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This year saw the deaths of many brilliant actors, musicians, filmmakers, activists, and more. Despite their passing, their memories live on in their work. Whether they were known for writing a classic song or starring in a hilarious show, these celebrities were all lost in 2020 and will be dearly missed...
Naya Rivera
On July 8th, the world lost Glee actress Naya Rivera in a fatal boating incident. The star had been out on a boat with her four-year-old son in California when she tragically passed away in an accidental drowning. Her son was safely asleep on the boat at the time. There are ongoing investigations regarding the incident.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
This year saw the death of esteemed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She served on the court from 1993 until her death day of September 18, 2020. Appointed by Bill Clinton, Ruth is best remembered for her work regarding women's rights.
Alex Trebek
On November 8, 2020, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away after a long battle with cancer. The television personality had been diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer in March of 2019 but continued to appear on the quiz show. He was 80 years old.
Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman, well-known for his role as T'Challa in Marvel's Black Panther franchise, passed away after a quiet battle with colon cancer. He was only 43 at the time of his death. He is survived by his family members and his wife Taylor Simone Ledward.
Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin, best remembered for hosting Live With Regis and Kelly as well as Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? passed away due to a heart attack in 2020. Once called "the hardest working man in show business," Philbin holds the current Guinness World Record for the most hours appearing on U.S. television.
Kobe Bryant
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant passed away this year in a helicopter crash that also killed his daughter as well as seven other occupants. The shooting guard spent his entire sports career with the Los Angeles Lakers, lasting about 20 years. He is survived by his wife and 3 daughters.
John Lewis
John Lewis was a US statesman and civil rights leader. He served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district for 33 years. He passed at age 80 from pancreatic cancer. Lewis died the same day as his friend and fellow civil rights leader C.T. Vivian.
Sean Connery
Sean Connery passed away on Halloween Day in 2020. The Scottish actor was best known for his portrayal as the very first James Bond. He took on the role between 1962 and 1983 and starred in seven Bond films. He was 90 years old at the time of his death.
Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen passed away this year after his decade long battle with throat cancer. The guitarist and songwriter was a founding member of the American rock band Van Halen. The band formed in 1972 comprising of himself, brother Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone, and singer David Lee Roth.
Neil Peart
On January 7th, the world lost musician Neil Peart at the young age of 67. The Canadian songwriter will be best remembered as the drummer and lyricist of the rock band Rush. His passing was attributed to brain cancer, which he had silently struggled with for three years prior to his death.
Little Richard
This year saw the death of singer Little Richard. The singer ended a long battle with bone cancer at his Tennessee home surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. The musical legend was 87 at the time of his death.
Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller was known for his roles on Seinfeld, King of Queens, Zoolander, and The Heartbreak Kid, among many others. The actor passed away at age 92 due to natural causes, according to son Ben Stiller. He passed on May 11, 2020.
Peter Green
Peter Green was one of the founding members of the iconic rock group Fleetwood Mac. At 73 years old, the rockstar passed away peacefully in his sleep, according to reports from the family. David Coverdale of the band Whitesnake commented that Green was an artist he "truly loved and admired."
Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona was an Argentinian soccer player and manager. He is commonly thought of as one of the greatest athletes in the sport, Maradona was one of the two winners to receive the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. Maradona passed due to a heart attack at the age of 60, which sparked a worldwide outpouring of sadness from fans.
Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg will be best remembered for her roles as Emma Peel in The Avengers, Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. She died at the age of 82 due to complications with cancer.
Betty Wright
Betty Wright was a soul and R&B singer and background vocalist known for her distinct whistle register, which is the highest register of the human voice. Wright passed away from cancer at her home in Miami at the age of 66. Steve Greenberg, president of S-Curve Records called Wright "one of the most significant women in the history of R&B music, period."
Mary Pat Gleason
Mary Pat Gleason was a respected TV and film actress. She also struggled throughout her life with addiction, endometrial cancer, and other health issues. She passed away while attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting due to a brain aneurysm.
Nikita Pearl Waligwa
Nikita Pearl Waligwa passed away at age 15 this year. The young star had been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor. The child had starred in Disney's Queen of Katwe, a film about a young chess champion from a Ugandan slum.
