20 Stars We’ve Lost, And It’s Only Halfway Through the Year

The rock world went into mourning on July 22 when the passing of the Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne was announced.

His wife Sharon Osbourne completed their long-held wish of moving back to the UK countryside in the final years before her husband’s passing.

“Ozzy was always meant to come back to Britain to live in Buckinghamshire,” a family friend reportedly said. “It was where Sharon had spent so long preparing their family home for him.”

His children Kelly, Aimee, and Jack, were with him in his final days.

“It’s so lovely that he had his children around him during his last days,” the friend stated.

Ozzy reunited with Black Sabbath members and took the stage one last time in Birmingham earlier this month.

“He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” said the family’s statement announcing his passing.

For fans, what was perhaps more saddening than the news of Gene Hackman’s passing was the circumstances under which he was found.

The veteran actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa appeared to have been deceased for “quite a while” before two maintenance workers stumbled upon their bodies at their New Mexico home.

The couple and their deceased dog were found in three different locations of the house.

Officers found the Oscar-winning actor lying in a mudroom near the kitchen with a cane next to him.

His wife’s body, with signs of decay, was located on the bathroom floor, with pills scattered around and an opened prescription bottle on the bathroom counter.

Their German shepherd was found lifeless about 10 to 15 feet from Betsy in a crate.

The final autopsy confirmed that Betsy passed away of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne disease.

Gene was confirmed to have passed away days later from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Val Kilmer—who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered—succumbed to pneumonia on April 1 at the age of 65.

Following his passing, his confessions about struggling with loneliness resurfaced.

“I haven’t had a girlfriend in 20 years. The truth is I am lonely part of every day,” he wrote in his 2020 memoir I’m Your Huckleberry.

Kilmer’s dating history included a string of famous women, from Cindy Crawford to Angelina Jolie.

He was also one of the few men to break the heart of Cher, who was about 14 years older than him.

While writing his memoir, theTop Gun star said he was “still in love with Daryl [Hannah],” whom he briefly dated in 2001.

“When we finally broke up, I cried every single day for half a year,” he penned.
He wrote that he would love her “with [his] whole heart forever.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter in the final moments of his life on July 20.

The Cosby Show actor was holidaying with family in Costa Rica when he drowned near Cocles, a beach in Limon.

Onlookers dove into the water and saved his 8-year-old daughter. The actor was also pulled out and given CPR for about 45 minutes.

“The man was rescued by bystanders and taken to shore, where he received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross. However, he was declared lifeless at the scene,” the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) said in a statement.

Carl Thomas Dean, the long-time husband of singer Dolly Parton, passed away after they shared a 60-year love story.

He passed away at the age of 82 in Nashville on March 3.

“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the country singer said in a statement.

“Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,” she added. “Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

Despite being married to America’s sweetheart, Dean largely stayed out of the spotlight since they fell in love in the 1960s.

Dolly was 18 when she moved to Nashville and met Dean outside a laundromat on her very first day in the city.

They tied the knot in 1966, with only her mother, the pastor, and his wife as witnesses.

Dean focused on his asphalt-paving business in Nashville, while his wife went on to become one of the most famous singers of all time.

Fans grieved after Michelle Trachtenberg was found lifeless in her luxury New York City apartment on February 26.

Her mother, Lana Trachtenberg, called 911 when she entered the apartment to find the actress, 39, unresponsive.

Officials pronounced her lifeless at the scene, and a toxicology report later confirmed that she passed away from natural causes.

For months before her passing, fans made relentless speculations over her appearance and claimed she looked unwell.

“Fun fact. This is my face. Not malnutrition, no problems,” Michelle wrote on Instagram in January 2024, addressing the speculation. “Why do you have you hate? Get a calendar.”

Jonathan Joss lost his life in the arms of his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales in front of their Texas home.

The Native American voice actor, best known for his work on the animated television series King of the Hill, was fatally shot in the head on June 1.

