Daveigh Chase was 35 years old and had a career spanning three characters you’ll hardly forget. 😢 The same actress who scared you as Samara Morgan in “The Ring” was also the voice of Lilo in “Lilo & Stitch” and of Chihiro in the English dub of “Spirited Away” — all in the same year, 2002, when she was just eleven years old.
Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, confirmed to TMZ that Chase died Tuesday in Los Angeles from meningitis and a blood infection that led to sepsis and the progressive collapse of her organs. She had been hospitalized at the beginning of the month for malnutrition, and the infection developed during that same hospitalization. 🕯️
Beyond horror and animation, Chase also built a solid television career: she appeared in 32 episodes of “Big Love”, HBO’s series about a polygamous Mormon family, and left her mark on “Donnie Darko” and other productions. In 2003 she won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for her Samara — a trophy she accepted with laughter, imitating the character’s voice. Her family opened a GoFundMe campaign after her death. 💔