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Daveigh Chase (American Actress)
Daveigh Chase was an American actress whose voice and presence shaped some of the most recognizable characters in early-2000s film and television. Born on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and raised in Albany, Oregon, she began acting at age eight, almost by accident, after a family car trip stranded her household in Los Angeles long enough for her first auditions to take shape. What followed was a career built on range rather than repetition.
She is best known for voicing Lilo Pelekai in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, a role that earned her an Annie Award, and for playing Chihiro Ogino in the English-language dub of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. On the darker end of her range, she portrayed Samara Morgan in the 2002 horror film The Ring, a performance chilling enough to win her an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain — beating out Daniel Day-Lewis and Colin Farrell for the honor that year. She also played Samantha Darko in Donnie Darko and later spent five years on HBO’s Big Love as Rhonda Volmer.
Chase stepped away from acting after 2016, having appeared in roughly fifty film and television projects across nearly two decades. She passed away on June 16, 2026, at the age of 35.
| Full Name | Daveigh Elizabeth Chase (née Chase-Schwallier) |
| Date of Birth | July 24, 1990 |
| Date of Death | June 16, 2026 (age 35) |
| Place of Birth | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Raised In | Albany, Oregon |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Actress (Film, Television, Voice Acting) |
| Education | Not publicly available |
| Career Start | Minor television roles, beginning around age 8 |
| Best Known For | Lilo Pelekai (Lilo & Stitch), Samara Morgan (The Ring), Samantha Darko (Donnie Darko), Rhonda Volmer (Big Love) |
| Notable Work | Lilo & Stitch, Spirited Away (English dub), The Ring, Donnie Darko, Big Love, S. Darko |
| Final Roles | American Romance, Jack Goes Home (2016) |
| Partner | Roy Hernandez (boyfriend) |
| Children | Not publicly available |
| Awards | MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (The Ring); Annie Award for Best Voice Acting (Lilo & Stitch) |
| Estimated Net Worth | Not publicly available |
| Salary | Not publicly available |
| Siblings | Not publicly available |
| Cause of Death | Meningitis and bloodstream infection leading to sepsis |
Who is Daveigh Chase?
Daveigh Chase was an American actress known for voicing Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and Chihiro in Spirited Away. She also starred as Samara Morgan in The Ring and Samantha Darko in Donnie Darko. Chase passed away on June 16, 2026, at age 35.
Early Life and Education
Daveigh Chase was born on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was raised in Albany, Oregon. Her early life took an unplanned turn toward acting at age eight, when a family road trip to Los Angeles ended in a car accident involving her mother. Doctors advised that her mother could not drive for six months, leaving the family in Los Angeles longer than planned. It was during this extended stay that Chase began going out on her first auditions.
Childhood and Family Background
Chase’s parents were Cathy Chase and John Schwallier. Following their divorce, her name was changed to Daveigh Elizabeth Chase. As reported by Interview Magazine, the circumstances that led to her acting career were largely accidental rather than planned, stemming directly from her family’s unplanned extended stay in Los Angeles. No verified information about siblings has been made public.
Educational Journey
No verified details regarding Chase’s schooling, college attendance, or academic qualifications are publicly available. No official source has confirmed specifics of her formal education.
Career Overview
Daveigh Chase built a career defined by range, moving fluidly between minor television guest spots, animated voice work, and one of horror cinema’s most enduring performances. Her body of work spans nearly two decades and roughly fifty credits across film and television.
Early Career — Breakout Roles
Chase’s first notable role came in Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, where she played Samantha Darko, the younger sister of the film’s title character. The same year, she won the lead voice role of Lilo Pelekai in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch — a part that became the defining role of her early career and led to a voice role in the spin-off series Lilo & Stitch: The Series. Her work as the voice of Lilo earned her an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production.
She also voiced Chihiro Ogino, the ten-year-old lead character, in the American dub of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. That same year, Chase took on a very different role: Samara Morgan, the eerie child antagonist of The Ring. According to Hollywood Reporter, her performance was unsettling enough to win her an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, beating out actors including Daniel Day-Lewis and Colin Farrell for the honor.
Television and Film Roles Through the Years
Chase’s television resume from this period was extensive. She appeared in Oliver Beene as Joyce, and made guest appearances on Touched by an Angel, Charmed, ER, Family Law, The Practice, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Mercy. Her film credits during these years included The Rats, Carolina, R.L. Stine’s Haunted Lighthouse, and Beethoven’s 5th.
When The Ring Two was released, Chase received a credit for her role due to the use of archive footage from the original film, though actress Kelly Stables performed all newly filmed material as Samara.
Chase’s most substantial television role came on HBO’s Big Love, where she played Rhonda Volmer, a sociopathic teenager raised in a polygamist family, across roughly thirty episodes over several years. She also voiced Betsy in the PBS children’s program Betsy’s Kindergarten Adventures, and later reprised her Donnie Darko role as Samantha in the sequel S. Darko.
