[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https://www.nme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DaveighChasenewsstory.jpg”]
‘The Ring’ and ‘Lilo & Stitch’ actor Daveigh Chase’s cause of death confirmed
She died in hospital earlier this month
The Ring and Lilo & Stitch actor Daveigh Chase died of AIDS in connection with drug use, according to a medical report.
As Consequence reports, a Los Angeles County deputy medical examiner ruled the cause of death for the 35-year-old as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is the condition caused by HIV.
The medical report also cited “chronic polysubstance use” as a “significant condition” for Chase, who died in hospital on June 16.
According to the Centers For Disease Control, polysubstance use is defined “when two or more drugs are taken together, either intentionally or unintentionally”.
“Whether intentional or not, mixing drugs is never safe because the effects from combining drugs may be stronger and more unpredictable than one drug alone, and even deadly,” it adds.
“She was the greatest. She loved cats. She worked with cat rescues with us. She was very to herself,” he told BBC News, noting that Chase would often retreat to her home in Las Vegas for years at a time and turn down big studio films to do independent projects.
“She was not very Hollywood,” Ryan continued. “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.”
Chase landed her first TV role in Hollywood at around the age of seven, when she landed a small part in the sitcom Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
Her Hollywood breakthrough came in 2001 when she appeared as Samantha Darko, the sister of Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) and later played the lead role in the 2009 sequel S Darko.
In 2002, she played Samara Morgan, the long-haired ghost that crawls out of the TV – in the horror film The Ring – an American remake of the Japanese classic about a videotape that makes people die after they watch it.
That same year, Chase voiced the character Lilo in the animated version of Lilo & Stitch. The part earned her an Annie Award for best voice acting in an animated feature production. She continued to voice the character in later spin-offs.
Chase also earned the Best Villain statue at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards for The Ring.
Chase had a series of legal run-ins later in life, including being charged with drug possession and joyriding in a stolen car, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
You May Also Like
TRENDING
More Stories
The Ring and Lilo & Stitch actor Daveigh Chase died of AIDS in connection with drug use, according to a medical report.
As Consequence reports, a Los Angeles County deputy medical examiner ruled the cause of death for the 35-year-old as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is the condition caused by HIV.
The medical report also cited “chronic polysubstance use” as a “significant condition” for Chase, who died in hospital on June 16.
According to the Centers For Disease Control, polysubstance use is defined “when two or more drugs are taken together, either intentionally or unintentionally”.
“Whether intentional or not, mixing drugs is never safe because the effects from combining drugs may be stronger and more unpredictable than one drug alone, and even deadly,” it adds.
“She was the greatest. She loved cats. She worked with cat rescues with us. She was very to herself,” he told BBC News, noting that Chase would often retreat to her home in Las Vegas for years at a time and turn down big studio films to do independent projects.
“She was not very Hollywood,” Ryan continued. “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.”
Chase landed her first TV role in Hollywood at around the age of seven, when she landed a small part in the sitcom Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
Her Hollywood breakthrough came in 2001 when she appeared as Samantha Darko, the sister of Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) and later played the lead role in the 2009 sequel S Darko.
In 2002, she played Samara Morgan, the long-haired ghost that crawls out of the TV – in the horror film The Ring – an American remake of the Japanese classic about a videotape that makes people die after they watch it.
That same year, Chase voiced the character Lilo in the animated version of Lilo & Stitch. The part earned her an Annie Award for best voice acting in an animated feature production. She continued to voice the character in later spin-offs.
Chase also earned the Best Villain statue at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards for The Ring.
Chase had a series of legal run-ins later in life, including being charged with drug possession and joyriding in a stolen car, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Chase had a series of legal run-ins later in life, including being charged with drug possession and joyriding in a stolen car, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
[analyse_source url=”https://www.nme.com/news/film/the-ring-and-lilo-stitch-actor-daveigh-chases-cause-of-death-confirmed-3954057″]