Rachael Lillis (July 8, 1969 – August 10, 2024) was an American voice actress. She was best known for her performances as

Misty In cryptography, MISTY1 (or MISTY-1) is a block cipher designed in 1995 by Mitsuru Matsui and others for Mitsubishi Electric. MISTY1 is one of the selected algorithms in the European NESSIE project, and has been among the cryptographic tech ...

, 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 to John and Constance Lillis (née Zafuto) in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

, on July 8, 1969. Her father served in the U.S. Navy and was a maintenance manager. She was the youngest of six children. Lillis and her family later moved to

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. Lillis attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, where she was a premed student. She also trained in opera before she became a voice actor. She studied voice acting in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1996.

Career

Lillis became known for voicing

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 ''Winx Club'' is an animated television series co-produced by Rainbow S.p.A., Rainbow and, later, Nickelodeon. It was created and directed by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. It premiered on 28January 2004, becoming a ratings success in Ita ...

'', ''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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, in part due to a lack of recording equipment at her home. In 2023, Lillis attended a ''Pokémon'' cast reunion in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Death

In May 2024, a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

campaign created by Lillis's sister announced that Lillis had developed

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. 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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

to receive care. Lillis died on August 10, 2024, at the age of 55.

Filmography

Voice roles

Film

Anime

Animation

Video games

Audiobooks

Production credits

Script adaptation

Translator

References

Notes

External links

*
Rachael Lillis
at the CrystalAcids Anime Voice Actor Database
Rachael Lillis
at Live Oak Media audiobooks * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lillis, Rachael 1969 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women writers Actresses from New York (state) Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American television actresses Television writers from California American video game actresses American voice actresses American women screenwriters American women television writers Deaths from breast cancer in California Screenwriters from New York (state) Smith College alumni Writers from Los Angeles Writers from New York (state)