Final Film Roles and Career Hiatus
Chase’s final screen credits came in two thriller films, Killer Crush and Wild in Blue, followed shortly after by American Romance and Jack Goes Home — the latter alongside Rory Culkin and Britt Robertson. After these releases, she did not appear in any further acting roles.
The years that followed were largely spent away from public life. In the period after stepping back from acting, Chase faced several publicized legal matters, including being questioned in connection with a hospital-related incident. She remained largely out of the spotlight afterward, a contrast to the visibility of her earlier career.
Major Achievements and Awards
Across her career, Chase’s two most significant honors were the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for The Ring and the Annie Award for her voice performance in Lilo & Stitch. Both roles also earned her nominations from the Phoenix Film Critics Society — recognition that placed her, while still a child actor, among performers acknowledged by serious critical bodies rather than just popular audiences.
The 2003 Sean Combs Incident
A widely circulated video from the 2003 MTV Movie Awards resurfaced years later, showing Sean “Diddy” Combs, then 33, speaking with Chase, then 12 years old, backstage. In the clip, Combs asked if she was “coming to the afterparty tonight,” to which Chase nodded before he laughed. Combs and actor Ashton Kutcher had presented Chase with her Best Villain trophy earlier that evening.
It has never been confirmed whether Chase attended any afterparty following the ceremony, and no further documented interaction between her and Combs has been reported. The clip gained renewed attention amid unrelated legal proceedings involving Combs years later. Claims suggesting any deeper connection or “disappearance” tied to this incident have circulated online but are not supported by any credible news source and are not treated as fact here.
Daveigh Chase Net Worth and Salary
Public curiosity around a public figure’s earnings is common, but in Daveigh Chase’s case, the available record is limited. Unlike many former child actors whose finances have been the subject of detailed reporting, no credible outlet has published verified figures for her income or assets.
Salary Details
No verified salary information exists for any of Chase’s roles, including her work on Lilo & Stitch, The Ring, or Big Love. Compensation details for child and young-adult actors from this era were rarely disclosed publicly, and Chase’s case is no exception.
Personal Life and Family
Daveigh Chase kept much of her personal life away from public attention, particularly in the years after she stepped back from acting. What is known comes primarily from statements made by those closest to her.
Partner — Roy Hernandez
Chase’s boyfriend was Roy Hernandez, who confirmed her death to TMZ. No public record exists of a marriage. Hernandez spoke publicly about her final weeks, describing his hope to give her a sense of home and peace during a difficult period, and he organized a fundraiser to help support her care. Beyond these statements, details about the length or nature of their relationship have not been made public.
Children
No verified information confirms whether Daveigh Chase had any children. This detail has not been publicly disclosed.
Health, Hospitalization, and Passing
Daveigh Chase’s age at the time of her passing was 35. According to reports citing Roy Hernandez, she was hospitalized earlier in June due to complications related to malnutrition. During that hospitalization, doctors identified more serious underlying conditions: meningitis and a bloodstream infection.
These infections progressed into sepsis, a life-threatening condition that can cause the body’s organs to fail when an infection spreads through the bloodstream. As reported by Hollywood Reporter and corroborated by other outlets, her condition deteriorated despite treatment, and she died on June 16, 2026.
Hernandez’s public statements indicated that her health decline was sudden following a period of broader personal struggles, including financial instability described in earlier interviews. No further medical details beyond meningitis and the resulting bloodstream infection have been confirmed by credible sources.
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Daveigh Chase
Key questions answered about the actress known for Lilo & Stitch and The Ring
Born Daveigh Elizabeth Chase on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, she also played Samantha Darko in Donnie Darko and Rhonda Volmer in HBO's Big Love. She won an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting during her career.
She also had roles in Oliver Beene, S. Darko, R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse, and guest appearances on ER, Charmed, Touched by an Angel, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Her final film roles came in American Romance and Jack Goes Home, both released in 2016.
According to her boyfriend Roy Hernandez, she had been hospitalized earlier that month due to malnutrition before doctors discovered the infections. She was 35 years old at the time of her death.
Her performance earned her an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. She voiced the character through Leroy & Stitch, the series finale, which marked her last time playing the role.
Combs and actor Ashton Kutcher had just presented Chase with her Best Villain trophy for The Ring. It is not confirmed whether she attended any afterparty, and the clip resurfaced years later amid unrelated legal proceedings involving Combs.
Unlike many former child actors, her finances were not the subject of detailed public reporting. Any specific dollar figures found elsewhere online should be treated as unverified.
She won the award in 2003 at age 12, beating out actors including Daniel Day-Lewis and Colin Farrell. The role also earned her a Phoenix Film Critics Society Award nomination.
Her parents, Cathy Chase and John Schwallier, later divorced, after which her name was changed to Daveigh Elizabeth Chase. No verified information about her education or siblings has been publicly disclosed.
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