Voice of Lilo, Daveigh Chase Dead at 35

**Branson Quirke** (0:08)
Hey, welcome to The TMZ Podcast. I'm Branson Quirke.

**Antonio Smith** (0:11)
And I'm Tony Smith.

**Branson Quirke** (0:12)
And, you know, usually we'll, you know, talk about how our day is going, but this is a really sad story.

**Antonio Smith** (0:16)
This is a sad story.

**Branson Quirke** (0:17)
Yeah. Story that I'm bringing to you today.

**Antonio Smith** (0:19)
Sorry to be a downer, but yeah.

**Branson Quirke** (0:22)
So, Daveigh Chase, many of you may know her from Lilo & Stitch, several TV and film. She was also in The Ring, which is a horror movie.

**Antonio Smith** (0:32)
Yes.

**Branson Quirke** (0:33)
I watched growing up, which is terrifying, by the way. I don't remember.

**Antonio Smith** (0:36)
Never seen it, actually.
I've seen the scary movie spoof on it. I think Scary Movie 3 did like a parody on it, but like that's the only reason I know about The Ring. But yeah, she was in Lilo & Stitch.

**Branson Quirke** (0:48)
Played Lilo. She was the voice of Lilo. Well, she has tragically died at the age of 35
According to her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, she died on Tuesday. Her cause of death involved meningitis, which is a blood infection, and it was related to sepsis complications. So that's what we found out through our sources, but this just broke actually before we started this. New York Post, California Post, they have spoken to her manager. And this is really sad. Her manager, John Ryan, of more than a decade said that he and Daveigh Chase's stepsister had enlisted the help of a private investigator about a year ago to track her down and get her some help.
Ryan said at her manager at the end of 2025, he was alerted to a video which allegedly showed Daveigh Chase shockingly skinny and struggling on Skid Row. And the video and the photo, really hard to look at. She looked severely malnourished. And we did report as well when she was hospitalized earlier this June that it was malnutrition. Unclear what addiction that she was struggling with, but the video posted and later pulled from social media showed a very thin chase, barely conscious on the floor of a tent or a trailer. And when he had found out about this, he got her on the phone. But by the time he got to Skid Row to check on her, she was allegedly gone. Not dead, but she was gone. Not there anymore. And then once they did find her, they planned to get her into a rehab facility in Costa Rica, owned by a friend he knew after nursing her back to health in Los Angeles.
Yeah, so.

**Antonio Smith** (2:44)
It's just all around sad.

**Branson Quirke** (2:44)
It's really sad. He did give a statement saying, we were so close to finding her. Davey was the sweetest and brightest light in Hollywood. I can't believe this is real. Her legacy and work will live on forever. And the photo of her, I'm just showing it now here. I can't put it up, but with Lilo as a kid in full life, and then for this to be such a tragic end. She was in acting for the better part of a decade, by the way. She had had a major role in a very, very long time.

**Antonio Smith** (3:15)
But she also has other acting credits as well. We just mentioned Lilo & Stitch, The Ring, but she was also in Donnie Darko, Beethoven's Fifth, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, ER and Mercy. She was only 35

**Branson Quirke** (3:30)
Those are some big... Donnie Darko is a very big film.
Lilo & Stitch, that was a big part of you and I's childhood, growing up watching Lilo & Stitch. And to see this be the outcome, and I know a lot of people are probably going to have their opinions on child actors and what they go through. But what's true is that and her manager did say this, is that for the better part of a decade, the last decade, you know, there's been ups and downs with addiction for her. I don't know exactly what kind of addiction, but Skid Row is not the place for anybody.

**Antonio Smith** (4:04)
No, if you've been to LA, you probably know about Skid Row, but it's just all around sad and rest in peace.

**Branson Quirke** (4:10)
Well, moving on.

**Antonio Smith** (4:11)
Yeah, just to slightly more positive, well, we'll say an update.
Lil Nas X, he's sharing a health update after his rehab stint. So, he's saying he's in a much better place and he posted this on Instagram earlier today, excuse me. Let's listen to what he had to say.