Daveigh Chase, actress known for voicing Lilo in the 2002 Disney animated hit ‘Lilo and Stitch’ and the creepy Samara in the horror film ‘The Ring’ passed away on Tuesday in Los Angeles at 35 years old.
Her death, in a hospital, was confirmed by her father, John David Schwallier, who said the cause was complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection. Mr. Schwallier said his daughter had been homeless and living in Los Angeles with her boyfriend near the hospital where she died.
Born Daveigh Elizabeth Schwallier on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, her father was a cook and helped to build motor homes. Her mother, Cathy Annette (Chase) Schwallier, went to nursing school but did not work a regular job. The family moved to Albany, Ore., where Ms. Chase would grow up, a few weeks after her birth. Ms. Chase was home-schooled, and at age 6 she won the Little Miss Oregon beauty pageant.
She starred in a Campbell’s Soup commercial soon after, and then landed the voice-over role in “Lilo & Stitch”, released in 2002. The film told the story of an orphaned Hawaiian girl, Lilo, who brings home an impish blue space alien, Stitch, from the dog pound, with wackiness and ohana abound. The film was critically acclaimed and Daveigh won won a Young Artist Academy Award for best performance in a voice-over role, age 10 or younger.
She would go on to star as Samantha Darko, the younger sister of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Donnie, in “Donnie Darko” (2001) and in a little-noted sequel, “S. Darko” (2009). She also provided the English dubbing for the female lead Chihiro Ogino in Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated classic, “Spirited Away.”
Her breakout role was in the American remake of the Japanese horror film “Ringu”, where she played the villainous Samara, the longhaired mystery girl who terrorized unsuspecting viewers of a certain VHS tape. While the film received mixed reviews, Chase’s performance received acclaim and she won an MTV Award for Best Villain.
She then returned to Lilo in the sequel “Stitch! The Movie” and in the “Lilo & Stitch” TV series, which ran from 2003 to 2006, before transitioning to her biggest TV role yet. In HBO’s “Big Love” — which chronicled the trials and tribulations of Mormon polygamists — she starred as Rhonda Volmer, a cunning 14-year-old bride in waiting, in 32 episodes between 2006 to 2011.
After 2016, she largely stopped acting, and troubles with the law soon followed. In 2017, she was charged with riding in a stolen BMW, according to TMZ; in 2018, she was charged with possession of a controlled substance, according to The New York Post.
Her dad, aged 61, said in an interview on Wednesday that Daveigh had struggled with drugs since the age of 13. He said that he hadn’t spoken with her since she was 19 and that she had a terrible falling-out with her mother around the same time. Her parents divorced 32 years ago.
In June 2026, Chase was admitted to a hospital following a period of severe weight loss. She was then diagnosed with with meningitis and several severe systemic bloodstream infections, with doctors stating that she did not have much time left to live. To help with the rising medical costs, her boyfriend at the time, Roy Hernandez, created a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign. In the campaign description, Hernandez said that Chase had faced significant personal difficulties in her post-acting life, including systemic bullying, a painful estrangement from her family, and ongoing housing instability in downtown Los Angeles. Sadly, Chase died hours after the fundraising page was launched, on June 16, 2026, from septic shock and subsequent organ failure caused by her infections.
Since her death announcement, fans and colleagues alike have given tributes to the young actress, some going back to her ‘Lilo and Stitch’ days. Commentators noted her wide acting range, voicing the cheerful protagonist Lilo Pelekai in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and portraying the terrifying antagonist Samara Morgan in the horror film The Ring within mere months of each other.
We can only hope she rests well.
