Daveigh Chase, the former child star who terrified audiences as Samara in The Ring and voiced Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch, has died aged 35.
Chase died from sepsis after developing meningitis at a Los Angeles hospital, her longtime manager John Ryan Jr confirmed to media on Wednesday. He said she had initially been admitted suffering from malnourishment before her condition worsened.
The actress began performing at the age of four and landed her first Hollywood role when she was just seven.
Although she stepped away from acting full-time in 2015, Ryan said she never lost her passion for the craft.
"She was the greatest. She loved cats. She worked with cat rescues with us. She was very to herself," he said.
Ryan, who managed Chase for 15 years, described her as someone who shunned Hollywood life, often retreating to her home in Las Vegas and turning down major studio projects in favour of independent films.
"She was not very Hollywood," he said. "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."
Born in Las Vegas, Chase started out in voiceover work and theatre before moving to Los Angeles, where she made her television debut with a small role in Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Her breakthrough came in 2001 when she appeared in cult classic Donnie Darko as Samantha Darko, later reprising the role in the 2009 sequel S. Darko.
A year later, she became a horror icon after starring as Samara Morgan in The Ring, the chilling ghost who emerges from a television screen in the American remake of the Japanese classic.
Her unsettling performance earned her the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain in 2003.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times after the film's release, Chase said she relished playing such an unusual character.
"It is not your typical character. Usually they are looking for a happy-go-lucky kid, but Samara was a pretty interesting character to play. I just kind of took my own voice and put this freaky twist on it."
That same year, she voiced the spirited, Elvis-loving Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch, winning an Annie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature. She later returned to voice the character in several sequels and television spin-offs.
Her television credits also included appearances in ER, Charmed and Touched by an Angel, while she enjoyed a recurring role in HBO's Big Love, playing child bride Rhonda Volmer across 32 episodes.
In later years, Chase largely stepped away from the spotlight. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she also faced several legal issues, including arrests relating to drug possession and joyriding in a stolen vehicle.
