The actress who voiced Lilo in the animated classic Lilo & Stitch has passed away.
Daveigh Chase was just 35 years old when she died on Tuesday.
Per a TMZ report, Chase’s death was the result of a battle with meningitis and a blood infection, which then resulted in septic problems from which she never recovered.
Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, confirmed the actress’ death and illness.
Chase, born in Las Vegas, Nevada, had roles in a number of prominent films and television shows. In addition to voicing Lilo not only in Lilo and Stitch but also the sequel, Stitch! The movieand later in 65 episodes of Lilo & Stitch: The Seriesshe also had big screen success for her roles in Donnie Darko and The ringthe latter of which earned her an MTV Movie Award.
Her successes were not limited to the big screen. She had a starring role as Rhonda Volmer in the hit HBO series Great love and appeared in IS, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and more than a dozen other shows.
After a few film roles in 2016, Chase made the decision to step away from acting and largely disappeared from the public eye.
Unfortunately, that time coincided with legal problems. She was arrested a handful of times and briefly jailed for drug possession. Her post-acting life saw her struggle with addiction and reported homelessness.
Less than a week before her death, Hernandez set up a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise money to help pay her medical expenses. She was initially admitted in June due to severe malnutrition. However, Chase’s former manager and longtime friend John Ryan disputes claims made on the GoFundMe and, via a statement, encourages people to Deadline not to contribute to the fund.
“Daveigh’s estate has plenty of funds to pay for the cremation,” he said, adding that he has been in contact with her family, including her father John Schwallier. “John is next of kin and has never signed any paperwork for this so-called girlfriend,” Ryan said.
“The GoFundMe is not going towards any expenses for Daveigh,” Ryan said. “I personally encourage her father, her uncle and all of us close friends who have known her for decades, people not to donate to this page. This man who made these allegations brought her into the hospital in a terrible condition and did not let anyone in the family know until she passed so he can control the dialogue. Daveigh’s actual family handles all arrangements we have contacted go fund me to tell them that his own name was under his own name and she had already started under his own name. encourages people to report the page and not donate.”
