Daveigh Elizabeth Chase-Schwallier was born on July 24, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Cathy Chase and John David Schwallier.^[6][7][2] She grew up with a younger half-brother named Cade, alongside several other half-siblings from her parents' subsequent marriages.^[7] Her parents divorced during her early childhood, and following the family separation, Chase used her mother's maiden name as her professional moniker.^[7][8] She subsequently relocated with her mother, Cathy, to Albany, Oregon, a city situated in the Willamette Valley, where she spent her formative years raised within a close-knit community environment.^[7][9]

From a very young age, Chase displayed a marked interest in the performing arts. She began formal vocal and dance training at the age of three and frequently performed at local talent shows, community events, and pageants throughout the Pacific Northwest.^[7][8] Her early vocal performances were heavily centered on country music, leading her to win a national vocal competition during her childhood.^[7] Recognizing her daughter's natural aptitude for performance, Cathy actively encouraged her artistic pursuits, although the family had not initially planned to venture into professional Hollywood acting.^[7] Their plans shifted significantly in 1998 during a family road trip to Los Angeles. While traveling, Cathy was involved in a severe car accident; as a result, doctors mandated that she refrain from driving for at least six months, effectively grounding the family in Southern California during her medical recovery period.^[10]

During this unplanned residency, the eight-year-old Chase—who had developed an early fascination with screen acting after watching the children's television program Barney & Friends—began exploring local opportunities in the entertainment industry.^[10][11] To balance her expanding professional commitments with her education, she later transitioned from local Oregon schools to a home-schooling curriculum managed by her mother.^[7] With the support of her mother and local acquaintances, she began attending open casting calls, which quickly yielded professional representation. She secured a talent agent and began booking minor roles, including national television advertising spots for the Campbell's Soup Company at age seven.^[8][12]

Chase bolstered her professional profile by appearing in a regional theatrical production of the musical Utah! at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre in 1998, sharing the role of Norma Sanderson.^[13] She credited this stage experience with refining her live singing ability and performance presence.^[14] This intense developmental period facilitated her rapid transition into screen acting, culminating in her television debut in a 1998 episode of the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch.^[14] The role marked the end of her initial focus on child modeling and served as the launchpad for a prolific career in both mainstream television and independent film, prompting minor appearances in series such as ER, Charmed, and The Practice.^[8][15] She and her mother subsequently maintained a dual residency arrangement, splitting their time between their family home in Oregon and a temporary apartment in Los Angeles to accommodate her filming schedules.^[7]

Chase made her television debut in 1998, appearing in a minor guest-starring role on an episode of the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She appeared in the 1999 television film Michael Landon, the Father I Knew, portraying a young Shawna Landon. Over the next two years, she secured a succession of episodic roles in prominent network television series, including Charmed, The Practice, ER, and Family Law.^[16]

In 2001, Chase secured her breakout role portraying Samantha Darko, the younger sister of the titular character (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), in the independent psychological thriller Donnie Darko. Although the film underperformed during its initial theatrical release, it quickly garnered a devoted cult following and received widespread critical acclaim. Chase's portrayal of the former child dance troupe member provided one of the film's few sources of innocence and comic relief.

Chase's international profile expanded significantly in 2002 through two wildly contrasting roles. She was cast as the voice of Lilo Pelekai, a quirky and lonely Hawaiian girl, in the Walt Disney Animation Studios feature Lilo & Stitch. The film details Lilo's attempts to tame and raise a destructive alien fugitive (voiced by co-director Chris Sanders) using the music of Elvis Presley as a behavioral guide. The film was a critical and commercial triumph, grossing over $273 million worldwide. Chase's voice performance was highly praised for its emotional authenticity and comedic timing; she was subsequently awarded the Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature at the 30th Annie Awards in 2003.^[17] She reprised the role of Lilo in the direct-to-video film Stitch! The Movie (2003) and the subsequent television series Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which aired on the Disney Channel from 2003 to 2006.^{[citation needed]} Another voice acting role followed that year in Hayao Miyazaki's acclaimed animated fantasy film Spirited Away, that had a Disney-produced English-language dub where Chase provided the voice for protagonist Chihiro Ogino.^[18][19] Spirited Away later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Later in 2002, Chase starred as Samara Morgan in the supernatural horror film The Ring, a remake of the 1998 Japanese film Ring.^[20] Playing a malevolent, drowned child who curses a videotape, Chase's performance required extensive prosthetic makeup and physically demanding stunt work. Her portrayal became heavily ingrained in early 2000s pop culture, turning Samara into an iconic cinematic villain.^[21] At the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, Chase won the Best Villain award, beating out a competitive field that included Mike Myers, Colin Farrell, Willem Dafoe, and Daniel Day-Lewis. For the 2005 sequel The Ring Two, Chase was credited due to the use of archival footage from the first film, though actress Kelly Stables performed all the new on-screen material and motion capture for Samara.^[22]

Between 2003 and 2004, Chase held a main cast role as Joyce, the quirky girlfriend of the title character, in the Fox period sitcom Oliver Beene. Her other notable credits during this period included the direct-to-video film Beethoven's 5th (2003) and the romantic comedy Carolina (2003), where she played the younger version of Julia Stiles' character.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Chase secured the role of Rhonda Volmer in Big Love, a critically acclaimed drama series on HBO which centered on a polygamist family in Utah led by patriarch Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton). Chase's character, Rhonda, was introduced as the teenage child bride of the compound's ruthless prophet, Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton). Over the course of the series, Rhonda evolved into a complex, sociopathic antagonist who manipulated both the compound members and the secular outside world.^{[citation needed]}

