Daveigh Chase, Former Child Star of Lilo & Stitch and The Ring, Dies at 35

A Familiar Voice Remembered by Millions

Daveigh Chase, the former child actor whose work reached audiences through both family animation and horror cinema, has died at the age of 35. Her death has drawn renewed attention to a career that began early and left a lasting mark on viewers who grew up hearing her voice and seeing her unforgettable screen performances.

Chase became widely known as the voice of Lilo in the animated film Lilo & Stitch, a role that made her part of one of the most beloved family stories of her generation. For many fans, her voice became inseparable from a character remembered for warmth, loneliness, humor, and fierce devotion to family.

At the same time, she became closely associated with one of modern horror’s most recognizable images through her portrayal of Samara Morgan in The Ring. That role placed her in a very different part of popular culture, showing the unusual range she carried at a young age.

The contrast between those two performances shaped much of the public memory surrounding Chase. One role comforted children. The other frightened audiences. Together, they made her a memorable figure across very different worlds of entertainment.

Final Days in Los Angeles

Chase died after suffering from meningitis and a blood infection that led to sepsis. She had been hospitalized in Los Angeles earlier in June because of malnutrition, and details shared after her death described a painful final chapter marked by serious health struggles.

Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, had started a fundraiser shortly before her death with the hope of helping her find comfort, peace, and a safer place during an extremely difficult period. The campaign described a life that had become unstable and physically fragile before her condition worsened.

The illness that ended her life was described as meningitis followed by infection in the blood, which developed into sepsis. Those conditions can move quickly and become life-threatening when the body is overwhelmed by infection.

For people who remembered Chase mainly from childhood roles, the details of her final days were especially difficult to absorb. Her public image had long been frozen in time through performances she gave as a child, while her private reality had become far more complicated.

A Career That Began Early

Born in Las Vegas on July 24, 1990, Chase entered entertainment at a young age and quickly built a résumé that many actors never achieve in a full lifetime. Her screen and voice work placed her alongside some of the most recognized titles of the early 2000s.

Before becoming known to Disney audiences, Chase appeared in Donnie Darko, where she played Samantha Darko. The film later developed a devoted following and remained one of the projects frequently mentioned when looking back at her early career.

Her voice work also included Chihiro in the English-language version of Spirited Away. That role connected her to another widely admired animated film and added to the unusual scope of her childhood career.

Chase also appeared in television, including work on Big Love, ER, and other series. These credits showed that her career was not limited to one genre, one studio, or one type of performance.

The Role That Made Her a Childhood Icon

For many viewers, Chase will always be remembered first as Lilo. The character stood out because she was not written as perfect or simple. Lilo was lonely, emotional, stubborn, funny, and deeply attached to the people she loved.

Chase’s voice gave the character a sincerity that helped make the story endure. The performance captured both childish mischief and real sadness, giving emotional weight to a film built around family, loss, and belonging.

That role continued to follow Chase throughout her life. Even years later, fans who heard her name often immediately connected it to the animated character who taught audiences about chosen family and unconditional loyalty.

The lasting affection for Lilo became part of Chase’s legacy. Her voice became connected to childhood memories for millions of people who may not have known her full name at the time but never forgot the character she helped bring to life.

The Horror Performance That Stayed With Audiences

While Lilo made Chase beloved, Samara Morgan made her unforgettable in another way. Her role in The Ring became one of the defining horror images of its era, and her performance helped give the film its unsettling power.

As Samara, Chase created a character who was quiet, eerie, and deeply disturbing. The role required a presence that could frighten audiences without relying on long speeches or dramatic movement.

The performance became so memorable that it earned her recognition at the MTV Movie Awards, where she won Best Villain for The Ring.

That achievement was especially striking because Chase was still young. She had already shown the ability to move between warmth and fear, animation and live action, innocence and menace.

A Public Life With Private Struggles

After her early success, Chase’s life became more private and difficult. Details shared after her death described hardship, estrangement from family, bullying, instability, and a search for safety that continued into adulthood.

Hernandez described a dream that was not centered on fame or Hollywood recognition, but on peace and a stable home. In that description, her final hopes appeared painfully simple: comfort, safety, and a place where she could rest.

The story of her last days has caused many fans to look differently at the distance between childhood fame and adult reality. Chase had once been seen on red carpets and in major productions, but her later years were marked by serious personal and health challenges.

Her death has also renewed attention to how early fame can leave a complicated legacy. Audiences often preserve child performers as they remember them on screen, while the real person continues to grow, struggle, change, and face private battles outside public view.

A Legacy Beyond One Role

Chase’s body of work remains unusually wide for someone who became famous so young. She was part of a Disney classic, a celebrated animated film, a cult favorite, a major horror hit, and several television projects.

Her performances reached children, horror fans, animation audiences, and viewers of television drama. That range is part of why her death has affected people across different generations and interests.

For some, she will always be the voice of Lilo. For others, she will always be Samara from The Ring. For many, she exists in both memories at once, representing the strange dual power of childhood performance.

That dual legacy makes her career difficult to reduce to one description. She was not only a child star, not only a voice actor, and not only a horror performer. She was an artist whose most visible work became embedded in popular memory.

Fans Reflect on a Difficult Loss

News of Chase’s death has been met with sadness from fans who grew up with her work. Many have responded not only to the loss itself, but to the painful details surrounding her final days.

Her passing at 35 has made the grief feel sharper. She was young enough that many people expected her story to continue, even if she had stepped away from the level of public visibility she once had.

The details of illness, hospitalization, malnutrition, and the search for stability have added a heavy emotional weight to the public response. They have also reminded many fans that the people behind familiar performances often carry struggles viewers never see.

In the end, Chase leaves behind a legacy shaped by tenderness, fear, talent, and tragedy. Her voice remains part of a story that comforted children. Her face remains part of a horror film that unsettled millions. Her life, though difficult, left a mark that will not quickly fade.