Daveigh Chase dies at 35, the actress’s boyfriend confirmed to TMZ on June 17, 2026, closing the story of a performer whose childhood and young adult work left a lasting mark on two very different corners of early-2000s pop culture. Chase voiced Lilo in Disney’s beloved “Lilo & Stitch” and portrayed Samara Morgan, the franchise-defining antagonist of “The Ring.” She died Tuesday, June 16, from complications of meningitis and a bloodstream infection that led to sepsis.
What Happened: Meningitis and a Blood Infection
Chase’s boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, told TMZ that Daveigh died Tuesday from meningitis and an infection in her blood, which caused her to have septic issues and led to her body shutting down.
TMZ also reported that Chase had been admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles earlier in June because of malnutrition. The combination of a serious infection arriving during an already fragile health period created the medical crisis that ultimately proved fatal. Deadline confirmed the same account through Hernandez, reporting that the resulting sepsis caused severe complications that ultimately led to organ failure.
Her Boyfriend’s Statement: “A Light in My Life”
Hernandez shared a fuller account of Chase’s final months in a statement accompanying a GoFundMe page set up to support her in her final days.
“Daveigh Chase Dies, my girlfriend, has always been a light in my life,” he 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.”
Hernandez described a period of real difficulty in Chase’s life in the years before her death, noting a painful falling out with her family and a period in which she experienced bullying. He wrote that when the two met, he promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved, and that together they found moments of happiness and hope before her health declined sharply. “All she ever wanted was a place where we could live together, feel safe, and be happy,” Hernandez wrote. “Now, more than ever, I want to give her that sense of home and peace in her final days.”
Lilo & Stitch: The Role That Made Her a Household Name
Chase’s breakout into mainstream recognition came in 2002, when Disney cast her as the title character in one of the studio’s most beloved animated films of the era.
That same year, the actress also voiced Lilo in Disney’s blockbuster feature film Lilo & Stitch, and won Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature at the Annie Awards in 2003. Her performance as Lilo, a lonely, alien-adopting, Elvis-loving Hawaiian girl, connected with audiences and helped establish the film as a lasting Disney franchise.
Chase continued voicing the character across the franchise’s expansion, reprising Lilo in subsequent sequels and the 2003-2006 television series, Lilo & Stitch: The Series. Leroy & Stitch, the finale to that series, released in 2006, marked the last time Chase voiced the character.
The Ring: Samara Morgan and an MTV Award for Best Villain
In the same year that introduced her to family audiences as Lilo, Chase delivered an entirely different kind of performance that would define her among horror film fans for decades.
Horror movie fans will recognize her from her haunting performance as Samara Morgan, the main antagonist in the hit 2002 film The Ring, for which she won an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. As Samara Morgan, the long-haired girl in white with lethal supernatural abilities, Chase emerged as the horror movie’s haunting central figure and its most iconic image.
Chase’s Best Villain award at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards came at the expense of an unusually decorated field of competitors, with the young actress beating out Mike Myers, Colin Farrell, Willem Dafoe, and Daniel Day-Lewis for the honor. In the franchise sequel The Ring Two (2005), Chase was credited for her role through the use of archive footage from the original film.
Donnie Darko, Spirited Away, and Big Love: A Varied Career
Beyond her two signature roles, Chase built a varied filmography across film, television, and voice work spanning more than a decade.
One of her first roles was in the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko, in which she played Samantha Darko, the younger sister of the main character and noted Sparkle Motion dancer. The same year, she voiced the lead role of Chihiro Ogino in the acclaimed American dub of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away.
Beginning in 2006, Daveigh earned a recurring role in the HBO series Big Love, which follows a fundamentalist, polygamist Mormon family. She played Rhonda Volmer in 32 episodes of the show during its five-season run. She later reprised her Donnie Darko role in the 2009 sequel S. Darko. Her other credits include Beethoven’s 5th, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, ER, Mercy, and the 2016 horror film Jack Goes Home, which became her final screen role.
Stepping Away From Hollywood
Chase’s acting career effectively concluded around a decade before her death, a transition that coincided with a series of publicly reported legal difficulties.
Chase had seemingly stepped away from Hollywood about a decade ago, according to the dates on her filmography. After appearing in Thomas Dekker’s 2016 horror film Jack Goes Home, Chase largely withdrew from acting following several legal issues, including an arrest for joyriding and several drug-related offenses.
