Daveigh Chase has passed away at the age of 35. The American actress was best known for providing the voice of Lilo Pelekai in Disney’s animated Lilo & Stitch franchise.
What was the cause of Daveigh Chase’s death?
Per TMZ, according to Chase’s boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, the actress died yesterday from “meningitis and an infection in her blood.” This caused Chase to have septic issues, which unfortunately led her body to shut down. Before this, the former child star had been hospitalized earlier this month in Los Angeles due to malnutrition.
For voicing Lilo in the hit 2002 movie, she won an Annie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. Afterward, Chase played the fan-favorite character again in two direct-to-video sequels: 2003’s Stitch! The Movie and 2006’s Leroy & Stitch. She was also previously involved in the franchise’s Disney Channel TV show, Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which lasted for 65 episodes from 2003 to 2006.
Before voicing Lilo, Chase first lent her voice to Chihiro in the English dub version of Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed 2001 fantasy movie Spirited Away. She also famously co-starred in Naomi Watts’ American remake of the popular Japanese horror movie The Ring, in which she portrayed the main antagonist, Samara Morgan. During the early 2000s, she appeared in several movies such as 2001’s Donnie Darko, 2003’s Carolina, 2003’s Beethoven’s 5th, and 2009’s S. Darko. Her last acting film credits included 2012’s Yellow with Sienna Miller, 2016’s horror movie Jack Goes Home opposite Rory Culkin, and the 2016 thriller American Romance with Nolan Gerard Funk.
As for her TV career, she had one-episode appearances on several popular TV shows like Charmed, The Practice, ER, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Cold Case. Chase also had series regular roles in two shows, appearing as Joyce in Fox’s 2003 sitcom Oliver Beene and as Rhonda in HBO’s acclaimed drama Big Love. Before her death, she hadn’t starred or participated in any Hollywood projects or events after 2016.
(Source: TMZ)
