Key sepsis warning signs after child star of The Ring Daveigh Chase dies aged just 35
Child star Daveigh Chase has passed away at the age of 35, with her manager, John Ryan Jr., confirming that she died from sepsis after contracting meningitis.
Ryan Jr. confirmed the news about Chase, who was best known for voicing Lilo in the fan-favourite Disney film Lilo and Stitch as well as her role as Samara in the 2022 horror The Ring, to BBC News earlier this week on Wednesday (17 June).
He told the outlet: "She was not very Hollywood. 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. [...] She was the greatest."
The NHS explains that meningitis is an infection of the protective layers that cover the brain and spinal cord.
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It can be very serious and even life-threatening if not treated quickly.
What are the symptoms of meningitis?
The symptoms of meningitis develop suddenly and can include:
- A high temperature (fever)
- Very cold hands and feet
- A stiff neck
- Joint and muscle pain
- A severe headache that is getting worse
- Eye pain when looking at bright lights
- Seizures (fits)
- Vomiting (being sick) and diarrhoea
- Confusion
- Being very sleepy or difficult to wake
- Spots or a rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
How does meningitis lead to sepsis?
In some cases, meningitis can lead to sepsis when the bacteria causing the infection spread beyond the meninges and enter the bloodstream.
When bacteria enter the bloodstream, the immune system mounts a response to fight the infection, and sometimes this response becomes excessive, causing widespread inflammation throughout the body.
This can lead to sepsis that can develop quickly in people with bacterial meningitis.
As sepsis worsens, inflammation damages blood vessels and reduces blood flow, limiting oxygen delivery to vital organs.
Blood pressure may drop dangerously low, leading to septic shock and potentially multiple organ failure.
When meningitis and sepsis occur together, they increase the risk of serious complications, long-term disability, and death.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis occurs when your body reacts badly to an infection and starts to damage its own tissues and organs.
Unlike many other illnesses, sepsis is not passed from person to person.
Who can catch it?
Absolutely anyone suffering from an infection can suffer sepsis, but it's worth noting that infection is more probable in:
- Babies under the age of one - particularly premature babies
- People over 75
- People with diabetes
- People with a weakened immune system - e.g those who've recently had chemotherapy or an organ transplant
- People who have recently had surgery or a serious illness
- Women who have just given birth, had a miscarriage or had an abortion
What are the symptoms of sepsis?
Sepsis usually develops quickly over a few hours. If it's not treated, it can turn into septic shock, which can be fatal.
Common symptoms of sepsis in adults include:
- Confusion or slurred speech
- Uncontrollable shivering
- Muscle pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Blue, pale, grey or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on black or brown skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- A high or low temperature – a high temperature is less common in older adults
- Not peeing all day or peeing very little in the past 18 hours
Daveigh Chase: A timeline of her Hollywood career, personal struggles and alleged disappearance
1998
Daveigh Chase becomes an actor by accident. Her mother Cathy crashes her car while on a trip to Los Angeles from their home in Albany, Oregon.
Doctors tell Cathy she can’t drive for six months, and Daveigh is encouraged to pursue her dreams of acting while the family are stuck in L.A.
Aged eight, Chase starts to appear in small parts in shows such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed
2001
Chase lands her breakthrough role in cult film Donnie Darko, playing Jake Gyllenhaal’s onscreen sister Samantha Darko. The character later gets her own spinoff film in 2009 titled S. Darko.
In the same year, she voices lead character Chihiro Ogino in the American dub of Studio Ghibli classic Spirited Away.
2002
Chase stars as Samara in the US remake of The Ring aged just 11, and in the same year voice Lilio in Lilo & Stitch.
Mid-200s
Chase meets John Ryan Jr, who would later go on to manage her.
Ryan says he saw her as a ‘little sister’. After her death, he says Chase liked to drink, but wasn’t into heavy drugs. He checked her into ‘a couple rehabs back in the day’.
2009
Chase says in an Interview Magazine profile: “I just want to make something that I love and people will respect. I want to do things that will change someone’s life, not something they’ll forget about tomorrow.”
2015
According to Ryan, Chase fails to show up to a meeting with Rob Reiner about a role and effectively disappears from public life.
Ryan says she was ‘sober a while’ before she went missing.
February 2017
Chase is arrested on a warrant for failing to appear in court for a traffic violation. She is also questioned regarded an unidentified man’s death from an overdose after allegedly leaving him outside the hospital and leaving the scene. Chase was not accused of playing any role in his death.
November 2017
Chase is arrested again after being found in the passenger seat of a car believed to be stolen.
2018
Chase is charged with possession of a controlled substance without a valid prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Late 2025
Ryan becomes aware of a video which allegedly shows Chase on Skid Row.
He manages to get her on the phone, but by the time he gets to Skid Row she’s no longer there.
15 June 2026
A man named Roy Hernandez, who says he is Chase’s boyfriend, launches a GoFundMe for her. He writes: “Daveigh was diagnosed with meningitis and several serious blood infections. Her condition has become critical, and the doctors have told me she may not have much time left.”
Ryan later says Chase’s family did not know about Hernandez, and encourages people not to donate to the fundraiser.
16 June 2026
Chase dies from sepsis at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering from meningitis.
Rhiannon Ingle