‘The Ring’ Horror Girl Daveigh Chase Dies at 35, Marking a Tragic End for the Child Prodigy ‘Shocked’

Daveigh Chase, the child actor who rose to genius-level fame as the chilling ghost ‘Samara’ in the early-2000s Hollywood horror hit ‘The Ring’ and as the lovable girl ‘Lilo’ in Disney animation, has died at a young age of 35. The disclosures of the late actor’s tragic final years and the specific cause of death that had been hidden behind the dazzling spotlight are delivering a huge shock and grief to movie fans around the world.

■ Cause of death: Meningitis and sepsis… she rested for good despite severe malnutrition

According to reports by U.S. entertainment media TMZ and Page Six, among other outlets, on Tuesday, Chase died after her bodily functions rapidly deteriorated due to complications of meningitis and sepsis from a blood infection.

Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, stayed by her side in her final moments, sharing the news of her death and falling into deep sadness. According to accounts from people close to her, Chase had already shown signs of severe malnutrition earlier this month and had been rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles (LA) for emergency treatment, adding to the heartbreak.

■ From ‘Samara’ to ‘Lilo’ and ‘Chihiro’… the child prodigy who dominated Hollywood

Born in 1990, Daveigh Chase commanded the spotlight as a standout acting prodigy in her youth. She drew attention for her role as Samantha Darko in the cult classic film ‘Donnie Darko’ in 2001 and in the medical drama ‘ER’, among other work, and hit the peak of her career in 2002.

She provided the voice for the character ‘Lilo’ in Disney’s mega hit ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ winning worldwide affection with her distinctive upbeat and lovable sensibility. Before that, she also earned recognition as a top-tier voice talent when she voiced the lead character ‘Chihiro (Sen)’ in the North American dub of Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece ‘Spirited Away’.

In the same year, she sent audiences into fear with the legendary villain ‘Samara Morgan,’ who bursts through the TV screen with long hair trailing in the horror classic ‘The Ring.’ Through that chilling performance, she won ‘Best Villain’ at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, landing among Hollywood’s top stars. After that, she built a solid filmography, including portraying ‘Rhonda Volmer’ in HBO’s premium series ‘Big Love’, where she appeared across five seasons.

■ Homeless life in Skid Row… they even hired private investigators to find her, but

But behind the glamour, Chase’s life was anything but smooth—in fact, unrelentingly harsh. After wrapping ‘American Romance’ in 2016, she suddenly stopped acting altogether, disappearing completely from public view.

As recently revealed, Chase had reportedly been living in miserable homelessness in the infamous Los Angeles Downtown slum and high-crime area known as ‘Skid Row’ over the past several months. Her manager, John Ryan, and her stepsister, Gia Brown, who had stayed by her side for more than a decade, hired a private investigator about a year earlier to search for her and track down her whereabouts in a bid to save her. But by the end of 2025, the situation left those around her reeling after shocking footage surfaced of Chase wandering the streets in skeletal shape, with only bones left.

Her recent boyfriend, Hernandez, also reportedly opened a sponsorship page on the global donation platform ‘GoFundMe’ to help her fight and rebuild her life, adding to the sorrow. In the sponsorship post, Hernandez wrote, “Daveigh had a tough childhood, and after a painful break with her family, she has continued a lonely fight on the streets of Downtown. What she wanted from the world was only a small place where she could stay safely and ordinary happiness,” leaving those who read it heartbroken.

In the news of the final, cold and lonely exit of a Hollywood child prodigy who once made the world cry and laugh, U.S. broadcasters and fans are expressing deep condolences, saying, “Forget all the suffering on Earth, and hope she stays safe and happy in the sky.”