TMZ noted that Chase had numerous run-ins with the law over the years, which the outlet had covered as they occurred. The last time TMZ caught up with Chase for an interview was in 2012, when she discussed her makeup habits and an ongoing project at the time.
Tributes and Remembrances
Online responses to news of Chase’s death reflected the affection many held for the roles that defined her childhood and early adult career.
One commenter wrote: “If you look at who she beat out to win her MTV award she was truly a talented actress. I hope she knew how recognized and loved she was.” Another simply offered: “Rest in peace to Daveigh. Very sad of a life lost at a young age.”
Hernandez’s GoFundMe page, set up to support Chase during her final days, became the primary outlet through which fans could offer support to the actress’s loved ones following her death.
Daveigh Chase’s Legacy in Film and Animation
Born Daveigh Elizabeth Chase on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and raised in Albany, Oregon, Chase began working as a child actress at age seven, appearing in commercials and stage productions before transitioning into television and film by age eight.
Her dual legacy, as the warm, beloved voice of a Disney heroine and as the chilling face of one of horror cinema’s most enduring antagonists, reflects an unusually wide creative range for an actress whose most famous work all arrived within a single calendar year. Few performers achieve that kind of crossover within children’s animation and horror simultaneously, and Chase’s work in both Lilo & Stitch and The Ring continues to introduce new audiences to her performances decades after they were originally released.
Latest Updates
Daveigh Chase Died on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, with the news first reported by TMZ on June 17. TMZ confirmed the cause of death as complications from meningitis and a bloodstream infection that caused septic issues, along with her boyfriend Roy Hernandez’s statement and the earlier June hospitalization for malnutrition. The New York Times provided additional context on her career and cultural impact. Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Hernandez’s full statement about the couple’s relationship and the difficult period preceding her death, along with additional career details including her MTV Movie Award win and Big Love role.
Full sources: TMZ | The New York Times | New York Post
Broader Implications
Daveigh Chase’s death at 35 closes the story of a performer whose two most famous roles, arriving within the same year of her career, came to occupy opposite ends of the emotional spectrum in popular culture: the comforting warmth of a Disney heroine and the genuine terror of one of horror’s most recognizable antagonists. That range, achieved as a child actress, remains a rare accomplishment in the industry.
The years following her departure from acting were marked by difficulty that her boyfriend’s statement described directly and without euphemism, a falling out with family, struggles with safety and stability, and ultimately a serious illness that proved fatal. Public figures who step away from visible careers do not always have their later struggles documented with the same attention as their earlier successes, and Chase’s story is a reminder of how quickly circumstances can change for people the public once knew primarily through a screen performance.
For the millions who grew up with Lilo’s voice or who still remember the chill of Samara Morgan’s appearance on screen, Chase’s death is a moment to recognize both the work and the person behind it, with the complexity that any full accounting of a life requires.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. How did Daveigh Chase die?
Daveigh Chase died on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, from complications of meningitis and a bloodstream infection that led to septic issues. Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, told TMZ that the infection caused her body to shut down. She had been hospitalized in Los Angeles earlier in June due to malnutrition.
2. What roles was Daveigh Chase known for?
Daveigh Chase was best known for voicing Lilo in Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” (2002) and its franchise, and for portraying Samara Morgan, the antagonist in the 2002 horror film “The Ring,” for which she won an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. She also played Samantha Darko in “Donnie Darko,” voiced Chihiro Ogino in the English dub of “Spirited Away,” and had a recurring role in HBO’s “Big Love.”
3. How old was Daveigh Chase when she died?
Daveigh Chase was 35 years old. She was born Daveigh Elizabeth Chase on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
4. Did Daveigh Chase continue acting in recent years?
No. Chase’s last screen role was in the 2016 horror film “Jack Goes Home.” She had largely stepped away from acting around a decade before her death, a period that coincided with several publicly reported legal issues, including an arrest for joyriding and drug-related offenses.
5. Who was Daveigh Chase’s boyfriend and what did he say about her death?
Daveigh Chase’s boyfriend was Roy Hernandez, who confirmed her death to TMZ and shared a statement describing her as “a light in my life.” He spoke about difficulties she faced in her later years, including a falling out with family, and described promising to protect her and give her comfort, calling the time they spent together “moments of happiness and hope.”
