Pokemon voice actress Rachael Lillis, known as Rachael McCabe in her later voice-acting roles, died on August 10, 2024, after a three-month battle against cancer. Lillis' sister Laurie Orr announced the voice actress' passing on GoFundMe, which was originally set up when she was diagnosed with breast cancer back in May.
“With a heavy heart, I regret to say that Rachael has passed away. She passed peacefully Saturday night, without pain, and for that we are grateful,” says Orr in an update posted yesterday. “She is with God, the angels, and family that has passed before her, surrounded by infinite Love.”
142 people donated to Rachael's GoFundMe, raising a total of $100,316, meeting the $100,000 goal of the fundraiser.
For eight years from 1998 to 2006, Rachael Lillis voiced the Pokemon characters Misty and Jessie in the English dub of 4Kids' Pokemon adaptation. She was the voice of these characters in the first eight seasons of the series before Michele Knotz began voicing Misty, May, and Jessie when The Pokemon Company took over the animation series.
Aside from the humans in the animation, Lillis also voiced Pokemon cries, including Vulpix, Goldeen, Torchic, Beautifly, Venonat, and most notably, Jigglypuff. Lillis' voice is still used in the most recent dubbing of Jigglypuff and other Pokemon, using archival voice recordings.
“We all know Rachael Lillis from the many wonderful roles she played,” says Pokemon co-star Veronica Taylor, who played Ash Ketchum alongside Lillis, in a heartfelt tribute on X. “She filled our Saturday mornings and before/after school hours with her beautiful voice, her terrific comic timing, and her remarkable acting skills.”
Outside of Pokemon, Lillis had a prolific voice-acting career, getting voice acting credits in animated shows like Berserk, Fate/stay night, The Slayers, Hunter x Hunter, Winx Club, and Your Lie in April.
She was also a valuable member of the production crew, having production credits on script adaptation, and translation on several TV shows.
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