Disaster Actress Daveigh Chase Dead at 35 - Starred in 'The Ring,' Voiced Lilo in 'Lilo & Stitch'

Actress Daveigh Chase Dead at 35​

By TMZ Staff
Published June 17, 2026 9:53 AM PDT | Updated June 17, 2026 12:27 PM PDT


Daveigh Chase -- the former child actress -- is dead ... TMZ has learned.

The actress' boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, tells TMZ ... 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.



Alamy
We're told Daveigh had been admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles earlier this month because of malnutrition.

Daveigh caught her big break in Hollywood early on ... voicing Lilo in the hit Disney film "Lilo & Stitch" back in 2002 and the follow-up TV show. She also voiced Chihiro Ogino in the American dub of "Spirited Away."


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.

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 hit show during its five-season run.


Her other credits include ... "Donnie Darko," "Beethoven's 5th," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "ER," "Mercy," and more.

Daveigh had numerous run-ins with the law over the years, which we've covered.


Play video content
NOVEMBER 2012

THE LAST TIME WE SAW HER
Video: The Last Time We Saw Daveigh Chase
TMZ.com
We last caught up with Daveigh in 2012 ... when we asked her about her makeup habits -- and she told us about her latest project.

Daveigh was 35.

RIP

 

[Rome's rightful successor]

I grew up with the original Lilo and Stich so this is just devastating.
It should also be pointed out she was probably a victim of P Diddy when she was still a kid.

 

[Übertroon]

Daveigh had numerous run-ins with the law over the years, which we've covered.

Is there any child actor that doesn't become a mess?
Also explains dying from septic shock.
People in a first world country just ignoring an infection is wild

 

[REGENDarySumanai]

Thanks for the kick in the dick, I have it on VHS.

 

[Long Dong Silver 2025]

Is there any child actor that doesn't become a mess?
Also explains dying from septic shock.
People in a first world country just ignoring an infection is wild

The only one I can think of off the top of my head is maybe Mara Wilson? Though I haven't delved deep into her past, so I wouldn't be sure.

 

[Diana Moon Glampers]

Is there any child actor that doesn't become a mess?
Also explains dying from septic shock.
People in a first world country just ignoring an infection is wild

She was admitted for malnutrition, aka anorexia, earlier in the month. She skellied herself to death. Sepsis was just the final thing that got her. There's a lot of ways that can go.

 

[ZsaZsaBinks]

The only one I can think of off the top of my head is maybe Mara Wilson? Though I haven't delved deep into her past, so I wouldn't be sure.

Mara Wilson isn’t a trainwreck, but you may not want to follow her on social media.

 

[draggs]

She was admitted for malnutrition, aka anorexia, earlier in the month. She skellied herself to death. Sepsis was just the final thing that got her. There's a lot of ways that can go.

Sepsis is no joke even for an otherwise completely healthy person, although an otherwise completely healthy person going septic is rare. Someone anorexic and probably on drugs for a while is almost the same as someone who goes septic from chronic illness, very high chance of dead

 

[BulkForceFive]

The only one I can think of off the top of my head is maybe Mara Wilson? Though I haven't delved deep into her past, so I wouldn't be sure.

It seems to be way harder on male child stars (Drake and Josh, Jake Lloyd, the guy who played Screech on Saved by The Bell)

Off the top of my head, most of the Harry Potter cast, Hilary Duff, Saoirse Ronan and Maisie Williams appear to have made it out of child actorhood alright (except for the copypasta about Maisie being a gross lower-class mutant).

 

[sodaboard]

Is there any child actor that doesn't become a mess?
Also explains dying from septic shock.
People in a first world country just ignoring an infection is wild

someone found the guy who played the hyperactive nerd kid on ned's declassified school survival guide, he's a homeless junkie with severe mental issues
hollyjew will fuck up anyone, especially kids

 

[beautiful person]

Noooo, not Lilo

Hilary Duff

I was going to say, Hilary Duff came out of child stardom relatively well. Though she also conciously retired early into young adulthood to start a family, and has only recently started working again. But the fact that she didn't get pulled into the child star party circuit as a teenager like most of her peers at the time did is a bit of a miracle.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

It seems to be way harder on male child stars (Drake and Josh, Jake Lloyd, the guy who played Screech on Saved by The Bell)

Dustin Diamond was the guy who played Screech on Saved by the Bell, he reprised his role later for Saved by the Bell: the New Class.

I was going to say, Hilary Duff came out of child stardom relatively well. Though she also conciously retired early into young adulthood to start a family, and has only recently started working again. But the fact that she didn't get pulled into the child star party circuit as a teenager like most of her peers at the time did is a bit of a miracle.

Did other child/teenage stars like Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence came out of child stardom well as well?

 

[Nique la mere de Macron]

This is so sad. Like many of you I adored Lilo. But she was also absolutely fantastic on Big Love. Although a lot of child actors crash and burn, this girl sounds like she ended up on Skid Row. Heartbreaking.

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

When I first heard about this in the Western Animation thread I asked:

makes you wonder what happened to make her life that tumultuous.

It should also be pointed out she was probably a victim of P Diddy when she was still a kid.

0:13

Now I have my answer. Jesus fucking Christ.

 

[beautiful person]

Did other child/teenage stars like Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence came out of child stardom well as well?

Probably? I just immediately thought of Hilary Duff because she's one of the ones I really grew up with. Thinking about it, Ryan Gosling was also a child star and he does well.

This is so sad. Like many of you I adored Lilo. But she was also absolutely fantastic on Big Love. Although a lot of child actors crash and burn, this girl sounds like she ended up on Skid Row. Heartbreaking.

I didn't recognize her from the picture used in this article, but when I googled her, I immediately remembered her from Big Love. She was so pretty, but her character was a complete psycho, lmao. Unfortunately I'm not surprised that she'd be especially targeted by Hollywood predators. Sad af.

Edit: Here's a better picture of her:

 

[BobbyBriggs69420]

Did other child/teenage stars like Melissa Joan Hart....

She's married with kids and says Christian things that trigger the progtards, she did better than ok imo

E: Lilo and stitch art style is highly visually offensive and I don't even know how that happened

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

E: Lilo and stitch art style is highly visually offensive and I don't even know how that happened

If that's what you call highly visually offensive, you haven't seen the slop that comes out these days. Which.....good for you, keep ignoring it

 

[Billy Hargrove]

That's sad. She was young.

I vaguely remember her being positioned as the newest star back in the day but I guess her adult career never really took off.

 

[JosephStalin]

Never heard of her, never saw anything she was in. Sounds like a wasted life, hope the next life is better for her.

 

[Standardized Profile]

Very sad, but we must remain committed to Sparkle Motion.