Christine Cavanaugh

Christine Josephine Cavanaugh (; August 16, 1963 – December 22, 2014) was an American actress known for her distinctive speaking style and for providing the voice for a large range of mostly cartoon characters. She was the original voices of Chuckie Finster in Nickelodeon's Rugrats and the titular protagonists of both Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory and Universal Pictures' live-action film Babe respectively, as well as the voices of Gosalyn Mallard in Disney's Darkwing Duck, Bunnie Rabbot from DIC Entertainment's Sonic the Hedgehog television series, Marty Sherman in The Critic and Oblina in Nickelodeon's Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.

Cavanaugh retired from voice acting and public life in general in 2001, although some media with her contributions continued to be released until 2003. She died at age 51 on December 22, 2014, at her home in Cedar City, Utah.

Early life Christine Josephine Sandberg was born in Layton, Utah, on August 16, 1963, to Waldo Eugene Sandberg and Reta Mason. At the age of 15, she was adopted by Kirt and Linda Johnson, whom she considered her parents for the rest of her life, after her "mamma", Margaret Sandberg, died. She graduated from Layton High School in 1981.

Career In 1991, Cavanaugh began voicing Gosalyn Mallard, the titular character's adoptive daughter on Disney's Darkwing Duck as well as Chuckie Finster on Nickelodeon's Rugrats and later in 1994, Oblina on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.

Cavanaugh could also be heard on The Critic as the voice of Marty, the son of Jay Sherman (voiced by Jon Lovitz). Her voice credits also include the animated series Sonic the Hedgehog, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Hercules: The Animated Series, The Powerpuff Girls, The Wild Thornberrys and Disney's Recess, as well as the voice of Birdie in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald.

In 1995, Cavanaugh lent her voice to the live-action film Babe in the starring role of its titular protagonist. She was offered to reprise her role for the sequel, Babe: Pig in the City, but decided against it when contract negotiations fell through, so the role was instead played by her Rugrats co-star Elizabeth Daily. Also in 1995, Cavanaugh began voicing the eponymous character of Dexter's Laboratory, which began as a short under Cartoon Network's What a Cartoon! anthology show and became the first short to be adapted into its own series for the channel. She later won a 2000 Annie Award for her voice performances in the TV movie Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip. Cavanaugh also guest starred on several TV shows including Salute Your Shorts, Cheers, Empty Nest, Wings, The X-Files, Everybody Loves Raymond, and ER, and had supporting roles in the feature films Soulmates and Jerry Maguire.

Cavanaugh retired from voice acting in 2001 to spend more time with family, although some TV episodes and films with her recordings continued to be released until 2003. After her retirement, she was replaced by Candi Milo on Dexter's Laboratory and by Nancy Cartwright, her co-star in The Critic, as the voice of Chuckie in the Rugrats franchise.

Death

On December 22, 2014, Cavanaugh died at her home in Cedar City, Utah, at the age of 51 of an unknown cause. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered into the Great Salt Lake.

Legacy Cavanaugh's legacy was acknowledged by Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Dexter's Laboratory, as he cited her death as one of the factors in his refusal to create a revival of the show.

Filmography Voice roles Year Work Role Notes 1988 David and the Magic Pearl David English dub 1991–1992 Darkwing Duck Gosalyn Mallard 73 episodes 1991–2002 Rugrats Chuckie Finster/Chuckie's Guardian Angel, additional voices Played Chuckie for the first 7 seasons and a few early episodes of season 8. Nancy Cartwright replaced her for the rest of the series and the Rugrats spin-off, All Grown Up! 1992 Raw Toonage Gosalyn Mallard Gramps Alien Kid #2 The Secret of the Seal Tottoi English dub 1993 Recycle Rex Additional voices 1993–1994 Sonic the Hedgehog Bunnie Rabbot 1993 A Flintstone Family Christmas Stoney 1994–1997 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters Oblina 1994–1995 The Critic Marty Sherman 1994 Aladdin Additional voices Beethoven Rosebud1 episode "Cyrano De Beethoven" 1995 Babe Babe She was offered to reprise her role for the sequel, Babe: Pig in the City, but decided against it due to personal matters, so the role was instead played by her Rugrats co-star Elizabeth Daily. Balto Additional voices Uncredited 1995–1996 What a Cartoon! Dexter, Boy, Alien kid 2 Played in 3 shorts ("Dexter's Laboratory" [later retitled "Changes"], "Gramps", and "The Big Sister"). 1995–1997 Sing Me a Story with Belle Carroll the Book Worm 1995–1997 The New Adventures of Sheldon Sheldon 1996 P.J. Funnybunny: A Very Cool Easter Ritchie Raccoon Credited as Chris Cavanaugh The Flintstones Christmas in Bedrock Additional voices Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker Oblina CD-Rom 1996–2002 Dexter's Laboratory Dexter, Additional voices Played in 55 episodes in seasons 1, 2, and first 6 season 3 episodes. Candi Milo played Dexter for the rest of the series. 1996–2000 Adventures from the Book of Virtues Frog Child 1996 Cave Kids Bamm-Bamm Rubble 1997 101 Dalmatians: The Series Wizzer, Dumpling Recess Library Kid, Digger #2, Sue Bob Murphy Unbeatable Harry Additional voices 1998 Hercules: The Animated Series Alcides The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Scared Silly Birdie Direct-to-video film Rugrats: Search for Reptar Chuckie Finster Video game The Powerpuff Girls Bunny, Bud Smith 3 episodes The Rugrats Movie Chuckie Finster The Wild Thornberrys Short-tailed Macaque 1999 Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip Dexter, D22, Old Man Dexter TV film The Brothers Flub Valerina The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Legend of Grimace Island Birdie Direct-to-video film The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Visitors from Outer Space Rugrats: Studio Tour Chuckie Finster Video game 2000 Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Dexter Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Chuckie Finster 2001 The Weekenders Tasha Lloyd in Space Charmaine Rugrats: Still Babies After All These Years Chuckie Finster TV documentary Rugrats: All Growed Up! TV film The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Birthday World Birdie Direct-to-video film The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Have Time, Will Travel 2003 The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Monster O' McDonaldland Loch Direct-to-video film; final film role

Live-action Year TV Series/Film Role Notes 1990 Cheers Terry Gardner Episode # 8.24: "Mr. Otis Regrets" 1991 Salute Your Shorts Mona Tibbs Episode # 1.12: "Ug's Girlfriend Is Coming" Empty Nest Kimberly Episode # 4.7: "Country Weston" 1992 Salute Your Shorts Mona Tibbs Episode # 2.12: "They Call Me Ms. Tibbs" Herman's Head Martha Fitzer Episode # 2.13: "A Charlie Brown Fitzer" 1993 Wings Fan Episode # 4.17: "I Love Brian"Frasier Fast Food Worker (uncredited) Episode # 1.10: "Oops" 1994 Wild Oats Kathee 1995 Down, Out & Dangerous Leslie McCoy TV film Night Stand with Dick Dietrick Kathy Episode # 1.15: "One-Night Stand Reunions" 1996 Little Surprises Pepper TV film Jerry Maguire Mrs. Remo Credited as Christina Cavanaugh 1997 Delivery Bridgette Soulmates Anna Weisland The X-Files Amanda Nelligan Episode # 4.20: "Small Potatoes" Everybody Loves Raymond Erin Episode # 2.12: "All I Want for Christmas" 1998 You Lucky Dog Bernice TV film 2000 ER Gloria Episode # 7.3: "Mars Attacks"