Daveigh Chase, star of Lilo & Stitch and The Ring, dies aged 35

Daveigh Chase, the voice of Lilo in Disney's animated film Lilo & Stitch, has died aged 35. 

Chase, a former child star also known for her role as the villain in the 2002 US remake of the Japanese horror film The Ring, reportedly died on Tuesday from complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection.

Her father, John David Schwallier, told The New York Times that Chase had been homeless in Los Angeles with her boyfriend near the hospital where she died.

Mr Schwallier also told the outlet that his daughter had struggled with drugs since she was 13 years old, and that she had been estranged from her parents, who are divorced.

He added that he had been in touch with Chase's boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, and arrived at the hospital where she was being treated just before she died.

Chase is perhaps best known for her role as Lilo in the 2002 animated film, voicing the eponymous orphaned Hawaiian girl who adopts a genetically engineered extra-terrestrial, whom she names Stitch.

She voiced the same character in the subsequent spin-off TV series, which first aired in 2003.

For her role as Samara Morgan in The Ring, starring alongside Oscar-nominated actress Naomi Watts, Chase won an MTV movie award for best villain.

She landed another prominent voice lead in the English dub of the 2001 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, and also appeared in the 2001 movie Donnie Darko and the 2003 show Oliver Beene.

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Chase was born in Las Vegas and raised in Albany, Oregon. According to IMDb, she began singing and dancing at the age of three and starred in her first commercial - for Campbell's Soup - aged seven.

An online fundraiser set up by her boyfriend has raised close to $4,000 as of Thursday.

A post on the site read: "Many people know her as a talented childhood actor from 'Lilo & Stitch,' 'Spirited Away,' and 'Donnie Darko'.

"But behind the scenes, she's faced more than her share of hardship."

(c) Sky News 2026: Daveigh Chase, star of Lilo & Stitch and The Ring, dies aged 35