Arleen Sorkin, inspiration behind DC character Harley Quinn, dies at 67

Arleen Sorkin, best known for her role on Days of Our Lives and as the original voice of Harley Quinn, has died. She was 67.

Voice actor Neil Kaplan confirmed Sorkin’s demise on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, writing, "It broke my heart to hear… the original voice of Harley Quinn, Arlene Sorkin has passed away. I adored her work as HQ & as Calliope in “Days of Our Lives.”

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Sorkin kicked off her career as a cabaret performer, finding her ilk in comedic roles during the ‘70s.

The late actress rose to fame after she was cast as Calliope Jones on Days of Our Lives.

Besides being an actress, Sorkin was a repository of many talents; she worked as a writer on the series Tiny Toon Adventures and Jennifer Aniston vehicle Picture Perfect in the ‘90s and co-hosted America’s Funniest People in 1990.

Paul Dini created the character of Harley Quinn, the Joker’s girlfriend in the DC comics, inspired by Sorkin, who also happened to be his roommate during college.

According to him, he based Quinn on a series of out-there dream sequences performed by Sorkin on Days.

She also became the first actor to voice Harley Quinn in several shows and movies.