Christine Cavanaugh, who earned a glowing reputation in the the voice acting community throughout the 1990’s for voicing a number of incredibly well-known cartoon characters, died on Dec. 22 at the age of 51. While the thankless job of voice acting kept viewers from learning her name, Cavanaugh’s work on Rugrats, Dexter’s Laboratory and Babe meant that few children could grow up during that decade without enjoying her talent.

Cavanaugh was often praised for her ability to create distinctive voices for each of her characters, as she was able to transition from the raspy and stuttering Chuckie Finster on Rugrats, to the Russian-accented child genius Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory, to the soft-spoken Babe in Babe and Babe: Pig In The City with ease. Her voice was seemingly everywhere in the 90’s, as she also lent it to smaller characters in popular shows such as Aaahh!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, and The Powerpuff Girls.

“She was able to do incredible and amazing things with her voice and bring lots of smiles and many laughs to many people who are now young adults,” read her obituary, which was published Tuesday in the Los Angeles Times. 

Cavanaugh frequently voiced that she was okay with her lack of celebrity status, and told fans that her work was more about making people smile than recognition or notoriety. She retired from voice acting in 2001 to spend more time with her family, and her obituary states that she spent her last years in the quiet countryside, where she enjoyed “hiking, reading, writing and living a simple life.” She is survived by her dad, Kirt Johnson, her brother Kirtis, her sister Deionn, her nieces and nephews, and a handful of half siblings.

The Los Angeles Times announcement also included a touching note that, “A Memorial Stone ceremony was held in her honor on Antelope Island, a place she loved and visited often with her papa.”