Rachael Lillis (July 8, 1969[Notes 1] - August 10, 2024) was an American voice actress and scriptwriter who resided in New York City during the 1990s and 2000s. She freelanced with various companies such as 4Kids Entertainment, NYAV Post, and the now defunct Central Park Media, and her voices can be heard on PBS programs such as NOVA and Sesame Street. Rachael also sang and played the Irish flute. She had also claimed that dubbing companies commonly misspell her first name. Outside of Pokémon, her roles included Queen La Andromeda Promethium in Maetel Legend, Ursula in Dinosaur King and the main character Utena Tenjou in Revolutionary Girl Utena.
In the early 2010s, Rachael started going by Rachael McCabe and had since moved to Los Angeles in the same vein as Veronica Taylor, Megan Hollingshead, Crispin Freeman, and other New York actors that had been associated with the series. She then worked for dubs done by Bang Zoom! Entertainment.
In 2024, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and passed away on August 10.[3]
Characters[]
- Misty (TB001-RS133)
- Jessie (TB002-RS146)
- Violet
- Darla (TB043)
- Jessebelle (TB048-GS082)
- Yolanda and Tommy (TB005)
- Suzie and Tilly (SS001)
- Maylene
- Kenny (RS014)
- Keanu
- Alyssa
- Gary's cheerleaders (TB001-TB031, TB074-TB077)
- Yuko (Hoenn)
- PA Announcer (TB009)
- Townswoman (TB012)
- Woman with Gentleman (TB015)
- Festival goers (TB020)
- Butterfree trainer (TB021)
- Erika's assistant 3 (purple hair) (second voice) (TB026)
- Missing girl who thinks she's a Gloom (TB027)
- Girls on bikes (TB036)
- Girl with Poliwrath (TB040)
- Assistant (TB043)
- Shoppers (TB052)
- Operator (TB064)
- Female Trainer (GS024)
- Woman in audience (GS037)
- Girl 2 (GS041)
- Dugtrio Trio (Woman) (GS044)
- Girl 3 (GS075)
- Dream girls (GS077)
- Kid 2 (RS017)
- Team Magma Grunt "Flame 4" (RS027)
- Young girl (RS050)
- Old woman (RS055)
- Mary's grandmother (RS063)
- Old woman, boy (RS086)
- Child 2, Child 4 (RS117)
- Waitress (PC012)
- Hoenn Pokédex
Pokémon[]
- Ash's Pikachu (when other actors overlapped Ikue Ōtani's voice)
- Misty's Goldeen (TB053-present)
- Misty's Horsea
- Misty's Poliwag
- Brock's Vulpix
- May's Beautifly
- May's Torchic
- Jigglypuff
- Nurse Joy's Chansey
- Nurse Joy's Blissey
- Duplica's Ditto
- Ralts
- Caserin and Luverin
- Wigglytuff
- Ninetales
- Jynx
- Clamperl
- Cleffa
- Igglybuff
- Surskit
- Masquerain
- Kirlia
- Gardevoir
- Silcoon
- Spoink
- Swablu
- Luvdisc
Non-Pokémon series[]
- Utena Tenjou (Revolutionary Girl Utena)
- Shiori Takatsuki (Revolutionary Girl Utena (Episode 7 only)
- Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova (Slayers Next)
- Ursula, Reese Drake (Dinosaur King)
- Ami Kurimoto (DNA²)
- Micott Bartsch (Mobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn)
- Ms. Faragonda, Lucy and Amaryl (Winx Club (4Kids Version))
- Danny (Sonic X)
- Kanako Ono (Genshiken)
- Queen La Andromeda Promethium (Maetel Legend)
- Kanaka Nanase (The World of Narue)
- Rona Fauna (The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye)
- Hitomi Onodera (Seven of Seven)
- Princess Charlotte (Berserk (TV series, Movie 1))
- Mito Freecss (Hunter x Hunter (2011 series))
Video Games[]
- Super Smash Bros. series: Jigglypuff (all games), Goldeen (as of Melee), Chansey
- Pokémon Puzzle League: Misty, Jessie, Jigglypuff
- Pokémon Snap: Jigglypuff
- Valkyrie Profile: Jelanda, Lyseria, Mystina, Asaka
- Ape Escape 2: Natalie (US version)
Trivia[]
- Her first name was misspelled as "Rachel" in the first season's credits.
- She was the preferred voice actor for Misty, Jessie, and Jessebelle according to Behind the Voice Actors.com.
- In the audio commentary for Pokémon 4Ever, she revealed Jessie's English voice was close to her normal voice, and said she dubbed Jessie's dialogues first before going back to the scripts' first pages to dub Misty's.
- She had also stated her favorite role she had done in her career is that of Jessie.
- She was the first female voice acting member of the main cast to return to the anime, but only voicing Maylene in Series 11. Rodger Parsons was the first male member of the main cast to return to the anime, with him he maintains as the narrator after Mike Pollock left the series to continue on with his voice roles for Dr. Eggman.
- At the time she joined the dubbing of the Pokémon anime, when she was still in acting school.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- ^ Though it was originally reported that Lillis was 46 [at the time of her death], The New York Times confirmed with her sister, Laurie Orr, that she was born on July 8, 1969
References[]
- ^ Moses, Clair (2024, August 12). "Rachael Lillis, Who Voiced Popular 'Pokémon' Characters, Dies at 55 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)". From The New York Times (nytimes.com). Archived from the original on August 12, 2024.
- ^ Tara Jayne Sands (2024). "Tara Jayne Sands on X: "@Loveamethyst90 1969" / X".
- ^ a b Veronica Taylor (2024). "Veronica Taylor on X: "We all know Rachael Lillis from the many wonderful roles she played. She filled our Saturday mornings and before/after school hours with her beautiful voice, her terrific comic timing, and her remarkable acting skills. #RachaelLillis " / X".