Daveigh Chase, Voice of Lilo in ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and Star of ‘The Ring,’ Dies at 35
Daveigh Chase, the actress whose voice defined one of Disney's most beloved characters and whose haunting on-screen presence made her an icon of early 2000s horror, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. She was 35.
Chase's death was confirmed to TMZ by her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, who said she died from meningitis and a severe infection in her blood that caused septic issues and led to her body shutting down. She had been hospitalized earlier this month after being admitted for malnutrition.
A Child Star Who Made History
Born Daveigh Elizabeth Chase on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas and raised in Albany, Oregon, Chase began her career at age 7, appearing in commercials and on stage before landing television guest roles on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Charmed, The Practice, and ER.
Her breakthrough came in 2002, a year that cemented her place in entertainment history twice over. First, she voiced the character of Lilo Pelekai — a spirited, lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts an alien she mistakes for a dog — in Disney's Lilo & Stitch. The film was a critical and commercial hit, and Chase continued voicing the character in multiple sequels and the animated series that ran from 2003 to 2006. She had also lent her voice to the English dub of Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away in 2001, voicing protagonist Chihiro Ogino.
That same year, at just 12 years old, Chase delivered one of horror's most indelible performances as Samara Morgan — the pale, lank-haired supernatural girl at the center of Gore Verbinski's The Ring. Her portrayal was so effective that she was named Best Villain at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, besting Willem Dafoe, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Farrell, and Mike Myers.
She also appeared in Richard Kelly's cult film Donnie Darko in 2001, playing Samantha Darko opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, and from 2006 to 2011 had a recurring role on HBO's Big Love as Rhonda Volmer. Her final screen credit came in 2016.
Millions in Residuals She Never Collected
Behind the scenes, the final years of Chase's life told a far darker story than her career highlights suggested. Her longtime manager John Ryan told the New York Post that Chase had been struggling with addiction to heroin and fentanyl, and that he and her stepsister Gaia Brown had spent more than a year trying desperately to find her and get her into treatment.
The situation was made all the more tragic by what Chase had left uncollected. Ryan said the contract Chase signed at eight years old for the role of Lilo had included ongoing residuals as well as a cut of any future toys and theme park attractions featuring her voice — and that based on the volume of SAG-AFTRA residual notices he had been receiving on her behalf, she likely had millions of dollars sitting in an unclaimed account. She was, he said, "too far gone" into addiction to collect it.
At the end of 2025, Ryan said he was alerted to a video circulating on social media that appeared to show Chase, emaciated and barely conscious, on the floor of a tent on Los Angeles's Skid Row. He said he managed to briefly reach her by phone, and he and her stepsister drove down to find her — but she had disappeared by the time they arrived. Ryan had also been working with a contact in Costa Rica on a rehabilitation plan for Chase.
"We were so close to finding her," Ryan said. "Daveigh was the sweetest and brightest light in Hollywood. I can't believe this is real. Her legacy and work will live on forever."
Ryan also raised a note of caution regarding a GoFundMe campaign set up by Hernandez, saying Chase already had a trust account through SAG-AFTRA set up to cover end-of-life costs, and that he was unaware of any connection between Hernandez and Chase's family or close friends.
A Legacy That Outlasted Her Years
Chase's death comes just a year after Disney released its live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, a film she was not part of, having stepped away from the industry a decade prior. The timing has only deepened the outpouring of tributes from fans who grew up with her work.
In a 2009 interview with Interview magazine, Chase reflected on what she hoped to accomplish with her career. "I just want to make something that I love and people will respect," she said. "I want to do things that will change someone's life, not something they'll forget about tomorrow."
In Lilo & Stitch, in The Ring, and in Spirited Away, she did exactly that. She will not be forgotten.
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