Daveigh Chase, who voiced Lilo in Disney’s original animated movie “Lilo & Stitch” and played Samara Morgan in “The Ring,” died Tuesday in Los Angeles. She was 35.
Chase’s partner announced the news, saying that she died from meningitis and an infection in her blood after being hospitalized in Los Angeles for malnutrition earlier this month.
Her father also confirmed her death to the New York Times, saying that she had been homeless and living in Los Angeles with her partner. He added that she had been struggling with drugs since the age of 13.
Chase got her big break by voicing Lilo Pelekai, the young Hawaiian protagonist in Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch,” in 2002.
The role earned her an Annie Award for outstanding voice acting in an animated feature production.
She went on to lend her voice to in several spinoffs, like “Stitch! The Movie” (2003), “Leroy & Stitch” (2006), and Disney Channel’s “Lilo & Stitch: The Series.”
Chase also voiced the lead character Chihiro Ogino in the English-dubbed version of Hayao Miyazaki’s hit Japanese animated movie “Spirited Away.”
In live-action, she had a terrifying turn as Samara Morgan, the creepy little girl who created the cursed video tape in the 2002 horror movie “The Ring.”
The role was also played by Kelly Stables and contortionist Bonnie Morgan, who famously climbed out of a TV in one of the most iconic scenes of the horror genre.
Chase’s performance was also used as archival footage in the 2005 sequel “The Ring Two” and 2017’s “Rings.”
She also played Samantha Darko, the younger sister of Jake Gyllenhaal’s lead character in “Donnie Darko,” and starred in the direct-to-video sequel, “S. Darko,” in 2009.
In TV, Chase starred in HBO’s “Big Love” and voiced the lead character in PBS Kids’ “Betsy’s Kindergarten Adventures.”
She starred in her last acting roles in 2016.
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