshopper | Libby | ||
| 1973 | Wicked, Wicked | Genny | Credited as Indira Danks[11] | |
| 1986 | Star Crystal | Lyrics, Performer: "Crystal of a Star" | ||
| 2006 | Universal Remote | Indira | ||
| 2008 | Knocked Down | Depressed Woman | ||
| 2009 | A Mime's Life | Herself | ||
| Television | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1968 | Mayberry R.F.D. | Dorothy | Episode: "The Harvest Ball" | |
| Here Come the Brides | Lu Ann | Episode: "The Stand Off" | ||
| 1969 | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | Role Unknown | Episode: "Wedding Bells for Mr. Deeds" | |
| Here Comes the Grump | Princess Dawn | 17 episodes, Voice role | ||
| 1969–1970 | Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! | Daphne Blake, Sharon Wetherby | 17 episodes, Voice role (first season only) | |
| Stump the Stars | Herself | 4 episodes[12] [13] [14] [15] | ||
| 1972 | Sanford and Son | Hat Check Girl | Episode: "Happy Birthday, Pop" Credited as Indira Danks | |
| 1973 | M*A*S*H | Lt. O'Brien | Episode: "Love Story" Credited as Indira Danks | |
| 1977-1980 | Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels | Additional voices | 38 episodes, Voice role |