Debra Philece Sampler (July 16, 1953 – July 1, 2021) was an American film, television and voice actress. She got her start on the soap operas ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. The soap, which aired on ...

'' as Renée DuMonde and '' Another World'' as Donna Love Hudson. In addition to her acting career, Sampler provided the voice to various characters in animated series, such as Toph Beifong in ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American Anime-influenced animation, anime-influenced Animated series, animated television series created by Michael Dante ...

''. She also voiced characters in English-language dubs, such as Mimi Tachikawa and Cody Hida from '' Digimon: Digital Monsters'', Tiptory in '' Eureka Seven'', and Hiyori Tamura from ''

Lucky Star Lucky Star, The Lucky Star or Lucky Starr may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Anime and manga * ''Lucky Star'' (manga), a manga, anime, and video game series * "Lucky Star", one of the Angel Frames from the anime and manga series ''Galaxy ...

''.

Life and career

Sampler was born in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Pla ...

, on July 16, 1953. She graduated from J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas in 1971. After graduating from the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal Schoo ...

in 1975 with a drama degree, Sampler moved to Hollywood and quickly landed guest roles in a few television movies and series, including '' The Incredible Hulk'' in season 4, episode 59 titled "Dark Side". Sampler first made a name for herself playing Renée DuMonde on the soap ''

''. The Renee character became the focus of a major 1983 murder mystery, resulting in one of the most spectacular send-offs in daytime history. After leaving ''Days of our Lives'' in September 1983, she went on to the TV series '' Rituals'', which ran from 1984–1985. The show also starred future soap stars Mary Beth Evans (Kayla, Days) and Jon Lindstrom (Kevin, GH), as well as veteran soap star Kin Shriner (ex-Scotty, GH; ex-Brian, B&B) and Tina Louise (Ginger from '' Gilligan's Island''). After ''Rituals'', Philece went on to '' Another World'' in 1986 to play Donna Love, a role she took over from originating actress

Anna Stuart Anna Stuart (born November 1, 1948) is an American actress. She has primarily played roles in daytime serials. Career Stuart began her career on '' The Doctors'' as lab technician Toni Ferra, a role she played from 1971 to 1976. Her characte ...

. She left AW in 1989 when Stuart reclaimed the role. She had a couple of guest-starring roles on '' TJ Hooker'' as Sue Ann and on ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

'' as Casey. She then took a sabbatical to Japan with her then-fiance. She returned to the US with a few screenplays and formed Philman Entertainment, a production company. Sampler worked as associate producer of the Los Angeles stage hit ''

Sordid Lives Sordid may refer to: * Paul Sordid (20th century), English drummer * Sordid (character), a fictional character in the ''Simon the Sorcerer'' series of video games {{Disambig ...

'' by Del Shores. She performed in UPN's animated series '' The Incredible Hulk'', as the voice of

Betty Ross Elizabeth "Betty" Ross (later Talbot and then Banner) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and made her first appearance in ''The Incredible ...

. She remained pals with her former ''Days of Our Lives'' love-interest Gregg Marx (David Banning). She performed a voice-over on ''

Real Monsters ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to ...

'' – "Ollie Ollie Oxen Free". She did a voice on Nickelodeon's ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently—Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, an ...

'', where she played Emma (Chuckie's love interest) in the episode "He Saw, She Saw".

Death

Sampler died from a heart attack in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

on July 1, 2021, at the age of 67, 15 days shy away from her 68th birthday.

Filmography

Live-action roles

Anime

* '' Bleach'' - Ayame, Chizuru Honsho, Waineton (Cain's Doll) * '' Idol Project'' - Layla B. Simmons * '' Kill la Kill'' - Mataro Mankanshoku (credited as Lindsey Eaton) * '' Kyo Kara Maoh'' - Nicola * '' Last Exile'' - Alister Agrew, Claus Valca (Young) * '' Love Hina'' - Tsuruko Aoyama * ''

'' - Hiyori Tamura * '' Marmalade Boy'' - Asst. Principal Kyoto * '' Mars Daybreak'' - Anya * ''

Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is a 1991 anime film. It was ''Gundam'' creator Yoshiyuki Tomino's attempt to launch a new ''Gundam'' saga, set 30 years after ''Char's Counterattack''. He re-teamed with character designer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and mecha designer Kunio Okawara for ...

'' - Manuela Panopa * '' Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans'' - Sakura Pretzel * ''

Mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

'' - Mei's Grandmother, Samasa Morijima * '' Overman King Gainer'' - Elizabeth * ''

Please Twins is an anime television series scripted by Yōsuke Kuroda and produced by Bandai Visual, which was later adapted into a light novel and one-volume manga series. It centers on a family of three teenagers in high school all living together w ...

'' - Futaba Mashita * '' Rozen Maiden'' - Mitsu 'Micchan' Kusakabe * ''

Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete ...

'' - Budokiba * '' Samurai Girl Real Bout High School'' - Madoka Mitsurugi * '' SD Gundam Force'' - Mayor Margaret Gathermoon, Noah * '' The Incredible Hulk'' - Betty Ross (1997) * '' The Seven Deadly Sins'' - Mead * '' The Twelve Kingdoms'' - Gobo * '' Tokko'' - Sakura Rokujo * '' Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' - Kelly * '' Tweeny Witches: The Adventures'' - Iga (Ep. 5) * '' Ultra Maniac'' - Maya Orihara * '' Vandread'' - Barnette Orangello * '' Viewtiful Joe'' - Silvia * '' Wild Arms: Twilight Venom'' - Jerusha

Animation

Film

Video games

* '' AI: The Somnium Files'' - Mayumi Matsushita * '' Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura'' - Z'an Al'urin * '' BlazBlue'' series - Taokaka * '' Blue Dragon'' - Child, Female Village, Devour Village Old Woman * '' Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise'' - Mrs. Carpenter * '' Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles'' - Rokuta Kamado *'' Legends of Runeterra'' - Fizz, Kennen *''

Rune Factory 5 is a role-playing simulation video game developed and published by Marvelous. The first entry in the ''Rune Factory'' series since 2012's ''Rune Factory 4'', it was released for the Nintendo Switch in Japan in May 2021 and worldwide by Xseed G ...

'' - Yuki * '' Shenmue III'' - Additional Cast

Documentary

* ''

Adventures in Voice Acting ''Adventures in Voice Acting'' is a 2008 documentary DVD produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment, featuring interviews from actors and crew members on the craft of voice acting. It was initially released as a set of DVDs, and has since been adapted ...

'' - Herself

References

;''Credit List'' anime * Episode 19: ;Other references

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sampler, Philece 1953 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses University of North Texas alumni