American actress Daveigh Chase, best known for portraying Samara Morgan in ‘The Ring’ and voicing Lilo in Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’, has died at the age of 35 in Los Angeles after complications arising from sepsis and meningitis.
Her manager, John Ryan Jr, confirmed that Chase died in a Los Angeles hospital after developing sepsis following meningitis. He said she had initially been admitted for treatment related to malnourishment.
Chase rose to prominence as a child actor and built a career spanning film, television and voice acting. According to Ryan, she began acting at the age of four and secured her first Hollywood role when she was seven. Although she remained active in the industry for years, she stepped away from full-time acting in 2015.
Paying tribute, Ryan described her as a private individual who preferred a quiet life away from Hollywood.
“She was the greatest. She loved cats. She worked with cat rescues with us,” he said.
“She was not very Hollywood. 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.”
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Chase began performing through theatre and voice work before landing a small role in the television sitcom ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ at the age of seven.
Her breakthrough came in 2001 when she appeared as Samantha Darko in ‘Donnie Darko’. She later reprised the role in the 2009 sequel ‘S. Darko’.
A year later, she became widely recognised for her portrayal of Samara Morgan in ‘The Ring’, the American remake of the Japanese horror film centred on a cursed videotape. Her performance earned her the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain in 2003.
Reflecting on the role shortly after the film’s release, Chase told the Los Angeles Times, “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.”
Also in 2002, Chase voiced Lilo in Disney’s animated hit ‘Lilo & Stitch’. The performance earned her an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production, and she continued voicing the character in subsequent spin-offs.
Her career also included guest appearances in television series such as ‘Charmed’, ‘ER’ and ‘Touched by an Angel’. She later appeared in 32 episodes of the HBO drama ‘Big Love’, playing Rhonda Volmer.
According to reports, Chase experienced several legal issues later in life, including charges related to drug possession and joyriding in a stolen vehicle.
