Daveigh Chase Cause of Death Revealed

Daveigh Chase’s official cause of death has been revealed. According to the Los Angeles County medical examiner records, the former child star died of AIDS along with chronic polysubstance use.

The actress passed away in a hospital, with her manner of death listed as “natural” in the documents, according to Deadline.

Chase was only 35 when she died earlier this month on June 16.

Initially, Chase’s boyfriend Roy Hernandez who announced her death on June 17, said Chase had died from complications due to meningitis and “septic issues” from a blood infection.

Chase is best remembered by a generation for lending her voice to eccentric little girl Lilo Pelekai in Disney’s 2002 hit Lilo & Stitch. The film sparked a pop culture phenomenon in the early 2000s, ultimately launching a multimedia franchise including sequels, spinoffs, TV series, theme park rides, video games, comics, graphic novels, merchandise, and more.

Chase voiced Lilo in the original film as well as its 2003, 2005, and 2006 direct-to-video sequel films. She also provided Lilo’s voice for the Disney Channel spinoff series Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which aired between 2003 and 2006.

Chase was only 7 years old when she began appearing in television commercials. At the age of 8, she landed her first TV roles on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and later made appearances on shows such as Charmed and ER.

She made her big-screen debut in Donnie Darko alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in 2001. The same year, she also lent her voice to Chihiro in the English dub of the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away.

The following year, in addition to her star-making voice role in Lilo & Stitch, Chase solidified herself as a horror icon when she made her debut as Samara in The Ring alongside Naomi Watts.

Between 2006 and 2011, Chase had a main role on HBO’s Big Love. She made her final film appearances in Jack Goes Home and American Romance in 2016 before quietly retiring from acting.

Following Chase’s passing, Lilo & Stitch writers and directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois shared a touching joint tribute to the actress on their social media accounts.