"So, Dave comes home after auditioning all these people and says 'I think we found her'. 'Well, what’s she like?' 'Well, first of all, she’s possibly the most genuine, kindest person I’ve ever talked to'. And he wanted to bring that to Ahsoka’s character. 'And also - she’s really snippy'"
— Anne Convery
Maria Ashley Eckstein (born Maria Ashley Drane, September 22, 1981) is an American actress. She is probably most famous for her role in the Star Wars franchise as Ahsoka Tano. She is also notable for founding "Her Universe", a merchandise line for female fans of Star Wars and other "geek" franchises.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in Orlando, Florida, Eckstein began her career as a cast member for Walt Disney World's Disney-MGM Studios (today Disney's Hollywood Studios). Her first TV appearance was when she was a contestant on Nickelodeon GUTS in 1994. She married baseball player David Eckstein in 2005 and founded the women's apparel store "Her Universe" in 2010, which was the same year that David retired from baseball.
Notable roles:
- Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: Ahsoka (audiobook) and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (voice)
- Alicia in Sydney White
- Becca in Strong Medicine
- Cheetah in DC Super Hero Girls (voice)
- Dagger in Ultimate Spider-Man (voice)
- Grace in Phil of the Future
- Jan Brady in The Brady Bunch in the White House (TV movie)
- Julie in That '70s Show
- Lisa Rossbach in JAG
- Mia the Bluebird in Sofia the First (voice)
- Muffy in That's So Raven
- Susan in Drake & Josh
- Yaeko in Only Yesterday (voice)
- Tallstar in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Ashley Eckstein and her works provide examples of:
- Ability over Appearance: Ashley was asked to do an Icelandic accent during her audition for Ahsoka, but her initial performance wasn't what Dave Filoni wanted. When Ashley spoke up in-between takes, Dave liked her own personality and was casted for that reason.
- Actor-Inspired Element: She put's a lot of her own personality into Ahsoka, and was encouraged by Dave Filoni to do so after seeing said personality in-between audition takes.
- Dawson Casting: She is currently in her 30s, but when doing Ahsoka's voice in The Clone Wars, Ahsoka is a teenager. This is averted in her appearance in Rebels, which set 14 years later, in which at this point, Ahsoka is about Ashley's age.
- I Am Not Spock: Many people know Ashley as Ahsoka Tano.
- Promoted Fanboy: She's a huge Star Wars fan and became the voice actress of Ahsoka Tano, a character that appears in the franchise.
- Star-Making Role: Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. This role also helped her start her career as a fashion-designer.
