Daveigh Chase, best known for playing Samara Morgan in the horror film "The Ring" and voicing Lilo in Disney's "Lilo & Stitch," died on Wednesday at age 35. According to TMZ, she died after suffering meningitis and several severe bloodstream infections that caused multi-organ failure. Her partner, Roy Hernandez, confirmed the death and described her final weeks as a fight for her life.
Hernandez had launched a GoFundMe campaign during her hospitalization, saying her condition had become critical. "The doctors told me there may not be much time left," he wrote. He added that all she had ever wanted was "a safe place where we could live together, feel safe and be happy," and said he wanted to give her "that feeling of home and peace" in her last days.
Chase was born in 1990 and became one of the most prominent child actors of the early 2000s. In addition to "The Ring" and "Lilo & Stitch," she appeared in the English-language dub of "Spirited Away" and in the cult film "Donnie Darko." For her portrayal of Samara, she won an MTV award for best villain.
Hernandez said that after her Hollywood career faded, Chase went through difficult years marked by bullying, estrangement from her family, and ongoing struggles to find stability and safety. Reports also said she was hospitalized in early June for malnutrition shortly before her condition worsened.
