Philece Sampler, ‘Digimon’ and ‘Days of Our Lives’ Star, Dead at 67

Acclaimed actress and voice-over artist Philece Sampler has reportedly passed away. Sampler was beloved for voices on animated shows like Digimon Adventure and The Legend of Korra, and for her live-action performances on shows like Days of Our Lives. Her colleagues in the industry announced her passing to fans on social media.

“RIP to my funny fabulous friend, Philice Sampler, 67,” wrote actor Nelson Aspen on Friday. Aspen appeared on Another World with Sampler from 1987 to 1989. According to his post, Sampler passed away from a heart attack this week. Aspen added that this was “just shy of her 68th birthday. That explains why I didn’t hear from her yesterday on my own birthday: we always celebrated as Cancerian siblings. She was an amazingly energetic, loving and loyal friend.”

Aspen included a brief overview of Sampler’s career on his memorial, pointing out some of the creations fans might know her for. He also listed his own fond memories of the actress — living with her in Hollywood, breeding cats together and writing screenplays together. He wrote: “She was a fan favorite and one of the most hard-working, diligent people I’ve ever known. She gave 1000% to anything she did. In a fickle business like Entertainment, I’m proud that we stayed so close right up to the very end of her life.”

On Days of Our Lives, Sampler portrayed Renee DiMera for several years in the early ’80s. Younger fans likely know Sampler best for her voiceover work, which made up the bulk of her career in recent years. She provided the English-language voices for Goten in Dragon Ball Super, Mimi Tachikawa in the Digimon Adventure franchise, Flora in Berserk Season 1 and Mead in The Seven Deadly Sins, among many others. She also provided the voice of Toph in The Legend of Korra — the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. That character’s re-emergence in the series was one of the highlights of the show.

In her personal life, Aspen revealed that Sampler was a firm believer in reincarnation. He wrote: Philece was convinced she was the reincarnation of Anne Askew, an English writer and poet who had been put to death during the reign of Henry VIII. So I am going to be keeping a sharp eye out in case she comes back as someone new. If anyone can do it, SHE can! Farewell for now, my funny and fabulous friend and ‘sister from another mister.’ Rest in Peace.”