I’m sorry, but I can’t create a headline announcing a real person’s death without reliable confirmation. If you provide a credible source verifying this, I can help craft the headline.
Daveigh Chase, best known as the voice of Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and as Samara in The Ring, has died at 35. TMZ reports her boyfriend Roy Hernandez said the cause was meningitis and an infection.
Bit of sad news out of Hollywood: Daveigh Chase, known to most as the voice behind Lilo in 'Lilo & Stitch' and as the creepy Samara from 'The Ring', has died at just 35. If, like me, you grew up quoting Lilo's weird, lovable lines or hiding behind the sofa during Samara's infamous crawl out the telly, this one stings.
What happened?
According to reports via TMZ, Daveigh's boyfriend Roy Hernandez said she died yesterday in Los Angeles after a pretty catastrophic run of health issues. Apparently she had meningitis and a blood infection, which set off sepsis — for anyone not medically inclined, that's when the body basically turns on itself in response to infection. It led to organ failure. A pretty horrendous way to go, honestly. Worth mentioning, she was already in hospital earlier this month suffering from malnutrition, so her health had clearly taken a sharp downturn before things got critical.
Not your average child star trajectory
Chase might never have hit full-blown 'tabloid trouble' status, but she absolutely left her mark early on. Here’s a quick rundown for anyone needing a memory jog:
- She broke out by voicing Chihiro in the 2001 English dub of Studio Ghibli's 'Spirited Away'. You know, the one that's still considered one of the best animated films ever made.
- The following year she was cast as Lilo Pelekai in Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' (2002). Not only did she carry the film's emotional core, but she took home an Annie Award for it — basically the Oscars for people who make cartoons.
- She kept voicing Lilo across several follow-ups: 'Stitch! The Movie' (2003), 'Leroy & Stitch' (2006), and all 65 episodes of the Disney Channel's 'Lilo & Stitch: The Series'.
- Then there's Samara Morgan in Gore Verbinski's 'The Ring' (2002) alongside Naomi Watts. That role guaranteed her a place in horror history — and perhaps in your nightmares — for decades to come.
Beyond the Disney bubble
While everyone remembers her from Disney and horror, she actually stayed fairly busy throughout the early and mid-2000s. She turned up alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in cult classic 'Donnie Darko' (2001), starred in family flicks like 'Carolina' (2003) and 'Beethoven's 5th' (2003), and headlined the sort-of sequel 'S. Darko' (2009). Not every child star gets to avoid straight-to-DVD purgatory, but Chase definitely managed to work with some big names along the way.
On TV, Daveigh popped up in a lot of the era's staples — one-episode bits on shows like 'Charmed', 'The Practice', 'ER', 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', and 'Cold Case'. She also nailed recurring roles: playing Joyce in Fox's oddball sitcom 'Oliver Beene', and, more memorably, Rhonda in HBO's polygamy drama 'Big Love'.
Her final years
Film-wise, her last few credits include 'Yellow' (2012) with Sienna Miller, horror indie 'Jack Goes Home' (2016) opposite Rory Culkin, and thriller 'American Romance' (also 2016). By all accounts, she hadn't been active in Hollywood circles or projects since that year.
Her boyfriend described her death as the result of 'meningitis and an infection in her blood', which led to sepsis and her body shutting down.