Whether it’s the soulful glamour heard in Lana Del Rey’s sensuous vocals, the seductive tone of Jessica Rabbit’s “not bad, just drawn that way,” or Idris Elba’s gravelly growl, the ability to do a sultry voice can take vocals to the next level. Here’s everything you need to know to achieve your own sultry voice, with sultry voice examples galore.
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A sultry voice oozes with seductiveness. Sultry voices are most often associated with femme fatales, bombshells, and others who sound deliberately sexually inviting. Although sultry voices are usually low and smoky, that can vary, as seen (or rather, heard) in Marilyn Monroe’s iconically breathy voice. The descriptor “sultry” is less commonly used to describe masculine voices, but is sometimes used for those with low, alluring tones.
Why would you need to do a sultry voice?
Learning how to make your voice sultry can expand your singing and speaking range and allow you to inhabit certain types of characters. You might be asked to make your voice sultry:
To perform a sexy character or seduction scene
You may be asked to speak in a sexy voice to imply a sense of sensuality for both traditional acting and voice acting roles. For example, Kim Cattrall emphasized her naturally sultry voice while portraying the unapologetically sexual Samantha Jones in “Sex and the City.” Here are some of her most iconic lines, performed in Samantha’s trademark sultry voice:
In “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” Daryl McCormack portrays an escort with a fittingly seductive voice:
For historical accuracy
When Ana de Armas was cast to play Marilyn Monroe in “Blonde,” she underwent nine months of dialect coaching—both to diminish her natural Cuban accent and to take on the sex symbol’s breathy voice.
To add texture to a musical performance
Adding a sultry tone to a song can make it intimate, haunting, and utterly seductive. Take these evocative musical performances for example.
Examples of sultry singing voices
Marilyn Monroe, “Happy Birthday Mr. President”
Norah Jones, “Man of the Hour”
Billie Holiday, “I’m a Fool to Want You”
Frank Sinatra, “Satisfy Me One More Time”
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, “Cheek to Cheek”
If you want to add a certain sensuality to your voice, these techniques can help.
Speak slowly
Sultry voices are often a bit slower than standard, with sentences that trail off at the end. Think of it as a verbal striptease: The more you can leave the audience shivering with anticipation, the sultrier your voice will seem.
Go low
Unless you’re aiming for the breathy “sexy baby voice” used by Betty Boop, try lowering your pitch. It can help to do these vocal exercises to get your voice into a lower register:
- Blow through a straw and hum for a minute or two to activate your vocal folds and improve your breathing.
- Perform your favorite monologue or a passage from a book aloud while creating and maintaining a lower register.
- Hum as deeply in your throat as possible to engage a deeper timbre.
- Blow raspberries with your lips and lower the pitch until you can comfortably make lower notes.
How to Take Care of Your Voice Add texture
Sultry voices are often gravelly and rich. To speak with texture and resonance:
- Speak or sing from your diaphragm
- Stand with good, relaxed posture
- Try to create sound from your chest
Exude confidence
Attaining a sultry voice is largely a matter of having confidence in yourself and your ability to project sensuality. Practice your sultry voice with friends and colleagues to help get past the nervousness you might feel performing it for the first time. Act as though you are confident—hold your head up, look people in the eyes, and give a flirtatious smile—and the sultriness will follow.
Understand your character
If you’re asked to make your voice sound sultry for a role, make sure you know why your character’s voice sounds that way. Consider their backstory and unique motivation and use that to develop their voice. For example, in “Bruce Almighty,” Jim Carrey briefly performs a comically extra-sexy voice after his character, Bruce, gains godly powers that he uses in the bedroom.
Alternatively, the sultry voice used by Daniel Malik to voice Black Phillip in “The Witch” is darkly seductive—enough to lead anyone to the temptation of the taste of butter and living deliciously.
Understanding the reasons for a character having their voice can help you imbue your performance with sultry authenticity.
Angelina Jolie
The star’s sex symbol status is only emphasized by her provocative voice. After all, who else could make a fish sound sexy?
Kathleen Turner
The voice of Jessica Rabbit has a long history of playing temptresses. Just give her sizzling performance in “Body Heat” a listen.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch’s highly recognizable low-pitched voice oozes with eroticism—even as an evil dragon.
Antonio Banderas
Banderas is renowned for his sultry voice, as demonstrated in this clip that proves he can make anything sound sexy.
Angela Bassett
With a voice both soothing and sensual, Bassett has portrayed characters including a woman getting her groove back, a vamping vampire, and a sexy woman scorned.
Mae West
West’s husky voice was well-suited to her career portraying sexpots and delivering bawdy double entendres, such as her famous line, “Come up and see me sometime.”