Lifestyle

Daveigh Chase dies at 35 after roles in The Ring and Lilo & Stitch

The actor's death closes a brief career that left unusually durable marks on family animation and early-2000s horror.

Belgium Impulse Editorial·22 June 2026·2 min read·

Well established· 1 primary source + 4 independent reporting sources · Background sources: 1

In 30 seconds

Roy Hernandez said Daveigh Chase died on 16 June 2026 after meningitis and blood infections led to sepsis.
Multiple entertainment outlets confirm Chase was 35 and best known for The Ring and Lilo & Stitch.
Filmographies list Chase as the English-language voice of Chihiro in Spirited Away.
Filmographies and award records list Chase's later credits as including Donnie Darko and HBO's Big Love.

(American actor, 1990-2026) was best known for a brief but memorable early-2000s screen career. Roy Hernandez (the man who identified himself as Chase's boyfriend in public accounts of her final illness) is the named source for the reported medical cause. The Ring (2002 US remake of the Japanese horror film Ringu) introduced Chase as Samara Morgan, the spectral child at the centre of its cursed-video plot. & Stitch (2002 animated film) gave Chase the voice role of Lilo Pelekai, a Hawaiian child whose bond with an alien became a long-running franchise. Spirited Away (2001 film by , released in English-language versions in 2002) used Chase as the US voice of . Donnie Darko (2001 cult science-fiction film by ) and Big Love ( drama series, 2006-2011) were among her other recognised credits.

Background

Filmographies and award records list 2002 as Chase's defining year: she voiced Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and played Samara Morgan in The Ring while still a child actor. The Ring followed the late-1990s and early-2000s wave of US remakes of Japanese horror, after Ringu became an international reference point in 1998. Lilo & Stitch, released by Disney in 2002, later expanded through direct-to-video films and a television series. Chase's career then moved through television, including Big Love, before screen credits largely stopped after 2016 in the sources consulted.

Why now

The story is timely because public reports on 17-18 June 2026 said Chase had died on 16 June 2026, with the reported medical cause attributed to Roy Hernandez.

Context & what happens next

What to watch

Watch for any formal statement from Chase's family, representatives, SAG-AFTRA-related contacts or a public medical authority. If no such statement appears, the cause of death should remain attributed rather than stated as independently confirmed.

What to do

There is no direct action required for Belgian readers. The practical caution is editorial and consumer-facing: treat medical-cause details and memorial fundraisers carefully unless they are tied to verified family, representative or official statements.

How we got here

2001
Donnie Darko and Spirited Away entered the body of work later associated with Chase's early career.
2002
Chase voiced Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and played Samara Morgan in The Ring.
2006-2011
Chase appeared in HBO's Big Love.
2016
The sources consulted list Chase's final screen-era credits around this year.
2026-06-16
Roy Hernandez said Chase died at 35 after meningitis and blood infections led to sepsis.