Actress Daveigh Chase, known for her iconic roles as the voice of Lilo in Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” and as the terrifying ghost child Samara Morgan in “The Ring,” died on June 16, 2026, at age 35 from complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection, her father confirmed.
Chase’s father, John David Schwallier, confirmed her death to The New York Times, saying she had been homeless in Los Angeles and staying with her boyfriend near the hospital where she died. According to reports, the meningitis was compounded by several blood infections that turned septic and caused her body to shut down. Chase had been hospitalized earlier in June for severe malnutrition.
A Disputed Fundraiser
In the days before her death, a man identifying himself as Chase’s boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, set up a GoFundMe campaign that he said would fund her care and, later, a memorial. But the fundraiser quickly became a source of contention among Chase’s family and longtime associates, who said they did not recognize him.
Chase’s former manager, John Ryan Jr., told TMZ that a man claiming to be Daveigh’s boyfriend had launched the page and that neither her family nor her close friends knew who he was. Ryan said Chase had a SAG trust account with more than enough money to cover her medical and related expenses, and that her father had contacted the hospital to claim her body. He urged the public not to donate until the organizer’s identity and claims could be verified.
Hernandez has rejected those suspicions. He said he had been in a relationship with Chase since 2019 and called it “100 percent” false to suggest the fundraiser was illegitimate, telling TMZ he had intended to use any money raised to ensure she received a proper memorial. In the appeal itself, Hernandez wrote that Chase had “always been a light in my life” but had “faced more than her share of hardship,” describing a troubled upbringing, estrangement from relatives and a struggle to find safety in downtown Los Angeles. Those biographical details, drawn from the disputed campaign, have not been independently confirmed, though Chase’s father has separately acknowledged that she had been homeless.
From Child Voiceover to Horror Icon
Born Daveigh Elizabeth Chase on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and raised in Albany, Oregon, Chase began performing at age four, doing voiceover work and theater. She landed her first television role at age seven with a small part in “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”
Her breakthrough came in 2001, when she played Samantha Darko in Richard Kelly’s cult film “Donnie Darko,” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. She would reprise the role in the 2009 sequel “S. Darko.” That same year, she voiced Chihiro Ogino in the English-language dub of Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed “Spirited Away.”
The year 2002 proved career-defining. Chase voiced the title role of Lilo Pelekai, a young Hawaiian girl who adopts what she believes is a dog but is actually an alien, in Disney’s animated hit “Lilo & Stitch.” She went on to perform the role in multiple sequels and the 2003–2006 television series.
That same year, at 12, Chase became the ghostly face of Gore Verbinski’s horror hit “The Ring” as Samara Morgan, the pale, dark-haired child who crawls out of a television screen. The role earned her the 2003 MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, beating Willem Dafoe for “Spider-Man,” Daniel Day-Lewis for “Gangs of New York,” Colin Farrell for “Daredevil” and Mike Myers for Austin Powers in “Goldmember.”
In a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Chase said she relished the part. “It is not your typical character. Usually they are looking for a happy-go-lucky kid, but Samara was a pretty interesting character to play,” she said.
Her television work included single-episode appearances in “Charmed,” “ER,” “The Practice” and “Touched by an Angel.” From 2006 to 2011, she had a recurring, 32-episode role on HBO’s polygamy drama “Big Love” as Rhonda Volmer, a manipulative child bride raised in a fundamentalist compound.
A Retreat From Hollywood
After appearing in Thomas Dekker’s 2016 horror film “Jack Goes Home,” Chase largely stepped away from acting. She had begun slipping out of the spotlight years earlier and retreated from public view almost entirely by 2017, when she posted on social media for the last time.
Her manager of 15 years, John Ryan Jr., remembered her as someone who shunned the Hollywood lifestyle, devoted to feline rescue and content with a quiet life among her cats. He said she kept homes in Nevada and downtown Los Angeles, often retreating to Las Vegas for long stretches and turning down studio films in favor of independent projects.
Chase’s later years were marked by personal and legal difficulties. In 2017, she was arrested in Los Angeles after being found in a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The following year, she faced misdemeanor counts of possessing a controlled substance without a valid prescription and possessing drug paraphernalia. In the months before her death, friends had searched for her on Los Angeles’s Skid Row, according to reports, with some accounts describing a private investigator hired to find her and get her help.