LOS ANGELES — Actress Daveigh Chase died at age 35 from sepsis following meningitis in a Los Angeles hospital on June 17. She had been admitted to a hospital for malnourishment prior to her death.

Chase began her performing career at age 4 in voiceover work and theatre in Las Vegas. She secured her first television role at age 7 on the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Chase portrayed Samara Morgan in the 2002 horror film The Ring and received a 2003 MTV Movie Award for best villain for the role. She voiced the character Lilo in the 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch and its subsequent spin-offs, for which she received an Annie Award for best voice acting in an animated feature.

Chase also appeared as Samantha Darko in the 2001 film Donnie Darko and its 2009 sequel S Darko. She held guest roles in television series such as Charmed, ER, and Touched by an Angel. Chase appeared in 32 episodes of the television series Big Love, portraying Rhonda Volmer. Her final credited acting roles were in the 2016 films Jack Goes Home and American Romance.

Daveigh Chase retired from full-time acting in 2015, according to her manager for over 15 years, John Ryan Jr. She maintained residences in Nevada and downtown Los Angeles. Ryan stated that Chase frequently declined major studio roles to pursue independent projects. He said, "She was not very Hollywood. She'd rather eat at Bob's Big Boy and go home with the cats. She loved acting but wasn't into the fame scene." Ryan said, "She was the greatest. She loved cats. She worked with cat rescues with us."

In the later years of her life, Chase experienced periods of substance addiction and homelessness. Public records indicate Chase faced prior charges for drug possession and operating a vehicle reported as stolen. Approximately one year before her death, Ryan and Gaia Brown enlisted a private investigator to locate Chase. Ryan reported viewing a social media video showing Chase appearing thin and unsteady on Skid Row. He spoke with Chase by phone after the video surfaced, but she left the location before he arrived.

Ryan and Brown had planned to admit Chase to a rehabilitation facility in Costa Rica. Ryan is producing a documentary about the efforts to locate Chase titled Finding Lilo. Chase maintains a SAG trust account intended to cover her financial obligations, Ryan asserted. He said, "We were so close to finding her. Daveigh was the sweetest and brightest light in Hollywood. I cannot believe this is real."