Conchata Ferrell
Conchata Ferrell was an esteemed sitcom actress, appearing on several series programs throughout her career. Most famously though, she portrayed Berta the housekeeper for all twelve seasons of Two and a Half Men. She died at age 77 due to complications following a cardiac arrest. She is survived by her husband Arnie Anderson and their 3 children.
Lynn Cohen
Lynn Harriette Cohen was an actress known for roles such as Magda in the HBO series Sex and the City, Mags in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and many more. She died at age 86 due to natural causes. She is survived by her husband Ronald T. Cohen and one child.
Fred Willard
Fred Willard passed away at age 86 due to cardiac arrest. The comedy actor was best known for his roles on Modern Family, This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, Mascots, and the Anchorman films.
Lynn Shelton
At age 54, Lynn Shelton passed away due to her battle with myeloid leukemia and related organ failure. The filmmaker was responsible for films such as Humpday and Your Sister's Sister. She is survived by her Milo and her boyfriend, comedian Marc Maron.
Kirk Douglas
Legendary film actor Kirk Douglas passed away in 2020 at the age of 103. He is remembered for his works in films like Spartacus, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, and countless others. He is survived by his wife and four sons.
Kenny Rogers
On March 20, 2020, the world lost musician, actor, and producer Kenny Rogers to his battle with bladder cancer. He is survived by five children. The songwriter topped charts with tracks such as "Lucille," "The Gambler" and "Islands in the Stream", the latter of which was performed with Dolly Parton.
Don Larsen
At the age of 90, former pitcher for the New York Yankees Don Larsen passed away due to esophageal cancer. Larsen is best remembered not only as a baseball player but the pitcher who threw the 6th perfect game in MLB history. The legend did this during Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
Jason Slater
Jason Slater, the original bassist of Third Eye Blind, passed away this year due to liver failure. He was in the care of a hospital in Maui, Hawaii. He was 49 years old. According to his daughter Alyssa, her father preferred to keep his condition a secret. She herself had only learned of his status a month prior to his death.
David Olney
David Olney was a folk singer-songwriter who recorded over 20 different albums over the course of his 50-year career. Artists like Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury, Linda Ronstadt, and Steve Earle have all covered his songs. He passed away due to a heart attack during a performance onstage at the age of 71.
Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston passed away in 2020 due to breast cancer. Over the course of her long career, the actress appeared in over 60 television and film productions, among these being Mischief, Twins, Jerry Maguire, and For Love of the Game. She is survived by three children and her husband John Travolta.
Nick Cordero
Broadway actor Nick Cordero was lost this year due to COVID-19. The 41-year-old was an esteemed performer, winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 2014 thanks to his role as Cheech in the musical Bullets Over Broadway. He is survived by his wife and son.
Elizabeth Wurzel
Elizabeth Wurzel was a writer and journalist, who is best remembered for her confessional memoir Prozac Nation. The novel was published when Wurzel was just 27. Apart from her publicized struggles with depression and addiction, she also suffered from breast cancer. She died from leptomeningeal disease, a complication of breast cancer.
Natalie Desselle-Reid
Natalie Desselle-Reid was lost to colon cancer on December 7, 2020, at the age of 53. She is survived by three children and her husband Leonard Reid. After her death, friend Halle Berry wrote on Instagram "[H]er light continues to shine through the people who grew up watching her, the people who knew her best and those of us who loved her, I'll love you forever my sweet friend."
Grant Imahara
At age 49, MythBusters host Grant Imahara died in 2020 due to a brain aneurysm. His work in robotics was highlighted on the myth-busting program, but his work was also used in films like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, and Terminator. He is survived by family as well as longtime girlfriend Jennifer Newman.
Andre Harrell
Andre Harrell is best known for being the CEO of Motown Records and creator of Uptown Records, which is credited with popularizing hip-hop and R&B. The producer passed away due to heart failure at age 59. He is survived by his only child, a son named Gianni.
David Prowse
David Prowse MBE was an English bodybuilder and weightlifter who was best known for playing the body of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. He also played a manservant in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. He was 85 at the time of his death.
