Daveigh Chase, the actress known for her roles in The Ring and Lilo & Stitch, died on June 16, 2026, at the age of 35. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with chronic polysubstance use listed as a significant contributing factor. The manner of death was ruled natural.
The actress’s boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, had previously launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover her medical expenses, citing severe health issues including meningitis, blood infections, and sepsis. Chase was hospitalized in early June before her death.
Chase’s career spanned film and television, including roles in Donnie Darko, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and ER. She gradually stepped away from the public eye after 2013, with her last social media activity in 2017. Her father, John Schwallier, told NBC News that she died from complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection, adding that she suffered from severe malnutrition.
Hernandez described a bitter feud with her family and efforts to help her find stable housing. In 2017, Chase was arrested in Los Angeles for joyriding in a stolen vehicle. She was also questioned after dropping an unconscious man outside a hospital, who later died of a drug overdose.
The medical examiner’s report did not specify the substances involved in her chronic polysubstance use, but the findings align with Hernandez’s account of her declining health in the months before her death.