Meet Durham Native, UNC Alum Janora McDuffie: 2022 Oscars’ New Voice-Over Announcer 

LOS ANGELES, CA — For the past decade, the voice of the Academy Awards has been Randy Thomas, the first female announcer since the inception of the Oscars. However, in the 94th edition of the awards to be held on March 27, Will Packer is shaking things up, including changing the official voice announcer of the coveted award show. The Academy Awards has announced that  Durham (NC) native and UNC-Chapel Hill Alum Janora McDuffie is its newest Announcer for the 94th edition of the Oscars.

McDuffie talked with Spectacular Magazine CEO/Publisher Phyllis Coley about being the 2022 Oscars’ newest Announcer and how she got the role. She also spoke about her hometown, her education, and her acting and voiceover career on this episode of Spectacular Magazine Shorts.

Watch Spectacular Magazine Shorts with Janora McDuffie

Janora McDuffie was born in Durham, North Carolina, to James and Nora McDuffie. She attended Northern Durham High School before graduating from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. She then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar. 

After moving to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams, McDuffie has appeared in TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, This Is Us, Criminal Minds, Firefly, Truth Be Told, Scandal, Without a Trace, and NCIS: Los Angeles. Her talents also landed her Voice Over roles in commercials, animation, and video games including Saints Row: The Third, Saints Row IV, and Call of Juarez: The Cartel. 

For Janora, becoming the new announcer for the 94th Academy Awards for 2022 is a sign that the world is ready for the African-American and LGBT+ communities to be boldly seen and represented on all stages. 

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor the best films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on March 27, 2022, hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes with Janora joining as the Announcer. 

For more information on Janora please visit her website: www.janoramcduffie.com.