Rachael Lillis

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. She also provided voices for many other animation works and video games.

Early life

Rachael Lillis was born to John and Constance Lillis (née Zafuto) in Niagara Falls, New York, 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 Plano, Texas. Lillis attended Smith College, where she was a premed student. She trained in opera before she became a voice actor. She studied voice acting in Boston and moved to New York City in 1996. She cited Mel Blanc and June Foray among her influences.

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 voiced various Pokémon in the Super Smash Bros. video games. She 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.

Illness and 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 on August 10, 2024, at the age of 55. In 2025, money was raised to donate a bench in her honor in Central Park’s Upper West Side. It is #7603 on the path between 106th St and 108th St off Central Park West.

Filmography

Voice roles

Film

Anime

Animation

Video games

Audiobooks

Production credits

Script adaptation

Translator

References

Notes

External links

• Rachael Lillis at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Rachael Lillis at the CrystalAcids Anime Voice Actor Database
• Rachael Lillis Archived October 25, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at Live Oak Media audiobooks
• Rachael Lillis convention appearances on AnimeCons.com
• Rachael Lillis at IMDb
• Rachael Lillis discography at Discogs