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Credit: DisneyTributes are pouring in after the star of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch died at age 35.
Daveigh Chase auditioned to play Lilo at the age of eight and went on to voice her in Disney’s 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch, later reprising the role alongside Chris Sanders as Stitch in several sequels, television episodes, and video games.
Daveigh Chase, who voiced Lilo in Disneyās āLilo & Stitchā and terrified audiences as Samara Morgan in āThe Ring,ā died Tuesday, according to TMZ. She was 35.
Chase won an Annie Award for voicing Lilo Pelekai in the 2002 movie and she reprised the character in āStitch! Theā¦ pic.twitter.com/8bkO6dzLVK
— Variety (@Variety) June 17, 2026
Earlier this month, she was admitted to the hospital due to malnutrition. Today, her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, confirmed to TMZ that she had passed away from meningitis and an infection in her blood.
Fans Share Emotional Tributes to Daveigh Chase
Writing on a GoFundMe page launched before her death, Hernandez requested help finding “comfort and peace” for Chase. He described Chase as āa light in my lifeā and said she had endured āmore than her share of hardships,ā especially during her upbringing.
Disney fans have since also shared their tributes.
“I loved her performance in “Lilo & Stitch: The Series” where she managed to flesh out Lilo’s dynamic with Stitch, Nani, The Experiments, and the other characters,” wrote one fan on Reddit. “The ending to the ‘Angel’ episode where Lilo realized that Stitch’s love towards Angel was genuine causing Angel to have a change of heart was my favorite Lilo moment in the franchise.”
Another said, “This one really hurts, Spirited Away is one of my all time favs and I grew up on Lilo and Stitch (the movie and tv series).”
“Heartbreaking,” one wrote. “She’s the same age as me and as a kid I hyper related to Lilo, having dealt with the threat of CPS hanging over my head at the same age.”
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And one wrote, “IĀ remember as a child being so terrified after watching the ring and the only thing that comforted me was thinking about the fact that samara was lilo and chihiro. š rest well, daveigh.”
On Instagram, last updated by Chase in 2017, a fan wrote, “Rest in peace. Huge part of my childhood. I’m so sorry.”
Beyond Lilo & Stitch, Chase built a successful career in both live-action and voice acting. She starred as Samara Morgan in the American remake of The Ring and its sequel, helping turn the horror franchise into a major box office success in the early 2000s.
She also voiced Chihiro in the English-language version of Spirited Away and appeared in HBO’s Big Love as Rhonda Volmer, a role that earned praise and a nomination from the Young Artist Awards.
For Disney’s 2025 live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, newcomer Maia Kealoha stepped into Chase’s role of Lilo.
