Dannyka Manangan

‘Lilo & Stitch’ and 'Spirited Away' voice actress Daveigh Chase's cause of death was AIDS

Article (news)

Alyana De Guzman

Push Team

The cause of death of actress Daveigh Chase, widely recognized for voicing Lilo in Disney’s Lilo &amp; Stitch, has now been confirmed following her death on June 16. News of Daveigh’s passing first broke earlier this month through several US media outlets, leaving fans stunned after learning that the former child star had died at just 35 years old. Following her death, her father, John David Schwallier, initially told The New York Times that she passed away in a hospital due to complications caused by bacterial meningitis along with a blood infection. He also revealed that his estranged daughter had reportedly struggled with drug use beginning at age 13 and had been living homeless in Los Angeles with her boyfriend near the hospital where she later died. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782806053879Daveigh Chase.JPG" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div>However, on June 29, several US media outlets released updated findings regarding the actress’s death, confirming that Daveigh died from Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) with other significant conditions, including chronic polysubstance use or the use of multiple drugs.  The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner officially ruled her death as “natural.” Roy Hernandez, Daveigh’s boyfriend, also launched a donation drive on GoFundMe and opened up about the struggles the actress endured behind the scenes despite being known globally for some of her most iconic roles. “But behind the scenes, she’s faced more than her share of hardship. After a difficult childhood and a painful falling out with her family, Daveigh was bullied and struggled to find safety and happiness in downtown LA. When we met, I promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved. Together, we found moments of happiness and hope,” he wrote. According to Roy, the fundraiser was meant to help provide Daveigh with a “sense of home and peace in her final days.” The actress began working in the entertainment industry at a very young age. She started acting at just four years old and landed her first Hollywood role by age seven, before stepping away from full-time acting in 2015.  Her earliest television appearance in Hollywood came through a small role in the hit sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782806447402Daveigh Chase 3.JPG" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div>Daveigh later found her breakthrough in 2001 after portraying Samantha Darko in the cult classic Donnie Darko, before reprising the role in the 2009 follow-up film S. Darko. In 2002, she became widely recognized for playing Samara Morgan in The Ring, the terrifying, long-haired ghost in the American adaptation of the Japanese horror film centered on a cursed videotape that kills anyone who watches it. Her performance earned her the 2003 MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for portraying the eerie character known for crawling on her hands and feet before attacking her victims. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782806423163Daveigh Chase 2.JPG" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div>Outside live-action roles, Daveigh also voiced several beloved animated characters. In 2002, she voiced the Hawaiian girl Lilo in Disney’s animated hit Lilo &amp; Stitch. She was also the English-language voice of Chihiro, the lead heroine in Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, which later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

The cause of death of actress Daveigh Chase, widely recognized for voicing Lilo in Disney’s Lilo &amp; Stitch is AIDS with other significant conditions including chronic polysubstance use or the use of multiple drugs.

The cause of death of actress Daveigh Chase, widely recognized for voicing Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch is AIDS with other significant conditions including chronic polysubstance use or the use of multiple drugs.