- In the movie "Birds of Prey," Margot Robbie will reprise her "Suicide Squad" role as Harley Quinn.
- Several actresses have played the character since she was introduced in 1992.
- "The Big Bang Theory" stars Kaley Cuoco and Melissa Rauch have both voiced the character.
- Mia Sara (better known for her role as Sloane Peters in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off") was the first live-action version of the character in the 2002 TV series "Birds of Prey."
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Given how prominent antiheroine Harley Quinn has become in pop culture, it's almost surprising that the character was first introduced in 1992's "Batman: The Animated Series" — over 50 years since Batman and many of his counterparts established the DC Universe.
Harley is traditionally characterized as a psychiatrist-turned-villain, who falls in love with the Joker before leaving their relationship to start a crime empire of her own.
In the 28 years since she was first introduced, the character has been brought to life in numerous movies, TV shows, and video games. Most recently, she was played by Margot Robbie in the 2020 film "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn)."
Here are all 17 actresses who have played Harley Quinn.
Arleen Sorkin was the inspiration for Harley Quinn, and played her in the 1992 TV show "Batman: The Animated Series."
The character’s creator, Paul Dini, was inspired to create Harley Quinn (a “Harlequin-like” accomplice to The Joker) after watching his college friend, Arleen Sorkin, play a clown in a surreal scene from the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” In the clip, her character appears as a flamboyant, roller-skating court jester.
“I thought, Maybe there should be a girl [working with the Joker],” Dini told Vulture. “And I thought, Should the girl be like a tough street thug? Or like a hench-person or something? And then suddenly the idea of someone funny kind of struck me.”
She went on to originate the role in the first season of 1992’s “Batman: The Animated Series,” and reprised it in eight more shows and video games. Her own nasally, sing-song Brooklyn accent served as the basis for the iconic Harley Quinn voice that virtually all other actresses who voice the character try to emulate.
Mia Sara was the first live-action version of the character in the 2002 TV series "Birds of Prey."
Mia Sara, who’s best known for playing Sloane Peters in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” also played the character in “Birds of Prey” — the 2002 TV series, not the upcoming movie.
In the character’s first live-action appearance, Harley returned to her original job as a psychiatrist and used the position to help herself become Gotham’s newest crime lord.
Hynden Walch voiced Harley after Arleen Sorkin, starting with 2004's "The Batman."
In “The Batman,” Walch’s Harley was the host of a romance talk show and joined the Joker after Bruce Wayne canceled her show.
The actress returned to voice the character in 2014’s “Assault on Arkham,” in which Harley Quinn is tasked with retrieving a USB drive with important information from a Gotham mental hospital.
Tara Strong has played the character 33 times in various TV shows, animated movies, and video games.
When it comes to playing Harley Quinn, Tara Strong has run the gambit. Since first taking on the role in 2015’s “DC Super Hero Girls,” she has voiced the character 33 times. Strong even cosplayed as Harley at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016.
Strong has longstanding ties to the DC Universe, having voiced Batgirl in various projects from 1997 to 2016.
Grey Delisle voiced the character in 2008's "Lego Batman: The Videogame."
In the game, her version of Harley Quinn was equipped with both a mallet and a handgun, and (unlike the heroes in “Lego Batman”) could open doors.
DeLisle has also played Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Wonder Woman in other DC media over the years.
Janyse Jaud was Harley in the 2013 motion comic series "Batman: Black and White."
Harley Quinn briefly appeared in the 2017 motion comic series, “Batman: Black and White,” to protest that she and the Joker were innocent during her time as a prisoner in Arkham Asylum.
Jaud also played Catwoman in the series.
Meghan Strange played the character in one episode in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold."
Strange’s Harley was a 1920s flapper who appeared in one episode of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.” In the episode, Harley appeared to help Joker rob Gotham’s Museum of Comedy.
Laura Bailey's version of Harley appeared in "Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite."
Bailey took over the role from Grey DeLisle, voicing her in both the Lego Batman videogame sequel, “Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes,” and the 2013 movie “Lego Batman: The Movie — DC Super Heroes Unite.”
Her Harley has the ability to use her mallet as a boomerang.
Kang Ji-Young played Harley Quinn in the 2017 anime film "DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon."
In a 2017 anime-style Justice League movie, “DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon,” South Korean actress Kang Ji Young voiced Harley Quinn.
In doing so, she became the first and only woman of color to have played the character in her nearly 30-year existence.
Melissa Rauch voiced her in the 2017 animated film "Batman and Harley Quinn."
Batman and Harley Quinn reluctantly team up in the 2017 animated film, “Batman and Harley Quinn,” and viewers might recognize the voice behind the antiheroine — she’s played by Melissa Rauch, who was Bernadette Rostenkowski in “The Big Bang Theory.”
“I love that Harley is a badass and, beyond that, that she uses her humor as another weapon in her arsenal,” Rauch told Empire Magazine. “She knows just how to diffuse a situation with her humor, and how to incite a situation with her sarcasm. It’s a dream role.”
Laura Post played Harley Quinn in the 2017 Telltale Batman game "Batman: The Enemy Within."
Harley Quinn was introduced in the second episode of Telltale Games’ Batman series: “Batman: The Enemy Within.”
Post’s version of the character has black diamonds painted over her eyes and is more of an independent mobster than the Joker’s confidant.
Comedian Jenny Slate was Harley in 2017's "The Lego Batman Movie."
The former “Saturday Night Live” star is no stranger to voice work, having appeared in movies like “The Secret Life of Pets” and “Zootopia.”
Sirena Irwin voiced Dr. Harleen Quinzel in the 2017 movie "Batman vs. Two-Face."
Known for playing characters like Lady Fish and Mom in “Spongebob Squarepants,” Irwin played the character as the professional psychiatrist she was before joining the Joker.
In “Batman vs. Two-Face,” Dr. Harleen Quinzel becomes involved when Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent is accidentally transformed into the villain Two-Face during a laboratory accident.
Margot Rubin voiced the character in the 2019 film "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part."
Her name might sound similar to “Birds of Prey” actress, Margot Robbie, but voice actress Margot Rubin took over Jenny Slate’s Lego Harley Quinn role in “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.”
In a reference to “Suicide Squad,” Quinn tells main character Emmett (Chris Pratt) that his plan to rescue his girlfriend is a “suicide mission.”
Kaley Cuoco played Harley Quinn in the 2019 animated web series "Harley Quinn."
Rauch isn’t the only “Big Bang Theory” actress to play Harley Quinn. In 2019, Kaley Cuoco (who played Penny on the popular CBS show) voiced the titular character in Adult Swim’s 2019 “Harley Quinn” adult animated web series.
“I’ve perfected certain looks and facial expressions over the years, so this [role] in a way was harder — also because I’m voicing someone as iconic as Harley,” Cuoco said in an interview with Digital Spy.
Margot Robbie will reprise her "Suicide Squad" role in the 2020 film "Birds of Prey."
Robbie has arguably become the most recognizable Harley Quinn actress, largely because she was the first to play her in a live-action movie (2016’s “Suicide Squad”).
The actress became very involved with the character’s future in the current DC cinematic universe, pitching a Harley “girl gang” movie that grew into this year’s “Birds of Prey.” In the film, she teams up with several female superheroes to take down a Gotham crime lord.
“While I was researching Harley, I was devouring the comics. I became kind of obsessed with them at some point,” Robbie said in an interview with Variety. “Harley has this unpredictable nature that means she could react in any way to any situation, which as an actor is just a gift. Between all those things, I really just fell in love with her.”
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