Rachael Lillis (July 8, 1969 – August 10, 2024) was an American voice actress. She was best known for her performances as Misty, Jessie, and Jigglypuff in the first eight seasons of the English dub of the TV series Pokémon. In addition to voice roles in other animation works, she also provided voices for many video games.

Early life

Rachael Lillis was born in Niagara Falls, New York, on July 8, 1969. She was the youngest of six children. Lillis attended Smith College, where she was a premed student. She also trained in opera before she became a voice actor. She studied voice acting in Boston and moved to New York City in 1996.

Career

Lillis became known for voicing Misty and Jessie in the English dub of the Pokémon anime. She also voiced Pokémon such as Goldeen, Jigglypuff, Vulpix and Venonat on the show. Lillis appeared in 423 Pokémon episodes. She also voiced various Pokémon in the Super Smash Bros video games. Lillis was also the voice of Utena Tenjo in Revolutionary Girl Utena and voiced characters in Winx Club, Hunter × Hunter, Your Lie in April and Gall Force, among other shows. Lillis's last voice acting role was in Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission. According to Veronica Taylor, Lillis had difficulty finding work during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part due to a lack of recording equipment at her home. In 2023, Lillis attended a Pokémon cast reunion in London.

Death

In May 2024, a GoFundMe campaign created by Lillis's sister announced that Lillis had developed breast cancer. Several of her fellow actors shared the campaign to help raise money for her care. The campaign raised $98,000 by the time she died, with the money going towards Lillis's remaining bills, a memorial service and cancer research. The cancer spread to her spine, which left her barely able to walk, and she eventually moved into a Los Angeles nursing home to receive care. Lillis died from the disease in Los Angeles, on August 10, 2024, at the age of 55.

Filmography

Voice roles

Film

Anime

Animation

Video games

Audiobooks

Production credits

Script adaptation

Translator