Daveigh Chase (July 24, 1990–June 16, 2026) was an American actress. She rose to prominence as a child actress, playing Samantha Darko in the film Donnie Darko (2001), Chihiro Ogino in the English dub of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away (2001), and Lilo Pelekai in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ animated feature film Lilo & Stitch (2002).
In 2003, she received an Annie Award for her portrayal in the latter, and she continued to voice Lilo in the ensuing media franchise.
Following her retirement from acting, Chase faced several highly publicized personal and legal issues, which corresponded with an extended absence from the public eye. In June, Chase died at 35 from a prolong infection.
Daveigh Chase Biography
Daveigh Elizabeth Chase-Schwallier was born on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, to parents Cathy Chase and John Schwallier. She was raised with a younger half-brother, Cade, and several other half-siblings from her parents’ subsequent marriages. Chase’s parents divorced while she was young, and as a result, she legally used her mother’s maiden name for her professional identity. She then moved with her mother, Cathy, to Albany, Oregon, a city in the Willamette Valley, where she spent her formative years in a close-knit community.
Career
Chase made her television debut in 1998 as a minor guest star on an episode of the series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. In the 1999 television film Michael Landon, the Father I Knew, she played a younger Shawna Landon.
Over the next two years, she landed a string of episodic appearances in popular network television shows such as Charmed, The Practice, ER, and Family Law.
Chase had her breakthrough in 2001, as Samantha Darko, the younger sister of the titular character (Jake Gyllenhaal), in the independent psychological thriller Donnie Darko.
Although the picture flopped during its initial theatrical run, it immediately gained a devoted cult following and considerable critical acclaim.
Chase’s portrayal of the former child dancing troupe member was one of the film’s few moments of innocence and comic relief.
That same year, she voiced the protagonist Chihiro Ogino, a 10-year-old girl traversing the spirit world, in Hayao Miyazaki’s critically acclaimed animated fantasy film Spirited Away in English. Spirited Away eventually won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Chase’s international profile grew dramatically in 2002 due to two completely different roles. She was cast as the voice of Lilo Pelekai, a quirky and lonely Hawaiian child, in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film Lilo & Stitch.
The short depicts Lilo’s attempts to tame and rear a disruptive alien fugitive (voiced by co-director Chris Sanders), utilizing Elvis Presley’s music as a behavioral guide.
The picture was both critically and commercially successful, generating more than $273 million worldwide. Chase’s voice work was hailed for its emotional sincerity and humorous timing, and she was later awarded Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature at the 30th Annie Awards in 2003.
She reprised her role as Lilo in the direct-to-video film Stitch! The Movie (2003) and the succeeding television series Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which ran on the Disney Channel from 2003 to 2006.
Chase later acted as Samara Morgan in The Ring, a supernatural horror film based on the 1998 Japanese film Ring. Chase’s role as a nasty, drowned child who curses a videotape required heavy prosthetic makeup and physically difficult stunt work. Her portrayal became deeply established in early-2000s mainstream culture, making Samara a famous film villain.
Chase won Best Villain at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, knocking out Mike Myers, Colin Farrell, Willem Dafoe, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Chase was given credit for the 2005 sequel The Ring Two because it used archival footage from the original film, but actress Kelly Stables performed all of the new on-screen material and motion capture for Samara.
Chase starred in the Fox historical sitcom Oliver Beene from 2003 to 2004 as Joyce, the title character’s wacky lover. Her other significant credits during this period included the direct-to-video picture Beethoven’s 5th (2003) and the romantic comedy Carolina (2003), in which she played a younger version of Julia Stiles’ character.
Chase spent the 2010s largely in independent thriller and horror films. She had a supporting role in the drama Yellow (2012) and starred in the independent thriller Killer Crush (2015). In 2016, she co-starred in the thriller American Romance and played a supporting role in the psychological horror film Jack Goes Home.
In 2016, she also performed the English voice for Kiwako Seto in the video game Let It Die. Her final acting credits include American Romance, Jack Goes Home, and Let It Die.
Movies
- Spirited Away
- Lilo & Stitch
- The Ring
- Stitch! The Movie
- Beethoven’s 5th
- The Ring Two
- S. Darko
- Yellow
- Little Red Wagon
- Jack Goes Home
- American Romance
Personal Life
Daveigh Chase, the former child star of Lilo & Stitch and The Ring, led a mostly solitary life, with her family alienated and her final romance with boyfriend Roy Hernandez.
Cause of Death
Chase was hospitalized at a Los Angeles hospital in June 2026 for acute malnutrition treatment after losing a lot of weight quickly.
During her hospitalization, her condition worsened after she was diagnosed with meningitis and multiple severe systemic bloodstream infections, and doctors told her she didn’t have much time left to live.
Chase’s boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, established a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help her manage her rising medical bills and regain stability. In the campaign description, Hernandez noted that Chase had faced tremendous personal challenges in her post-acting life, such as institutional bullying, a devastating estrangement from her family, and ongoing housing insecurity in downtown Los Angeles.
Chase died of septic shock and subsequent organ failure caused by her infections on June 16, 2026, barely hours after the fundraising site was set up. She was 35 years old.
The next day, June 17, Hernandez announced her death on TMZ, alleging that bloodstream infections caused septic complications, forcing her body to shut down.
Daveigh Chase Net Worth
Daveigh Chase, best known for voicing Lilo and playing Samara Morgan, died at the age of 35 due to complications from meningitis and sepsis, leaving an estimated net worth of $100,000.