“I didn't want him to struggle and everything, so I decided to tell him I loved him. And despite the severity of everything, he was able to look up at me and acknowledge what I was saying, so I know he heard me,” Tristan said as he watched.

“I just kept telling him: ‘It's OK. You need to cross over. You don't need to keep struggling. You need to go ahead and cross over easy,’” he continued.

Tristan claimed his newlywed husband was shot because of his romantic orientation.

Cops arrested the couple’s neighbor Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, 56, but did not immediately release a motive behind the shooting.

Michael Madsen was found unresponsive at his Malibu home on Thursday, July 3.

Months before his passing, he had filed for divorce from his third wife DeAnna Morgan, whom he married in 1996. Michael blamed DeAnna for driving their son Hudson to take his own life in 2022 at the age of 26.

“He was not happy about his life,” Perry Wander, who represented the Reservoir Dogs star for about two decades, said after his passing.

“What we understand is Michael had a cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive in his Malibu home earlier this morning,” Ron Smith, the actor’s manager, told People earlier this month.

Perry said after his passing that the actor “lived a life of regrets—those regrets being his two marriages.”

Brian Wilson passed away at the age of 82 in his Beverly Hills, California, home.

The Beach Boys founding member experienced several minutes of respiratory arrest, which was listed as his primary cause of passing. 

Several hours of sepsis, days of cystitis, or a bladder infection, were mentioned as contributing causes to his passing.

After 30 albums and a decades-long career, Chuck Mangione’s legacy came to an end on July 22.

The Grammy-winner passed away in his sleep at his home in Rochester, New York, at the age of 84.

The flugelhorn and trumpet player was best known for his 1970s hit Feels So Good.

“Chuck’s love affair with music has been characterized by his boundless energy, unabashed enthusiasm, and pure joy that radiated from the stage,” the family said while announcing his passing.

Young football star Diogo Jota tragically lost his life in a fiery car crash on July 3.

The promising Liverpool star, 28, and his 26-year-old brother Andre, were driving a Lamborghini in the city of Zamora in northwestern Spain when the accident took place.

It is believed one of the Lamborghini’s tires may have blown out while overtaking another vehicle, leading to the car veering off the road and catching fire.

Diogo had married his high school sweetheart Rute Cardoso weeks before the crash on June 22. They shared two sons and a baby girl.

George Wendt, who appeared on the sitcom Cheers, passed away on May 20 after years of health issues.

His cause of passing was listed as cardiac arrest, and contributing factors included congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and hypertension (or high blood pressure). 

He also reportedly had end-stage renal disease (the last stage of long-term kidney disease) and high cholesterol.

The actor passed away on the 32nd anniversary of the final Cheers episode, which aired on May 20, 1993. He played Norm Peterson for all 11 seasons of the show.

After leading the Catholic Church for 12 years, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 on April 21.

The pontiff’s passing came a day after he gave the traditional Easter blessing on Sunday, April 20.

Seated in a wheelchair, he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and greeted thousands of worshippers with a wave, saying, “Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter.”

He also blessed worshippers in St. Peter’s Square that day and paused several times to bless babies brought before him.

Prior to his passing, he was hospitalized for 38 days with double pneumonia and had serious respiratory difficulties.

Celebrity chef Anne Burrell was found “unconscious and unresponsive” at her home in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday, June 17.

Her body was found in the shower with about 100 assorted pills around her. 

She had visited a Florida nursing home called CareRite Centers less than two weeks before her passing. She cooked for residents and trained in-house chefs at the time.

Five weeks after her body was found, it was confirmed that the Food Network star took her own life.

The New York City medical examiner's office confirmed that she passed away from “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or thoughts of ending their own life, help is available: International Hotlines

Former child actress Sophie Nyweide, who appeared in 12 movies and TV series between 2006 and 2015, passed away at the age of 24.

The young artist has shared the screen with stars like Russell Crowe and Jessica Alba.

On April 14, her lifeless body was found on a riverbank, close to a high school in Vermont.

