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.
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. Reports said 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 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.
In a statement to Deadline, Ryan alleged that Hernandez had brought Chase to the hospital “in terrible condition” and had not notified the family until after she died. Ryan said he and the family had reported the page to GoFundMe and were urging the public not to donate. “As far as I’m concerned with the condition this man brought her to the hospital, he should be in jail,” Ryan said. “This guy’s trying to make it look like a Romeo and Juliet situation to benefit his own pockets.” Ryan added there were no outstanding medical bills or funeral expenses requiring public donations.
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 eight 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.
Former manager John Ryan Jr. remembered Chase as someone who shunned the Hollywood lifestyle, was devoted to feline rescue, and was content with a quiet life among her cats, turning down studio films in favor of independent projects.
Ryan also revealed that Chase had accumulated millions of dollars in unclaimed Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) residuals — the result of a contract that entitled her to ongoing payments from merchandise, theme park attractions and voice products rather than a one-time fee. His office had been receiving SAG-AFTRA notices about the unclaimed checks for years, but Chase had been “too far gone” to collect them, with her father likely to recover the funds as next of kin. Ryan was also developing a documentary about his search for Chase, tentatively titled “Finding Lilo,” when he learned of her death.
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.
Ryan told Entertainment Weekly that Chase had been effectively missing since 2015, when she failed to appear for a meeting with director Rob Reiner about a potential role. In late 2025, a video surfaced — later deleted — showing Chase severely emaciated on the floor of a tent on Skid Row. Ryan traveled to the area after seeing the footage but she had already disappeared. He and Chase’s stepsister, Gaia Brown, had hired a private investigator and were planning to place her in a rehabilitation facility in Costa Rica when she died. “We were so close to finding her,” Ryan said. “Daveigh was the sweetest and brightest light in Hollywood.”