# Christine Cavanaugh

Christine Josephine Cavanaugh (née Sandberg; August 16, 1963 – December 22, 2014) was an American actress, who had a distinctive speaking style and provided the voice for a large range of cartoon characters. She was the original voices of Chuckie Finster in Nickelodeon's Rugrats and the titular protagonist of Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory, 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, and Oblina in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. She also voiced the title character of the 1995 live-action film Babe.
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, who she considered as her parents for the rest of her life, after her "mamma", Margaret Sandberg, died. Cavanaugh was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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, Jay Sherman's son. 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 the titular character. 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! show, and later became the first short to be adapted into its own series for Cartoon Network. She later won an Annie Award in 2000 for her voice performance in the hour-long TV special 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. 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 1992 | Gramps | Alien Kid #2 | |
| 1992 | 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 | |
| 1994 | Beethoven | Rosebud | 1 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. |
| 1995 | 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 |
| 1996 | The Flintstones Christmas in Bedrock | Additional voices | |
| 1996 | Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker | Oblina | CD-Rom |
| 1996–2002 | Dexter's Laboratory | Dexter, Additional voices | Played in 55 episodes in seasons 1, 2, and early 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 | |
| 1997 | Recess | Library Kid, Digger #2, Sue Bob Murphy | |
| 1997 | Unbeatable Harry | Additional voices | |
| 1998 | Hercules: The Animated Series | Alcides | |
| 1998 | The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Scared Silly | Birdie | Direct-to-video film |
| 1998 | Rugrats: Search for Reptar | Chuckie Finster | Video game |
| 1998 | The Powerpuff Girls | Bunny, Bud Smith | |
| 1998 | The Rugrats Movie | Chuckie Finster | |
| 1998 | The Wild Thornberrys | Short-tailed Macaque | |
| 1999 | Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip | Dexter, D22, Old Man Dexter | TV film |
| 1999 | The Brothers Flub | Valerina | |
| 1999 | The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Legend of Grimace Island | Birdie | Direct-to-video film |
| 1999 | The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Visitors from Outer Space | Birdie | Direct-to-video film |
| 1999 | Sing Me a Story with Belle | Carol the Book Worm | |
| 1999 | Rugrats: Studio Tour | Chuckie Finster | Video game |
| 2000 | Cartoon Cartoon Fridays | Dexter | |
| 2000 | Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Chuckie Finster | |
| 2001 | The Weekenders | Tasha | |
| 2001 | Lloyd in Space | Charmaine | |
| 2001 | Rugrats: Still Babies After All These Years | Chuckie Finster | TV documentary |
| 2001 | Rugrats: All Growed Up! | Chuckie Finster | TV film |
| 2001 | The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Birthday World | Birdie | Direct-to-video film |
| 2001 | The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Have Time, Will Travel | Birdie | Direct-to-video film |
| 2003 | The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Monster O' McDonaldland Loch | Birdie | 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" |
| 1991 | Empty Nest | Kimberly | Episode # 4.7: "Country Weston" |
| 1992 | Salute Your Shorts | Mona Tibbs | Episode # 2.12: "They Call Me Ms. Tibbs" |
| 1992 | Herman's Head | Martha Fitzer | Episode # 2.13: "A Charlie Brown Fitzer" |
| 1993 | Wings | Fan | Episode # 4.17: "I Love Brian" |
| 1993 | Frasier | Fast Food Worker (uncredited) | Episode # 1.10: "Oops" |
| 1994 | Wild Oats | Kathee | |
| 1995 | Little Surprises | Pepper | Short |
| 1995 | Down, Out & Dangerous | Leslie McCoy | TV film |
| 1996 | Jerry Maguire | Mrs. Remo | Credited as Christina Cavanaugh |
| 1997 | Delivery | Bridgette | |
| 1997 | Soulmates | Anna Weisland | |
| 1997 | The X-Files | Amanda Nelligan | Episode # 4.20: "Small Potatoes" |
| 1997 | 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" |