AI clones of famous Hollywood voices can read your content in ElevenLabs’ Reader app

Imagine being able to listen to your favorite research paper, classic texts, or better yet, my latest commentary on AI competency, delivered by the legendary voices of Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds, and Sir Laurence Olivier. Thanks to ElevenLabs’ newest feature, this is now possible.

The artificial intelligence and voice technology startup has partnered with the estates of these iconic stars to feature their voices in its new reader app, allowing users to hear their favorite books and articles read aloud by Hollywood legends.

“We’re offering fans a new way to connect with these timeless talents,” said Dustin Blank, Head of Partnerships at ElevenLabs. “Now you can let Judy Garland guide you through Oz or have Sir Laurence Olivier unravel the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes.”

ElevenLabs launches Reader, a text-to-audio app

The app lets you listen to any text content – ​​from articles to PDFs and ePubs – with ElevenLabs’ high-quality, AI-generated voices.

This “Iconic Voices” feature follows the recent launch of ElevenLabs’ Reader app, which converts text into AI-generated audio. While some other apps offer text-to-speech options, these celebrity voices are exclusive to the Reader app.

Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland’s daughter, supports the project: “ElevenLabs’ technology will bring new fans to Mom and delight those who already love her.”

By working directly with the stars’ estates, ElevenLabs has tackled the thorny issues of rights and posthumous representation. Tina Xavie of CMG Worldwide, which manages the estates, praised their approach: “ElevenLabs creates new opportunities for our clients in a thoughtful way.”

As AI reshapes entertainment, Iconic Voices tests how we can preserve and reinterpret cultural icons. Would you be willing to have your favorite book read by James Dean, or would that be too weird for you?

This experiment challenges our notions of performance, authenticity and the lasting impact of a unique voice. I’m personally very excited about it. As AI technology advances, I look forward to seeing more projects that connect the past and present in unexpected ways.