Original Lilo Actress Daveigh Chase Dies at 35
Actress Daveigh Chase, beloved by Disney fans for her voice performance as Lilo in Lilo & Stitch -- along with several follow-ups to that film -- has sadly died at the age of 35.
TMZ spoke to Chase's boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, who told them Chase passed away on Tuesday from meningitis and an infection in her blood, which had caused her to have septic issues.
Chase first voiced Lilo Pelekai in 2002's Lilo & Stitch, where she quickly made an impression for her very empathetic, quirky, and sometimes sardonically funny delivery. Her performance resulted in her winning both an Annie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production and a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role: Age 10 or Under.
2002 was a huge year for Chase, who was only just turning 12 while in the midst of a few month span that found her not only appearing in movie theaters as the voice of Lilo but also playing the terrifying Samara in the big breakout horror hit The Ring, a role which would lead Chase to win Best Villain at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.
Though few actors of any age can often match the pop culture impact of playing both Lilo and Samara in the same year, Chase was already quite a successful young actress prior to those films. Early guest appearances on TV shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, The Practice and ER would then lead her to her first film role, as the title character's little sister, Samantha, in 2001's cult favorite Donnie Darko. That same year, she'd work with Steven Spielberg -- albeit in scenes that were unfortunately cut from the film -- in A.I. Artificial Intelligence. On top of that, she'd also do her first voice work in 2001 in a notable fashion, when she played the main character, Chihiro, in in the U.S. release of Hayao Miyazaki's acclaimed Japanese animated film, Spirited Away, which was distributed domestically by Disney.
Chase would voice Lilo in several more projects like Stitch! The Movie, Leroy & Stitch and Lilo & Stitch: The Series, along with multiple Lilo & Stitch video games. Her other notable roles include her time as a series regular on HBO's Big Love, and her starring role in the sequel to Donnie Darko, 2009's S. Darko, which focused on her character.