Rachael Lillis, English voice actor of Pokémon's Misty and Jessie, passes away at 55

Modified Aug 17, 2024 17:06 GMT

Rachael Lillis, English voice actor of Pokémon's Misty and Jessie, passes away at 46 (Image via The Pokémon Company)

On Saturday, August 10, 2024, Rachael Lillis, the English voice actor of the Pokémon television anime series’ Misty and Jessie, passed away at 55 years old. Co-star Veronica Taylor, who voiced protagonist Ash Ketchum, announced the news on social media on Monday morning.

Taylor also wrote that Lillis’ family wanted to thank fans as they took this time to privately grieve their loss and mourn Rachel’s passing. Fellow co-star Eric Stuart (who voiced Brock and James) as well as Taylor shared their condolences with the family.

As per The New York Times, Lillis died from breast cancer, which was initially diagnosed in May 2024. A GoFundMe campaign was started and shared by several of her fellow actors in order to help raise money for her care.

Pokémon voice actress Rachael Lillis dies after battle with breast cancer which spread to her spine

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At the time of the launch of the GoFundMe campaign for the Pokémon star’s breast cancer diagnosis, it was revealed that the cancer had already spread to her spine. This left her barely able to walk.

The campaign also noted that Lillis had been in a Los Angeles nursing home since late January to receive care, but she found difficulty resting in these conditions due to the noise in the home. Along with Taylor, the campaign also announced Lillis's death with a message on Monday morning.

Lillis’ roles in Pokémon were many, including the voice of Jigglypuff and other titular creatures, but her most well known roles were undoubtedly Misty and Jessie. Likewise, with these two characters being central to the early seasons and iterations of the anime franchise, Lillis was a staple of the series both as an actress and for her characters. She also voiced Vulpix, Jigglypuff, Goldeen, Venonat, Torchic, and Beautifly.

Lillis’ work also extended well beyond the confines of the world famous franchise, such as the titular protagonist of Revolutionary Girl Utena, Utena Tenjo. She also voiced Martina in Slayers Next, Micott Bartsch in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Nagi Kirima in Boogiepop Phantom, Yuriko Star in The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Kanaka Ohno in Genshiken, and Ami Kurimoto in DNA².

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The American voice actress also had several video game credits to her name, most of which revolved around her aforementioned Pokémon roles as Misty, Jessie, Jigglypuff, and other Pokémon characters and creatures. Additional roles include Jelanda, Lyseria, and Mysteria in Valkyrie Profile, Natalie in Ape Escape 2, Ms. Globular in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, and an unlisted credit in Lego Jurassic World.

Lillis was born in 1969 in Dallas, Texas, in the United States, and studied acting in Boston and New York City while appearing in various theater productions, animated series, and independent films. Lillis was originally based in New York but moved to Los Angeles in 2013.