Her rise came early, almost suddenly. By her teens, she had already touched animation, horror, television and cult cinema — yet her later years became painfully quiet.
That actress was Daveigh Chase, the former child star known as the voice of Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and as Samara Morgan in the 2002 horror film The Ring.
News of her death at 35 stunned fans who grew up with her work. Reports citing her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, said she died after complications from meningitis and a blood infection that led to sepsis.
To many, she will always be remembered first as Lilo Pelekai — the spirited Hawaiian girl who taught a blue alien “ohana.” Her voice gave the Disney film its heart.
But that same year, Chase entered a very different legacy. In The Ring, she played Samara, the mysterious girl whose image became one of modern horror’s most chilling symbols. The role earned her the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
Her career also included the English-language voice of Chihiro in Spirited Away, roles in Donnie Darko, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, ER and Charmed, and a recurring part on HBO’s Big Love.
Yet the final chapters of her life were far from the bright Hollywood story many imagined. Reports said she had been hospitalized in Los Angeles earlier this month, and people close to her had tried to help.
Her death feels especially heartbreaking because so much of her legacy was built on youth — the voice of a child searching for family, the face of a character that terrified millions, and a talent that seemed limitless.
At just 35, Daveigh Chase leaves behind roles that shaped childhood memories, horror history and the fragile magic of early fame.
She lived many screen lives before most people find one path of their own. Now fans look back at those moments as lasting work of an artist who was here far too briefly.