Daveigh Chase\u2019s death<\/a> in a new Instagram post in which she cautioned the parents of child actors against pursuing fame via their children. \u201cMany child actors grow up just fine, whether they stay in \u2018the business\u2019 or not,\u201d Gilbert wrote alongside a photo of a young Chase. \u201cThat is 100% due to really solid, wise parenting. Child stardom, in itself, is not a guarantee of dysfunction. However, when a parent or parents lose sight of who THEY are, of what their true responsibility is, and their lives revolve solely around their little star child, well, that\u2019s where the trouble begins. It takes strong parenting to handle all that comes with it.\u201d She added, \u201cToday, reading the circumstances of Daveigh\u2019s death, I\u2019m truly heartbroken. I certainly understand substance addiction disorder but this sweet girl\u2019s death is so much more.\u201d<\/p>\nChase was best known for voicing the iconic Lilo in the original Lilo & Stitch movies. As an adult, she struggled with substance abuse and ultimately died this month of AIDS. She worked with Gilbert on an unaired pilot alongside Jack Coleman (Heroes) and Kevin Zegers (Air Bud). \u201cI only worked with Daveigh a couple of days but I could see she was bright both in countenance and in mind,\u201d Gilbert remembered. \u201cShe was bubbly, sweet and professional. But there was something else there, a push or need to perform \u2026 for her parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilbert ended her message by addressing parents directly. \u201cIf I had the chance to speak to any parents who were thinking about getting their children in the industry I would tell them to please, please make sure that they are doing it for the right reasons,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThat they will take the child to an accountant regularly so that he or she knows exactly what he or she is making, and where it is going. To be sure it\u2019s something the child really wants. To be sure that that child has a life outside of the industry that is thriving and full of friends and responsibilities and \u2018normal\u2019 things. I would also ask that these parents memorize this sweet girl\u2019s face and her story so that it never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n
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