Lilo & Stitch actress Daveigh Chase died on June 16, 2026, at age 35. She lost her life to septic shock and organ failure after she was hospitalized for severe malnutrition. The former child actress was initially admitted to the Los Angeles General Medical Center earlier in June to treat her extreme weight loss. As her condition deteriorated, she was diagnosed with meningitis and several blood infections that eventually led to her demise.
Daveigh Chase’s death sparked a wave of heartfelt tributes from fans and fellow entertainers, who have flooded social media with eulogies to honor her memory. The news of her passing came as a surprise to those wondering what she had been up to since her disappearance from the industry. Chase stopped acting and withdrew from public life in the mid-2010s. Why did she vanish from the limelight?
Daveigh Chase Was Last Seen In 2016 Films
The late actress stepped away from the industry in 2015, after working on three projects released in 2016. Daveigh Chase’s last acting roles were in Thomas Dekker’s psychological drama Jack Goes Home and Zackary Adler’s thriller American Romance. Both films were released in October 2016, before Grasshopper’s Let It Die. She voiced the English version of Kiwako Seto’s character in the hack-and-slash video game released that December.
Daveigh Chase’s manager, John Ryan Jr., told Entertainment Weekly that the actress disappeared in November 2015. She was supposed to meet the late Rob Reiner for a role he wanted her to play, but she never showed up for the meeting. “Rob Reiner had called us and had a role for her, and she never showed up,” Ryan recalled. “He said, ‘I’ve got a role I want to talk to her about, have her come in.’ And then when we followed up the next day with him, they were like, ‘She never showed.'”
She Was Homeless And Struggling With Substance Abuse
Before her disappearance, the Lilo Pelekai actress was dealing with several issues that partly led to her withdrawal from the spotlight. In the GoFundMe page her boyfriend Roy Hernandez set up after she was hospitalized, he divulged that the actress faced hardship behind the scenes while entertaining the public. “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. When we met, I promised to protect and give her the love and comfort she deserved. Together, we found moments of happiness and hope,” read Hernandez’s entreat.
The statement confirms what Ryan said about Daveigh Chase’s struggles. The manager disclosed that the actress had drinking and drug problems that saw her spend time in rehab several times. “She liked to drink now and then [but] it was more drinking than heavy drugs,” he said. According to Ryan, when he learned she was living on the streets of Skid Row, he ran down there searching for her.
Confirming Chase’s death, her mother, Cathy Chase, debunked reports claiming the actress’ family kicked her out. Cathy told Daily Mail she last saw Daveigh in 2019, and that her daughter isolated herself from family and friends after she got hooked on drugs. Based on what she shared, Daveigh began abusing drugs in 2016, after she was involved in a motorcycle accident. “She wanted freedom, and these people got her hooked on some drugs,” she said. “That was the beginning,” added Cathy.
A Documentary About Daveigh Chase’s Disappearance Was In The Works When She Died
An introvert fond of taking time away from Hollywood, Daveigh Chase’s disappearance was initially considered one of her habitual breaks from the industry. So her friends and family didn’t panic when she stopped contacting them, believing she would resurface whenever she was ready to return to the spotlight. However, they began to worry about her safety when it emerged that she was homeless. The actress subsequently had multiple run-ins with the law that landed her behind bars in October 2019. Her mother visited her in Jail, but Chase refused to meet Cathy after regaining her freedom.
To assist the efforts towards her rescue, Ryan conceived Finding Lilo, a documentary that would have chronicled the search for Chase. The manager said he was reluctant about involving the public because he didn’t think it was his story to tell. He changed his mind about that when he saw a video of the actress and how bad she looked. “I said, ‘We need to bring the public in on this. I don’t want to protect the brand anymore. I want to protect the girl,” Ryan told Entertainment Weekly. Check out Lox Pratt, the actor behind Lord of the Flies’ antagonist.
Follow Us
