Lieutenant Commander (John/Jane) Shepard

"You're not even alive...not really. You're a machine, and machines can be broken."

Lieutenant Commander (John) Shepard is the human protagonist of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect 4, whose gender, appearence, skills and pre-service history are all customizable (including first name) and have an impact on the story. The default pre-made Shepard is a male Soldier named John, with the Earthborn/Sole Survivor Profile.

Shepard was born on April 11, 2154, is a graduate of the Systems Alliance N7 special forces program (service no. 5923-AC-2826), and is initially assigned to the SSV Normandy as Executive Officer. Shepard later becomes the first human to join the Spectres, an elite special task force for the Citadel Council.

The male Shepard is voiced by Mark Meer and the female Shepard is voiced by Jennifer Hale.