The official cause of death has been revealed for former child actor Daveigh Chase. Chase died of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) with other significant conditions, including chronic polysubstance use, according to Los Angeles County medical examiner records. She died in a hospital and the manner of death is listed as natural.
Chase died June 16 at the age 35. Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, who announced her death on June 17, initially said she had died from complications of meningitis and that an infection in her blood caused “septic issues” that led to her body shutting down.
Chase began her career as a child actor by age 7, when she appeared in commercials and on stage. At 8, she began appearing on such TV series as Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Charmed, The Practice and ER. In 2001, she was cast as Samantha Darko in Richard Kelly’s cult film Donnie Darko starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role.
She voiced the character of Chihiro Ogino in the 2001 English dub of the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, but her breakthrough and early signature role came in 2002 when she voiced Lilo in Lilo & Stitch, an orphaned Hawaiian girl who befriends an extraterrestrial she mistakes for a puppy. Chase voiced the character in various sequels and the 2003-2006 TV series. In 2002, Chase appeared in Gore Verbinski’s horror hit The Ring as the evil Samara Morgan.
From 2006 to 2011, Chase recurred on HBO’s Big Love as young sociopath Rhonda Volmer, and in 2009 Chase reprised her role as Samantha in S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale. After appearing in Thomas Dekker’s 2016 horror film Jack Goes Home, Chase largely withdrew from acting.
After her death, her former manager John Ryan questioned the validity of an online GoFundMe fundraiser for Chase launched by Hernandez, urging fans to refrain from donating until the organizer’s “identity and claims can be verified.” Hernandez told TMZ that it is “100 percent” false to suggest the GoFundMe is illegitimate.