Daveigh Chase, Voice of Lilo in ‘Lilo & Stitch’, Dead at 35

The actress who voiced Lilo in the animated classic Lilo & Stitch has passed away.

Daveigh Chase was just 35 years old when she died on Tuesday.

Per a TMZ report, Chase’s death was the result of a bout with meningitis and a blood infection which then resulted in septic issues which she never recovered from.

Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, confirmed the actress’ death and illnesses.

Chase, born in Las Vegas, Nevada, had roles in a number of prominent movies and TV shows. In addition to voicing Lilo not only in Lilo and Stitch but also the sequel, Stitch! The Movie, and later in 65 episodes of Lilo & Stitch: The Series, she also had big screen success for her roles in Donnie Darko and The Ring, the latter of which earned her an MTV Movie Award.

Her successes were not limited to the big screen. She had a main role as Rhonda Volmer in the HBO hit series Big Love and made appearances in ER, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and more than a dozen other shows.

Following a pair of film roles in 2016, Chase made the decision to step away from acting and largely disappeared from the public eye. 

That time, unfortunately, coincided with legal trouble. She was arrested a handful of times and briefly jailed for drug possession. Her post-acting life saw her battle with addiction and reported homelessness.

Less than a week before her death, Hernandez created a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise funds to assist in paying her medical expenses. She was originally hospitalized in June for severe malnutrition. However, Chase’s former manager and longtime friend John Ryan is disputing claims made on the GoFundMe, urging people via a statement to Deadline not to contribute to the fund.

“Daveigh’s estate has plenty of means to pay for the cremation,” he said, adding he has been in touch with her family, including her father John Schwallier. “John is next of kin and never signed any paperwork over to this so called boyfriend,” Ryan said.

“That GoFundMe is not going toward ANY expenses for Daveigh,” Ryan said. “Myself her father, her uncle and all of us close friends who knew her for decades are encouraging people not to donate to this page. This man making these claims brought her into the hospital in terrible condition and didn’t let any of the family know until she passed so he can control the dialogue. Daveigh’s actual family is handling all arrangements, we have contacted go fund me to let them know this man started this page on his own under Daveighs name when she was already unresponsive and urging people to report the page and not donate.”