Daveigh Chase, Star of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘The Ring,’ Dies at 35

Daveigh Chase, the child star who voiced Lilo in "Lilo & Stitch," has died at 35 following a battle with meningitis and sepsis. Her passing was confirmed earlier this week.

Daveigh Chase, the former child star best known for voicing Lilo in the beloved Disney classic "Lilo & Stitch," has died at the age of 35. Her passing was confirmed by her alleged boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

Daveigh Chase attends BULLETT Magazine's Spring Fling celebrating the Obsessed Issue - Volume VI held at Dilettante Exhibition Space on April 11, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

Hernandez told TMZ that Chase died from meningitis and a blood infection that led to sepsis, causing her body to shut down. He revealed that the actress had been hospitalized earlier in the month in Los Angeles due to malnutrition.

In the months before her death, Chase had been living on LA's notorious Skid Row — a 50-block district in Downtown Los Angeles home to one of the largest concentrated homeless populations in the United States.

Friends and loved ones had desperately tried to get her help, including her manager of over a decade, John Ryan. Ryan said he and Chase's stepsister, Gaia Brown, had hired a private investigator the previous year to track her down and connect her with support.

Daveigh Chase sighting at Streets of Manhattan on March 19, 2012 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Toward the end of 2025, Ryan was alerted to a deeply troubling video that allegedly showed Chase visibly struggling on Skid Row, appearing dangerously thin. The footage, posted and later removed from social media, showed her barely conscious on the floor of what appeared to be a tent or trailer.

Ryan said he managed to reach her after the video surfaced and began arranging treatment, but by the time he arrived at Skid Row, she had vanished. He and Brown had planned to enroll Chase in a rehabilitation facility in Costa Rica, owned by someone Ryan had previously helped through recovery.

Daveigh Chase arrives at the NYLON Magazine June/July Music Issue Launch Party With Shirley Manson at The Roxy Theatre on May 30, 2012 in West Hollywood. | Source: Getty Images

"We were so close to finding her," he told The California Post. "Daveigh was the sweetest and brightest light in Hollywood. I can't believe this is real. Her legacy and work will live on forever."

Ryan shared that he hoped to immortalize Chase's legacy through a documentary chronicling the search for her, titled "Finding Lilo." He added that several major studios had already expressed interest in the project.

Daveigh Chase arrives at NYLON Magazine's 12th Anniversary Issue Party With The Cast of "Sucker Punch" at Tru Hollywood on March 24, 2011 in California. | Source: Getty Images

Ryan has also raised concerns about a GoFundMe he believes was improperly set up by Hernandez. Shortly before Chase's death, Hernandez launched the fundraiser to help her "find comfort and peace" in her final days.

"Apparently, a man claiming to be her 'boyfriend' that none of us friends or her family has heard of has set up a GoFundMe on 'her and her families behalf' that he set her up as the organizer. I can confirm Daveigh has a trust account set up at SAG to cover all costs," Ryan told The Post.

At the time of writing, the fundraiser had raised nearly $4,000 of its $5,500 goal.

Daveigh Chase and Roy Hernandez | Source: GoFundMe

Chase first rose to prominence in the early 2000s, voicing the spirited young Lilo in the 2002 Disney film that would define her legacy. Just before that breakout role, she had also lent her voice to Chihiro Ogino in the English dub of Studio Ghibli's "Spirited Away."

That same year, she delivered a haunting performance as Samara in the horror film "The Ring," which earned her the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. In 2003, she reprised her role in "Lilo & Stitch: The Series" while also landing a recurring spot on the sitcom "Oliver Beene."

Daveigh Chase, the voice of Lilo, at the premiere and after-party for "Lilo & Stitch" at the El Capitan Theatre on June 16, 2002 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

Her broader filmography includes "Donnie Darko," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "Beethoven's 5th," "ER," "Mercy," and others. Her final onscreen credit was the 2016 thriller "American Romance," after which she largely withdrew from public life.

Her last Instagram post, shared in 2017, showed her holding a unicorn balloon in a black and white photo. "Unicorns DO exist 😻," she wrote.