EG Daily can still recall when she went into labor while filming an episode of “Rugrats.”
“I didn’t really know [that I was in labor],” the 57-year-old told Fox News. “My doctor said I was fine. But … I would do a line, like ‘A baby’s gotta do what a baby’ — hold, please. And I’d be like ‘Ugh!’ And the [engineers and directors] would say ‘Oh my God EG you’re having contractions every three minutes.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but the doctor said I’m fine.’ And that night I actually went into labor with one of my daughters, so it’s true. I went into labor doing ‘Rugrats.'"
EG DAILY: MY VOICEOVER CAREER WAS A FLUKE
Daily, who plays the voice of adventurous baby Tommy Pickles in the Nickelodeon animated series, is the proud mother of Hunter, 22, and Tyson, 20, with ex-husband Rick Salomon.
Daily is recognized by many as “the voice" of their childhood for her work in voicing numerous beloved cartoons, including Pickles, Buttercup from "The Powerpuff Girls,” Baby Mumbles in “Happy Feet,” Steve in “Curious George,” and Babe in “Babe: Pig in the City,” just to name a few.
EG Daily, right, the voice of "Rugrats" character Tommy Pickles, poses with a "Rugrat" at a ceremony honoring the popular animated children's show "Rugrats" with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame June 28, 2001 in Hollywood, CA. — Getty
Daily starred in “Rugrats" from 1991 until 2006. And the gig of a lifetime turned out to be a happy accident, she recalled. It all started when a pal suggested she auditioned for voice-over work and she gawked at the idea because she thought of herself first and foremost an actress. Still, she gave it a shot.
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“They showed me a little Claymation character, a little boy, and I remember thinking… I didn’t know what I was doing or how to do it,” she said. “I was an actress, singer. But I went ahead and just did a voice that I felt matched the little Claymation… and suddenly Tommy Pickles came out. I left the audition and about a couple of hours later I found out that I had booked the role of Tommy Pickles, which was my first voiceover audition of my career.”
"Rugrats" — Nickelodeon
But Daily said the voice of Pickles had long existed even before “Rugrats.” In fact, Daily learned she could do voices when she was a child.
“I think I realized I could do voices before I realized I could do voices,” she explained. “When I was a little girl I used to walk around the playground with my best friend holding pinkies, and we would do little voices, little kids voices. We were little already but we would just kind of make [our voices] smaller. And I think it was just something that I could naturally do since I was probably 8 or 9 years old. And I also noticed that I was able to mimic and imitate voices, so it’s kind of a hobby of mine.”
“I think it just started really young and then I didn’t know then that it was going to be something that was going to change my life and become a part of my career,” added Daily. “A monumental part of my career.”
Daily first pursued show business when she was just 8 years old with the help of commercials. By age 15, she earned her big break on television with a guest role on “Laverne & Shirley” in 1979. In 1985, she won the role of Dottie in “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” — and a lifelong friend.
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“Paul Reubens? Pee-wee? He’s my main man,” said Daily. “… He’s just an incredible writer. People don’t realize that he’s a genius as a writer. … He’s a really kind and thoughtful person. If anyone’s friends with Paul Reubens, also known as Pee-wee, the Pee-wee to my Dottie, he remembers everybody’s birthday. And every birthday he’ll send me texts throughout the day. Just really sweet little funny, vintage looking texts.”
And while Daily was initially hesitant in trying out voice-over parts, she quickly became in-demand. “The Powerpuff Girls,” a Cartoon Network series that premiered in 1998, is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary.
"The Powerpuff Girls" (Cartoon Network)
“I think I was a little feisty, so Buttercup came out a little feisty,” said Daily on creating her character’s voice. “Then there was Bubbles. Tara [Strong] does Bubbles and she’s super sweet. And Blossom is a little more practical. So I think it just sort of naturally happened by the tone of my voice. And I sort of have a little rasp to my voice. So Buttercup talks like that.”
EG Daily posing with Buttercup. (Getty)
But these days Daily is going back to her musical roots. She recently released a music video for her new song called “So Pretty.” She described the track as “a movement” to encourage girls, no matter their age, to embrace their so-called imperfections and become more accepting of who they are.
“It’s more than just a song,” she stressed. “It really is about a movement. And the movement is about beauty and beauty from the inside. … People are changing their faces so much that it’s almost like, what are you hiding that’s deep down inside, that’s making you feel insecure, that you want to change yourself so much on the outside? I think it’s a really important time right now, especially with the culture of selfies and filters, and looking so perfect… I think it’s important to love yourself from the inside out.”
But Daily is far from done. In 2018, Nickelodeon announced “Rugrats” was being revived with a new 26-episode season and a live-action movie featuring CGI. While Daily will certainly be busy, she’s also hoping “So Pretty” will continue to inspire listeners.
“I just really wanted people… to appreciate their inside and work on that part of ourselves for this culture, this time period in our lives,” she said. “That sort of feels like the message that came to me when I wrote the song. It was like, ‘OK, this is what I need to do now. So I never know what’s going to be next or what I’m going to tackle next.”
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