'The Ring' and 'Lilo & Stitch' Actress Daveigh Chase Dies at 35

Daveigh Chase, the versatile former child actress who terrified audiences as the ghostly Samara in The Ring and warmed hearts as the voice of Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch has died at the age of 35.

Her manager, John Ryan Jr., confirmed to the BBC that Chase died from sepsis after contracting meningitis at a Los Angeles hospital. Ryan noted that she had previously been admitted to the hospital for malnourishment.

Chase began her acting career doing voiceover and theater work in Las Vegas at just four years old. By age seven she had booked her first Hollywood television role on the sitcom Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

Her major breakthrough came in 2001 when she played Samantha Darko in the cult classic Donnie Darko, a role she later reprised in the 2009 sequel S. Darko.

However, 2002 was the defining year of her career. Chase became a pop-culture horror icon as Samara Morgan the vengeful, well-dwelling ghost in The Ring. Her chilling performance earned her the award for Best Villain at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. At the time, Chase told the Los Angeles Times that she enjoyed adding her own "freaky twist" to the character.

Showing remarkable range that same year she voiced Lilo the Elvis-loving Hawaiian girl in the animated blockbuster Lilo & Stitch. The performance won her an Annie Award and she continued to voice the character in subsequent spin-offs. She also provided the English voice for Chihiro in Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning masterpiece, Spirited Away.

On television her most notable run was a 32-episode stint playing child bride Rhonda Volmer in the acclaimed HBO drama Big Love.

Despite her early fame, Chase officially retired from full-time acting in 2015. According to her manager, she actively avoided the celebrity lifestyle often retreating to her home in Nevada for years at a time and turning down major studio films in favor of independent projects.

"She was the greatest. She loved cats and worked with cat rescues with us," said Ryan, who managed her for 15 years. "She was not very Hollywood. 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."

Her later years were marked by personal challenges. According to The Hollywood Reporter Chase experienced multiple legal run-ins after stepping away from the industry due to arrests related to drug possession and joyriding in a stolen vehicle.