Danica Davidson
August 12, 2024 
Sad news is coming out of the anime world as we learn voice actress Rachael Lillis passed away over the weekend from breast cancer. Lillis was a prolific voice talent who might be best known for playing both protagonist Misty and antagonist Jessie in Pokémon. Initial reports listed her as 46, and this was later corrected to 55.
In May a GoFundMe page was set up to help Lillis with her medical expenses, and to date fans and well-wishers raised almost $100,000. It was also on this GoFundMe page that Lillis’ sister, Laurie Orr, shared the sad news.
With a heavy heart, I regret to say that Rachael has passed away. She passed peacefully Saturday night [August 10], without pain, and for that we are grateful. . .
Unfortunately, regrettably, I was not with her, it was just this past week that she was starting to decline. This was unexpected and we are completely grief-stricken.
We ask for peace, for now, as her family grieves this loss.
Orr says that Lillis would be “moved to tears” by the help she received on her GoFundMe page. Lillis recalled many of the people who donated because she had met them at conventions. It shows how much her work affected people’s lives.
Orr also explained, “Funds donated for Rachael will go to any medical bills remaining, a memorial service for her, and causes in her name-specifically toward efforts to combat cancer.”
The Many Roles of Rachael Lillis
Along with her work on Pokémon, Rachael Lillis’s voice talents can also be heard in Alien Nine, Boogiepop Phantom, Boys Be…, Comic Party, Descendants of Darkness, Dinosaur King, DNA², Genshiken, Gravitation, His and Her Circumstances, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Revolutionary Girl Utena, RG Veda, Seven of Seven, Shamanic Princess, The Slayers Next, The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer, and The World of Narue, among many others.
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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