(CNN) — Christine Cavanaugh, who lent her distinctive voice to the title pig in “Babe,” Chuckie Finster on “Rugrats” and Dexter of “Dexter’s Laboratory,” has died. She was 51.
Cavanaugh died December 22. The death was reported in an obituary posted in the Los Angeles Times.
Cavanaugh, a native of Utah, first became known as Gosalyn Mallard, the adopted daughter of Drake Mallard on the “DuckTales” spinoff “Darkwing Duck.” She then supplied the voice of Chuckie for the long-running Nickelodeon series “Rugrats,” about a pack of adventurous toddlers.
In 1995, Cavanaugh gave her voice to the titular character in the hit movie “Babe,” about a little talking pig who becomes an unlikely sheepherding champion. Her raspy, childlike voice added an extra layer of sweetness to such existential lines as “Why are any of us here?”
The film became a classic and spawned a 1998 sequel, “Babe: Pig in the City,” though Cavanaugh was replaced by E.G. Daily in the lead voice role.
Cavanaugh also provided voice-acting for the shows “Aaahh!! Real Monsters,” “The Critic,” “The Wild Thornberrys,” “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Dexter’s Laboratory.”
According to the Internet Movie Database, she appeared in episodes of “ER” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” as well as the film “Jerry Maguire.”
According to the obituary, Cavanaugh retired from show business in 2001 to be closer to her family.
A memorial ceremony in her honor was held on Antelope Island in Utah’s Great Salt Lake.
