Daveigh Chase, Actress in The Ring and Lilo & Stitch, Dies at 35

A voice that defined childhood wonder, and a face that haunted a generation

Daveigh Chase, the former child actress whose work crossed two very different corners of early-2000s pop culture — the warm, emotional world of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and the chilling horror of The Ring — has died at the age of 35.

Chase died on June 16 following a battle with meningitis and a blood infection, according to her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez. Hernandez said the infection developed into sepsis and that her organs ultimately shut down. Earlier in the month, she had also been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital due to malnutrition.

For many viewers, Chase’s name may not have been instantly familiar, but her performances were. She gave voice to Lilo Pelekai, the lonely, spirited Hawaiian girl at the heart of Disney’s 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch. That same year, she terrified audiences as Samara Morgan in The Ring, a performance that became one of modern horror’s most memorable child roles.

Her death brings renewed attention not only to a career that began with remarkable promise, but also to the private hardships described by those close to her in her final days.

The final days: illness, a hospital stay and a plea for comfort

In the days before Chase’s death, Hernandez had created a GoFundMe campaign titled “Help Daveigh Chase Find Comfort & Peace.” The fundraiser asked for $5,500 and raised $605.

The campaign revealed that Chase had been diagnosed with meningitis and “several serious blood infections.” Hernandez wrote that her condition had become critical and that doctors had warned she “may not have much time left.”

“Daveigh Chase, my girlfriend, has always been a light in my life,” Hernandez wrote. “Many people know her as a talented childhood actor from Lilo & Stitch, Spirited Away, and Donnie Darko. But behind the scenes, she’s faced more than her share of hardship.”

He described Chase’s personal struggles as severe and long-running.

“After a difficult childhood and a painful falling out with her family, Daveigh was bullied and struggled to find safety and happiness in downtown LA,” he continued. “When we met, I promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved. Together, we found moments of happiness and hope.”

Hernandez said Chase had wanted stability and safety in her final days.

“All she ever wanted was a place where we could live together, feel safe, and be happy,” he wrote. “Now, more than ever, I want to give her that sense of home and peace in her final days.”

According to additional details shared in the provided reports, Hernandez said Chase’s health had deteriorated after meningitis and bloodstream infections. He said her blood infection led to sepsis, after which her body shut down.

From Albany, Oregon, to Hollywood’s biggest screens

Daveigh Elizabeth Chase-Schwallier was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1990 and was raised in Albany, Oregon. Long before she became associated with major film roles, she was already performing. According to biographical details included in the provided material, she sang and danced at community events and did her first commercial with Campbell’s Soup when she was 7 during a visit to Los Angeles.

Her acting career began in 1998 with a minor role in Sabrina the Teenage Witch when she was 8. She later appeared in television shows including Charmed, The Practice and ER.

Those early credits led to a stretch of work that would make her one of the more recognizable young performers of the early 2000s, even when audiences did not always connect the same actress to such contrasting roles.

In 2001, Chase appeared in Donnie Darko, the cult psychological science-fiction drama that later gained a devoted following. She played Samantha Darko, part of a film that became one of the defining offbeat cinema titles of its era.

But 2002 was the year that cemented her legacy.

The two roles that made her unforgettable

Chase’s career became closely tied to two major 2002 films: Lilo & Stitch and The Ring.

In Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, she voiced Lilo, a mischievous, emotional and deeply human child whose loneliness and love for her family helped give the film its emotional power. The movie became a beloved Disney title, and Chase continued to voice the character in the television series spinoff.

That same year, she played Samara Morgan in The Ring, the American horror film centered on a cursed videotape. Her performance as Samara — silent, ghostly and terrifying — became one of the most recognizable images in 2000s horror cinema.

The role earned Chase the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, a notable achievement for a young actress whose performance depended as much on atmosphere and physical presence as dialogue.

Few child actors leave behind one defining role. Chase left behind two, and they could hardly have been more different: one full of warmth, grief and childhood vulnerability; the other built around dread, mystery and menace.

A voice beyond Disney: Spirited Away and wider recognition

Chase’s voice work also extended beyond Disney. She voiced Chihiro Ogino in the American dub of Spirited Away, the acclaimed Studio Ghibli film that introduced many English-language viewers to one of modern animation’s most celebrated stories.

That role placed Chase within another major animation legacy. Alongside Lilo & Stitch, it showed her ability to carry emotionally demanding voice performances at a young age.

Her range helped explain why her early career stood out. She was not simply a child actor cast for novelty. She became associated with films and characters that endured.

