Daveigh Chase, Star of 'The Ring' and 'Lilo & Stitch,' Dies at 35
Quick Look
- Actress Daveigh Chase, known for her roles as the terrifying Samara in 'The Ring' and the voice of Lilo in Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch,' has died at 35.
- Her manager confirmed she passed away from sepsis following meningitis in a Los Angeles hospital.
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Why It Matters
Daveigh Chase was a former child star who gained fame for her roles in 'The Ring' and 'Lilo & Stitch.' She retired from full-time acting in 2015.
Daveigh Chase, the horror actress who crawled out of a telly in The Ring and who voiced Lilo in Disney's animated Lilo & Stitch, has died aged 35.
Chase, who also starred in the cable drama Big Love, died from sepsis following a bout with meningitis in a Los Angeles hospital, her longtime manager John Ryan Jr confirmed to BBC News on Wednesday.
The former child star began acting at 4 years old, booking her first Hollywood job when she was 7, but she retired from acting full time in 2015, he said.
"She was the greatest. She loved cats. She worked with cat rescues with us. She was very to herself, " said Ryan, her friend and manager of 15 years, noting that Chase would often retreat to her home in Las Vegas for years at a time and turn down big studio films to do independent projects.
"She was not very Hollywood," he said. "She'd rather eat at Bob's Big Boy and go home with the cats. She loved acting but wasn't into the fame scene."
She landed her first TV role in Hollywood at age 7, booking a small part in the popular Melissa Joan Hart-led American sitcom Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
Her Hollywood breakthrough came in 2001 when she appeared as Samantha Darko in Donnie Darko and later played the titular character's sister in the 2009 film S Darko.
Chase was further immortalised in film in 2002 as Samara Morgan, the long-haired ghost that crawls out of the telly - in the horror film The Ring - an American remake of the Japanese classic about a videotape that makes people die after they watch it.
She earned a 2003 MTV Movie Award for best villain for her turn as the spooky demon-like character, that crawls on her hands and feet before killing victims.
"It is not your typical character. Usually they are looking for a happy-go-lucky kid, but Samara was a pretty interesting character to play. I just kind of took my own voice and put this freaky twist on it," she told the Los Angeles Times in 2002.
That same year, she voiced the Elvis-adoring Hawaiian girl Lilo in the animated hit Lilo & Stitch. The part earned her an Annie Award for best voice acting in an animated feature production and she continued to voice the character in later spin-offs.
Open Questions
- What was the specific timeline of her illness?
- Were there any other contributing factors to her death?
