Daveigh Chase, the actress who voiced the title character in Disney's Lilo & Stitch and starred as the vengeful ghost Samara in the 2002 horror film The Ring, has died at age 35. She died from meningitis and blood infections that developed into sepsis, according to her boyfriend Roy Hernandez.

Chase became a household name in the early 2000s through two distinctly different roles. She provided the voice of Lilo Pelekai, the spirited young Hawaiian girl at the center of Disney's 2002 animated feature Lilo & Stitch. That same year, she portrayed Samara Morgan in The Ring, Gore Verbinski's English-language remake of the Japanese horror film Ringu. Her performance as the long-haired ghost who emerges from a television set helped make The Ring one of the highest-grossing horror remakes in history.

Born on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Chase began her career as a child actress. Beyond her most famous roles, she appeared in the cult film Donnie Darko and had roles in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She also voiced Chihiro Ogino in the English dub of Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away. Chase continued working in voice acting throughout her career, reprising the role of Lilo in various Lilo & Stitch sequels and spinoffs.

Chase's dual success in both family entertainment and horror made her a unique figure in Hollywood. The contrast between her warm, energetic voice work as Lilo and her unsettling portrayal of Samara showcased her range as a performer.

According to Hernandez, Chase had been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital earlier this month due to malnutrition before her condition worsened. In a GoFundMe page set up before her death, Hernandez described her struggles behind the scenes. "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," he wrote. He added that he had promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved.

"Recently, everything changed. Daveigh was diagnosed with meningitis and several serious blood infections. Her condition has become critical, and the doctors have told me she may not have much time left," Hernandez said on the fundraising page, which had raised $1,300 of its $5,500 goal as of Wednesday evening.

News of her death spread rapidly across entertainment media, with tributes noting her impact on both Disney animation fans and horror enthusiasts.