Television years and Big Love

From 2006 to 2011, Chase played Rhonda Volmer in HBO’s Big Love, a drama about a patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family practicing polygamy in modern-day Utah. The role gave Chase a major television platform after her years as a prominent child performer.

Her credits also included Beethoven’s 5th, Mercy, S. Darko, American Romance and Jack Goes Home. Her later screen appearances became less frequent, and by the mid-2010s she had largely stepped away from public-facing Hollywood work.

The provided information notes that she last appeared in 2016’s American Romance alongside Nolan Gerard Funk and Jack Goes Home with Nikki Reed. Another report listed her last acting credit as the voice of Kiwako Seto in the 2016 video game Let It Die.

After that period, Chase kept a low profile away from the spotlight.

A career remembered through contrast

Part of Chase’s cultural significance lies in the unusual contrast of her most famous work.

For one generation, she was the voice of Lilo — funny, wounded, stubborn and lovable. For horror fans, she was Samara — the unforgettable child figure whose image became inseparable from The Ring. For animation fans, she was also Chihiro in the English-language version of Spirited Away. For television viewers, she was Rhonda Volmer in Big Love.

That range gave her career a distinctive place in early-2000s entertainment. She was part of major projects across animation, horror, cult cinema and prestige television before adulthood.

Her own words from a 2009 interview now read as a statement of artistic ambition and legacy.

“I just want to make something that I love and people will respect,” Chase told Interview Magazine in 2009. “I want to do things that will change someone’s life, not something they’ll forget about tomorrow.”

For many fans, she achieved exactly that. Lilo & Stitch remains emotionally resonant more than two decades later. The Ring remains one of the most influential American horror films of its era. Spirited Away continues to be regarded as a landmark of animation.

Tributes and family remembrance

Following news of Chase’s death, an Instagram user who identified himself as her uncle, Paul Schwallier, mourned her passing.

“Some of you may know her as Lilo Pelekai, Samara Morgan, Rhonda Volmer or simply, Chihiro,” he wrote. “Daveigh, my beautiful, ultra talented, and only niece, passed away last night. May the Heavenly Father take her in his arms and shower her with love and peace for eternity.”

The message captured the unusual breadth of Chase’s public identity. She was remembered not through one character, but through several: Lilo, Samara, Rhonda and Chihiro.

Each represented a different audience and a different era of her career.

The difficult reality behind a childhood career

Chase’s death also raises broader questions about the lives of former child performers after early success. The provided information does not offer a complete account of her private life, and it would be unfair to reduce her story to struggle. Still, Hernandez’s public statements described hardship, estrangement, bullying and instability in downtown Los Angeles.

His GoFundMe messages framed his final effort as an attempt to give Chase peace and safety.

The contrast is painful: a performer whose childhood work brought comfort, fear, wonder and emotion to millions was, according to those close to her, seeking comfort herself in her final days.

Her passing is therefore not only a celebrity death story. It is also a reminder of how public recognition and private security do not always move together. Fame, especially early fame, does not guarantee protection from illness, isolation or hardship.

Why Daveigh Chase’s work still matters

Chase’s most famous performances endured because they were emotionally specific.

As Lilo, she captured a child who was funny and difficult, imaginative and grieving, desperate for connection but resistant to easy comfort. The performance helped make Lilo & Stitch more than a simple animated adventure. It became a story about family, loss and belonging.

As Samara, she gave The Ring its central horror image. Even viewers who have not seen the film often recognize the long-haired figure associated with the role. Chase’s performance helped define the film’s eerie tone and lasting cultural memory.

As Chihiro, she contributed to the English-language version of a film that became deeply important to animation audiences around the world.

Taken together, those roles created a legacy larger than her years in the spotlight.

A short life, a lasting screen legacy

Daveigh Chase died at 35, leaving behind a career that began in childhood and produced performances still remembered across generations of viewers.

Her story includes the brightness of early success, the complexity of growing up in and around Hollywood, and the sadness of a final illness described by her boyfriend as sudden and severe. It also includes a body of work that continues to matter.

For audiences who grew up with Lilo & Stitch, she will remain the voice of a character who taught viewers that family could be chosen, repaired and protected. For horror fans, she will remain Samara Morgan, one of the most haunting figures of modern cinema. For others, she will be remembered through Donnie Darko, Spirited Away and Big Love.

Her career was brief, but it was not forgettable.

As Chase said in 2009, she wanted to make something people would respect — something that could change someone’s life, “not something they’ll forget about tomorrow.”

In the films and roles she left behind, that wish continues to echo.