Rachael Lillis, 'Pokemon' voice actor for Misty and Jessie, dies at 55
Rachael Lillis, the "Pokémon" actor who voiced Misty and Jessie across the franchise, has died at 55.
The news of Lillis' death on Saturday was announced by Lillis' sister Laurie Orr on GoFundMe. The fund was first created in May to assist with medical bills after Lillis was diagnosed with cancer. The fund has raised about $97,000 as of Monday.
In an update shared on Monday, Orr said donations would go to "any medical bills remaining, a memorial service for her, and causes in her name - specifically toward efforts to combat cancer."
"It was just this past week that she was starting to decline. This was unexpected and we are completely grief-stricken," Orr continued. "We ask for peace, for now, as her family grieves this loss."
USA TODAY could not reach a rep for Lillis.
Lillis' co-star Veronica Taylor, who voiced Ash Ketchum, also shared news of her death on social media Monday.
"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," she captioned a screenshot of the announcement on Instagram. "I was lucky enough to know Rachael as a friend. She had unlimited kindness and compassion, even until the very end."
USA TODAY has reached out to Taylor for more details.
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Lillis voiced Jessie, Misty, the occasional Pokémon — including Pikachu and Jigglypuff — and dozens more characters on "Pokémon" from 1997 to 2015, according to IMDb.
She acquired over 100 voice acting credits across animated TV shows, films and anime, including voicing Faragonda and Lucy on "Winx Club" from 2004 to 2011, Danny on "Sonic X" for two seasons and Princess Charlotte in the English dub of "Berserk" from 1997 to 2012.
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Her final voice acting credit listed was on the Animated web series "Ollie & Scoops" in 2019.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Pokemon' actor Rachael Lillis dead: Misty voice actor was 55
