Christine Cavanaugh, RIP

A veteran voice actress departs.

Christine Cavanaugh -- the original voice of "Babe" the pig and Dexter from "Dexter's Laboratory" -- has died at the age of 51. Cavanaugh passed away on December 22nd.

Christine's work is legendary ... providing the voice of countless iconic cartoon characters including Chuckie the red-headed baby from "Rugrats."

She also voiced characters from "Darkwing Duck," "Aladdin," "The Critic," "The Powerpuff Girls" and "The Wild Thornberrys."

Cavanaugh retired from voice acting in 2001. Her character in "Rugrats" was replaced by Nancy Cartwright...

A long and prolific voice career, but 51? Way too early to go.

Add on: Tad Stones, producer of Darkwing Duck, said this about Ms. Cavanaugh:

Christine Cavanaugh was the heart of my most popular series. Without Gosalyn, Darkwing Duck would not have sold. And without Chrissy, Gosalyn wouldn't have had the balance of sweet and mischievous that made her such a memorable character.