Why millions of Aussies are convinced they know this woman from somewhere – even though they’ve never met her before

Millions of Australians have heard Taylor Owynns’ voice, but few would recognise her on the street if they saw her.

For the past 20 years she has been the iconic voice of trains and trams in NSW.

Taylor, born in Melbourne, who calls now Sydney home, started acting in her twenties – but never expect her most famous line ever ‘mind the gap’.

She recently came across a viral Facebook post about her role in traffic announcements and was touched by the huge popularity of her voice among the public.

“I love this job, I really do. I was blown away by what it meant to people. I’m incredibly moved,” she told FEMAIL.

‘When I record announcements, I always think about the people because I know what it’s like to be on stage.

“There are distractions, there’s a lot of other noise, you might not speak the language, it might not be your native language. So I’m always aware of that.”

When Taylor was younger, she moved to New York, where she knew no one. She only stayed for a year, after realizing how “hard” it was.

Taylor then moved to London, where she thought she would spend the rest of her life. However, two years later she moved back to Australia.

Throughout her career she has narrated hundreds of radio adverts and audiobooks, but the job in public transport in New South Wales is the one closest to her heart.

She even briefly provided the voice of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne.

Passengers from across New South Wales will recognise Taylor’s soothing voice reminding them of safety rules and which train is coming next.

“Like all opportunities in my life, it came absolutely out of nowhere. But I’m so glad it happened. At the time, they wanted to change the voice from a man to a woman,” she explained.

Taylor usually prefers to keep a low profile, but every now and then she – or at least her voice – is recognized in public.

“I get asked to take a selfie every now and then. Usually strangers say, ‘I recognize your voice from somewhere,’ but they can’t pinpoint where. So I feel compelled to confess and maybe do a live impersonation,” she said.

One day she was in the middle of the French countryside and met a German man who lived in Sydney and recognized her voice.

Taylor said the technology for public transport announcements was “very different” when she was first hired for the job.

The complete sentences you hear through the PA system are actually separately recorded words and sentences that have been stitched together. This is also called concatenated speech.

Her recordings had to be consistent in pitch and tone, because ‘it all had to flow together as if it were one sentence, even though it was actually a combination of several’.

Before joining NSW Transport, she starred in the popular 1990s children’s series Bananas in Pyjamas, playing teddy bear Lulu.

Mrs Owynns performed the role for 12 years and said it was sometimes physically challenging due to the size and weight of the costume.

She described it as a “completely different job” compared to her work as a train announcer, which allowed her to “be a kid again for a bit”.

“It was like we were playing as little kids. The teddy bears would be eight years old, I think. It was a fantastic team of people,” she said.

“The suit was heavy. The feet were built around running shoes and were very large, the hands had four fingers and I could only see through the nose cone.”

Transport for NSW also shared photos of Taylor on Facebook, prompting praise from commuters.

‘I just LOVE the way Taylor announces Leppington and Edmondson Park. She makes them sound like magical places where unicorns roam. Always a highlight of my day and puts a smile on my face,’ wrote one Sydneysider.

Another called her a “national hero,” while a third called her an “Australian icon.”

“Nice to put a face to that iconic voice,” wrote another.

Surprisingly, many admitted that they thought the voice was that of TV presenter Gretel Killeen.