Chase remained a recurring and main presence on the series until its conclusion in 2011, earning praise for her chilling depiction of a young woman corrupted by religious extremism. Also in 2006, Chase voiced Lilo for the final time in Leroy & Stitch, the conclusion to the Lilo & Stitch television series. In 2008, she took on the voice role of Betsy in the PBS Kids educational animated series Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Chase reprised her Donnie Darko role as Samantha in the sequel S. Darko.^[23] Set seven years after the events of the original film, the narrative follows an 18-year-old Samantha on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles, where she becomes plagued by bizarre visions and time anomalies. Unlike its predecessor, S. Darko received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. Having been made without the approval of (nor input from) the original film's creator, Richard Kelly, the sequel shares minimal continuity with its predecessor.^[24][25]

During the 2010s, Chase appeared primarily in independent thriller and horror films. She played a supporting role in the drama Yellow (2012) and starred in the independent thriller Killer Crush (2015). In 2016, she co-starred in the thriller American Romance, and had a supporting role in the psychological horror film Jack Goes Home. Also in 2016, she provided the English voice of Kiwako Seto in the video game Let It Die. American Romance, Jack Goes Home and Let It Die served as her final acting credits.^{[citation needed]}

Following her final film roles in 2016, Chase withdrew entirely from public view, prompting speculation that she had retired from the entertainment industry.^[26] According to Chase's former manager John Ryan, Chase had a scheduled meeting with director Rob Reiner for a film project in November 2015, but failed to appear at the venue.^[1] Ryan cited this as the start of her "disappearance", with Chase having had no contact with any of her family and friends after the failed meeting.^[1]

In her final decade, Chase encountered severe personal difficulties, during which she experienced periods of addiction and homelessness, including living on the streets of Skid Row and downtown Los Angeles.^[9][27] According to her mother, Chase suffered from drug addiction since about 2016, when she was prescribed painkillers after a motorcycle accident left her back injured.^[28] However, her father claimed that Chase suffered from drug addiction since the age of 13 (around 2003 or 2004).^[2]

In November 2017, Chase was arrested in Los Angeles on a felony charge after being found riding as a passenger in a vehicle that had been reported stolen.^[29][26] Eight months earlier in February 2017, Chase was detained by LAPD detectives and questioned after she was seen leaving an unresponsive man at a local hospital, who was subsequently pronounced dead of a suspected drug overdose.^[30]

In August 2018, Chase was arrested by the LAPD on a misdemeanor charge of drug possession and spent a short time in a Hollywood jail before being released on a $1,000 bond.^[31] By November 2018, she was charged with two misdemeanor counts stemming from these incidents: possession of a controlled substance without a valid prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia.^[26][32] Chase's mother stated that she last saw her daughter when visiting her in jail in October 2019, and that they had lost contact entirely after Chase failed to meet her as planned upon her release.^[28]

Due to Chase's decade-long reclusion and difficulties among friends and family to contact her, her former manager John Ryan began producing a documentary about his search for Chase to be titled Finding Lilo, which was in progress by the time of Chase's death.^[1]

In June 2026, Chase was admitted to the Los Angeles General Medical Center for treatment of severe malnutrition following a period of extreme weight loss.^[33][34] During her hospitalization, her condition became increasingly critical after she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, several severe systemic bloodstream infections, and AIDS. Doctors stated that she did not have much time left to live.^[35][36][37] A secondary cause of her death was chronic polysubstance use.^[38]

To help manage rising medical expenses and support Chase in regaining stability, her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, created a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign.^[39] In the campaign description, Hernandez said that Chase had faced significant personal difficulties in her post-acting life, including systemic bullying, a painful estrangement from her family, and ongoing housing instability in downtown Los Angeles.^[33][34]

Chase died hours after the fundraising page was launched on June 16, from AIDS and subsequent organ failure caused by her infection and substance abuse; she was 35.^[39][40] Hernandez publicly announced her death through TMZ the following day, June 17, stating that her bloodstream infections had led to septic complications that caused her body to shut down.^[35][40]

Following her death, a dispute emerged regarding her final arrangements and the crowdfunding campaign, which Hernandez claimed was intended to help fund her cremation.^[41] Chase's former manager, John Ryan, and her father, John Schwallier, publicly denounced the fundraiser, advising fans not to donate.^[42] Ryan stated that Chase's family was independently handling all funeral and cremation arrangements.^[43]

Fans and colleagues in the entertainment industry paid tribute after Chase's death was announced.^[34][36][40] Co-workers, fans, and publications similarly paid tribute by commemorating her roles such as the voice of Lilo Pelekai in Lilo & Stitch, the English dub voice of Chihiro Ogino in Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Samantha Darko in Donnie Darko and its sequel, S. Darko, and Rhonda Volmer on the HBO television series Big Love.^[36][40] Lilo & Stitch co-directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois paid tribute to Chase with artwork featuring Stitch, Scrump, and Pudge.^[44]