The news hit the wires like a bad debt: Daveigh Chase, the actress who charmed her way through Hollywood's golden era of child stardom, is dead of Aids. She was 31. The City barely registers these human interest stories, but the market sentiment is clear: a life cut short, a portfolio of potential unrealised.
Chase, best known for her roles in 'The Ring' and 'Lilo & Stitch', was a rare talent whose youthful energy seemed a sure bet. Yet the grim reaper, like an unexpected rate hike, has revalued her future earnings to zero. The British tabloids are in mourning, but the cold calculus of mortality is unforgiving.
We shall remember her for the performances she delivered, not the ones we lost to this cruel disease. The legacy of a star is measured in film royalties and memory; both are now fixed, immutable, no longer subject to the fluctuations of public taste. Rest in peace, Daveigh Chase.
The final dividend has been paid.