She was found to be pregnant, and cops launched an investigation into her passing.

Netizens felt her haunting obituary sparked more questions than answers.

The “kind and trusting girl” was often “taken advantage of by others,” the obituary said.

“She wrote and drew voraciously and much of this art depicts the depth she had and it also represents the pain she suffered,” read her obituary. “Many of her writings and artwork are roadmaps of her struggles and traumas.”

Despite those “roadmaps, diagnoses, and her own revelations,” she was left “heartbroken” by loved ones, therapists, and law enforcement officers.

“Their efforts couldn’t save her from her fate,” read the message.

Sophie self-medicated to handle the “trauma and shame,” and this allegedly led to her passing, the obituary alleged. 

“She repeatedly said she would ‘handle it’ on her own and was compelled to reject the treatment that might possibly have saved her life,” the obituary continued.

David Hekili Kenui Bell passed away at the age of 57 on June 12. An investigation was launched into his passing, and no foul play was suspected. 

The Lilo & Stitch star’s sister shared an emotional tribute on social media for the actor, known for his gentle and warm presence in front of the camera.

“[He] will spend today in the company of our Heavenly Father,” sister Jalene Kanani Bell wrote. 

She said her “sweet, generous, talented, funny, brilliant and handsome” little brother “was and will remain a bright and shining star.”

His agent Lashauna Downie claimed she found out about his passing through social media.

“I am learning like you through social media. This is heartbreaking & sad, if true,” she told People at the time. “He was one of my best talent & embodied the true meaning of aloha…a gentle giant.”

George Foreman, known as Big George in the ring, passed away on March 21 at the age of 76.

“Our hearts are broken. A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose,” the family said in a statement at the time.

The boxer won the world heavyweight championship title twice in his career before retiring in 1997.

He was married five times and fathered nearly a dozen children, which included five sons named George.

He gave a variety of reasons for why he named all his sons after him.

“I named all my sons George Edward Foreman so they would always have something in common,” he wrote on his website.

In his book George Foreman's Guide to Life, he wrote: “The joke is that I was too lazy to come up with something else ... but the truth is that after I found out I didn't have the roots I thought I had, I made a decision: I would plant some for my children that they could never lose.”

During a 2021 appearance on In Depth with Graham Besinger, he said he wanted his sons to have “something in common.”

“I tell them if one goes up, we all go up. If one gets in trouble, we’re all in trouble,” he added.

Daniel Williams, a former drummer for The Devil Wears Prada, lost his life in a devastating plane crash in San Diego.

The drummer, 39, and five other occupants were aboard a small private aircraft that crashed into a residential neighborhood on May 22.

All six occupants lost their lives.

One home was completely destroyed, and fires were sparked in at least 15 homes in the Tierrasanta neighborhood after the Cessna 550 crashed.

At least 100 residents were evacuated as well.

Phil Robertson’s family announced on May 25 that the reality TV star had “gone to be with the Lord.”

The ‘Duck Dynasty’ star’s passing took place months after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (a brain disorder that results in memory loss).

“He will be missed but we know he is in good hands, and our family is good because God is very good! We will see him again!” his son Jase Robertson said at the time.

Jase spoke about the patriarch's diagnosis last December.

“According to the doctors, they’re sure that he has some sort of blood disease that’s causing all kinds of problems,” he said on the Unashamed with the Robertson Family podcast. “It’s accelerated and it’s causing problems with his entire body.”

Phil was also in the “early stages” of Alzheimer’s and was “really struggling,” Jase added at the time.

The wrestling world lost legend Hulk Hogan this week.

The icon, whose real name was Terry Bollea, suffered a cardiac arrest and lost his life at the age of 71.

The passing came on the heels of his wife Sky slamming rumors about him being in a coma.

“He’s definitely not in a coma! His heart is strong, and there was never any lack of oxygen or brain damage… none of those rumors are true,” she said this month in response to recent speculation about his health.