LOS ANGELES, CA. (THECOUNT) — Daveigh Chase, the former child actress best known for voicing Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and portraying Samara Morgan in The Ring, died from complications of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with mixed drug use listed as a contributing factor, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Chase was 35.
|
Advertisement |
The Medical Examiner determined that Chase’s official cause of death was acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with mixed drug use identified as a contributing condition. The findings were first reported by Us Weekly.
Chase died on June 16 after being transported to a Los Angeles hospital. Following her death, boyfriend Roy Hernandez initially told TMZ that she had died from complications related to meningitis, a blood infection, and sepsis.
According to reports, Chase had been living in an RV near Los Angeles’ Skid Row in the months leading up to her death. Friends reportedly became increasingly concerned about her living conditions and had struggled to remain in contact with the former actress.
AIDS is the advanced stage of infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), occurring when the immune system has been severely weakened and is no longer able to effectively fight infections and certain illnesses.
Chase’s mother told TMZ that her daughter had battled an addiction to prescription painkillers following a serious motorcycle crash in 2016. That same year marked Chase’s final acting credit, appearing in the film American Romance.
In the weeks before her death, Hernandez created a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $4,000 to help pay for Chase’s medical care. However, Chase’s former manager later told Deadline that her estate had sufficient resources to cover funeral and final expenses.
Friend Shawn Rosenthal, speaking to People, said he gradually lost contact with Chase after entering recovery from drug addiction in 2023.
“She was surrounding herself with the worst of the worst people,” Rosenthal said. “It’s such a tragedy because no one cared for her best interests at all.”
Born on July 24, 1990, Chase rose to prominence as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable child actors. She voiced Lilo in Disney’s 2002 animated classic Lilo & Stitch and its television series, while simultaneously terrifying audiences as Samara Morgan in the blockbuster horror film The Ring.
Her career also included memorable roles in HBO’s Big Love, Donnie Darko, ER, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and numerous other television and film projects.
Fans and fellow actors have continued paying tribute to Chase on social media, remembering both her remarkable talent as a child performer and expressing sadness over the difficult personal struggles she reportedly faced in the years leading up to her death.
DEVELOPING::