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How The Proud Family Taught Kyla Pratt to Love Her Voice

On the 20th anniversary of The Proud Family's premiere, Kyla Pratt looked back on her impactful role and teased what's to come for the reboot, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

By Alyssa Ray Sep 16, 2021 12:23 AMTags
Watch: Keke Palmer to Voice New "Proud Family" Character on Disney+

The Proud Family didn't just teach its viewers to be loud and proud.

For the 20th anniversary of the Disney Channel hit, which first premiered on Sept. 15, 2001, Kyla Pratt reflected on her time playing leading lady Penny Proud. As Pratt reminded us, she was just a young woman when she first lent her voice to the animated series, and, thus, the experience influenced her identity.

"I didn't realize how much it was shaping me," she exclusively told E! News, "and also how much of my personality, you know, came through with playing Penny. I think I always grew up confused about people being bullied about certain things, because I was always like, 'No! Stand up for yourself!' And now as an adult, I feel like a lot of that came from, you know, helping portray that character."

In fact, playing Penny Proud taught Pratt to love a part of herself that she previously struggled with: her voice.

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2021 TV Premiere Dates

"I have a very distinctive voice that I have not always loved," she relayed. "You never know, something that you don't particularly like about yourself other people are going to love."

Nowadays, Pratt couldn't be prouder to have a recognizable voice that helped shape a generation, adding, "We can all feel some type of way about something but, something that might be weird to you might be beautiful to a stranger."

Disney+

And come 2022, viewers will get to enjoy Pratt as Penny Proud once more, as she's reviving her role in the Disney+ reboot, renamed The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

"In the beginning everybody was like, 'Are you going to be a part of it?'" she quipped. "I was like, 'Uh, who else is going to be Penny?'"

As she continued, Pratt expressed her excitement for the new series, teasing, "I think everybody is gonna be so amazed! It's definitely worth the wait."

If that isn't enough to excite you, Disney+ just announced the star-studded guest list—including Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Chance the Rapper, Normani, Leslie Odom Jr., Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe, Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union and many more—for Louder and Prouder.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder will premiere in 2022 on Disney+.

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