Voice of Pokémon's Misty and Jessie, Rachael Lillis passes at 55

One of the most iconic English language voice actors in the anime dubbing world has just passed. Rachael Lillis tragically passed away at the age of 55 on August 10 after bravely fighting breast cancer.

Image: The WB , Rachael Lillis / IMDb

Rachael Lillis was an American voice actress and scriptwriter. She had trained in opera before moving on to a career in voice acting.

Image: RachaelLillis / X

Born in Niagara Falls, New York, on July 8, 1969, Rachael Lillis’ IMDb page states that she landed her first role in 1985 with the roles of Dairy Woman and Marceau in ‘Kenji Miyazawa's Night on the Galactic Railroad’. She started her career in the 1980s.

Image: RachaelLillis / X

Although several news outlets have reported that Rachael Lillis was 46 at the time of her passing, The New York Times has confirmed her age to be 55 with information from her sister, Laurie Orr.

Image: RachaelLillis / X

Rachael Lillis was best known for her voice acting career later in the 1990s, when she started to take on more prominent roles, reports The New York Times.

Image: GoFundMe

It was in 1999 that Rachael Lillis landed her biggest break ever with being cast in the English dub for the Japanese hit animated TV series ‘Pokémon’. Time reports that she had voiced not just the characters Misty and Jessie but also several others, like the Pokémon Jigglypuff.

Image: The WB

After Pokémon, Variety reports that Rachael Lillis also had roles in several other hit animated TV series, such as ‘Winx Club’ and ‘Hunter x Hunter’.

Image: The WB

Rachael Lillis is well recognised for her voice acting, although she also works as a scriptwriter. Her IMDb page states that she has four script translation and adaptation credits. This still is from 'Boogiepop Phantom', of which Rachael Lillis has screenwriting credits for.

Image: Funimation Channel.

According to Anime News Network, Rachael Lillis has been battling breast cancer, which was publicised through a GoFundMe page set up by her sister in May 2024. The initiative then received support from many other actors and lovers of her work.

Image: RachaelLillis / X

Unfortunately, Rachael Lillis died on August 10, 2024, due to complications from her cancer treatment. According to the BBC, her passing was originally reported by fellow Pokémon voice actor Veronica Taylor, who plays Ash Ketchum on X. Rachael Lillis' memorial will take place at a later date, and she will be deeply missed by friends, family, and Pokémon fans.

Image: The WB