Daveigh Chase, the beloved actress who voiced Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch (2002) and terrified audiences as Samara Morgan in The Ring (2002), passed away on June 16, 2026. She was 35 years old. Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, confirmed the news to TMZ, stating she died from meningitis and a blood infection that led to septic shock and her body shutting down. She had been hospitalized in Los Angeles earlier this month for malnutrition.
Chase was a defining voice of early 2000s pop culture. Beyond Lilo & Stitch, she voiced Chihiro Ogino in the English dub of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away and appeared in Donnie Darko as Samantha Darko. She won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for her chilling performance in The Ring, as well as an Annie Award for her voice work in Lilo & Stitch. She also had a recurring role in HBO’s Big Love from 2006 to 2011.
Days before her death was confirmed, Hernandez had launched a GoFundMe page, writing that Chase had been “diagnosed with meningitis and several serious blood infections” and that her “condition has become critical.” The entertainment world has responded with an outpouring of grief, with fans and colleagues mourning the loss of a performer whose work shaped the childhoods of millions.