Danny Tidwell
Danny Tidwell was a dancer, famous for coming in second on So You Think You Can Dance? in 2007. A dancer since his teenage years, Tidwell passed away at the age of 35 due to a fatal car accident. He is survived by his husband, journalist David Benaym.
Stevie Lee
Stevie Lee was an actor known for Oz the Great and Powerful, Death Match, and American Horror Story. He died on September 9, 2020, due to an unexpected heart attack in his home. His passing was announced by longtime friend and fellow wrestler Jacob "Turtle" Colyer.
Elsa Raven
Elsa Raven was a character actress, known for roles in films like Titanic, Back to the Future, The Honeymoon Killers, and many more. She passed away at the age of 91. The actress is survived by her 15 nieces and nephews.
Nikki McKibben
Nikki McKibbin was a rock music singer-songwriter who was made famous when she came in third during season 1 of American Idol. Her husband, Craig Sadler confirmed that Nikki passed due to a brain aneurysm. She had one son named Tristen.
King Von
Dayvon Daquan Bennett, better known as King Von, was an American rapper and songwriter from Chicago. The rapper was killed in a shooting outside a club in Atlanta on November 6, 2020. He is survived by his two children. He was 26 at the time of his death.
Rhonda Fleming
Nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor," Rhonda Fleming was an actress and singer who appeared in more than 40 films, throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The legend died at the age of 97 due to natural causes. Her son, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren carry on her memory.
Anthony Chisholm
Anthony Chisholm passed away at the age of 77. The cause was not specified. Chisholm was well known throughout the theater world for his performances on both Broadway and in leading regional theaters. He also appeared in the HBO prison drama “Oz."
Pop Smoke
On February 19th, 2020, rapper Pop Smoke was shot and killed in his Hollywood Hills home. Born Bashar Barakah Jackson, the performer was considered by several fans to be the face of Brooklyn drill. He was 20 years old.
C.T. Vivian
C.T. Vivian was a civil rights activist and close friend to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Vivian passed due to natural causes on July 17, 2020, the same day as his friend and fellow activist John Lewis. Former President Barack Obama once called Vivian "the greatest preacher to ever live."
Cliff Robinson
Clifford Ralph Robinson was a professional basketball player who participated in the NBA for 18 seasons. He died at the age of 53 from lymphoma, according to his family. He is survived by his wife Heather Lufkins.
Frederick "Toots" Hibbert
Frederick "Toots" Hibbert was credited with pioneering reggae for a wider audience. The Jamaican musician performed for sixty years and assisted in establishing some of the core traits of reggae music. He passed away in a medicated coma due to COVID-19 at the age of 77.
Olivia De Hallivad
Olivia De Hallivad was a British actress perhaps best known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind (1939). Born in 1916, she appeared in over 49 films throughout her life and was one of the top actresses of her day. She was 104 years old when she passed.
Wilford Brimley
Wilford Brimley was a Western film actor known for movies such as The China Syndrome, The Thing, Tender Mercies, The Natural, and Cocoon. He was also the face of Quaker Oates for several years as well as an advocate for diabetes education. He died at age 85 due to a struggle with a kidney condition.
Zindzi Mandela
Zindzi Mandela was a diplomat and poet from South Africa. Most notably though, she was the daughter of the anti-apartheid icon and politician Nelson Mandela. She died at the age of 59 due to COVID-19. She was buried beside her mother, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
John Saxon
John Saxon passed away at the age of 83 due to late-onset Alzheimers and pneumonia. The actor performed in over 200 projects throughout his 60-year career. He was known for Western and Horror movies, one of which was the world-famous horror film The Nightmare on Elm Street.
Earl Cameron
Earl Cameron was a UK actor credited with break the barrier of race in British television. Cameron appeared mostly in science fiction programs, most notably Doctor Who, The Prisoner, and The Andromeda Breakthrough. He died peacefully in his home at the age of 102, according to reports of the family.
Gregory Tyree Boyce
Gregory Tyree Boyce, best known for playing Tyler Crowley in the 2008 film Twilight, was found deceased beside the body of his girlfriend Natalie Adepoju. The pair had both ingested toxic amounts of drugs which led to their untimely death. She was 27 while Boyce was 30 years of age. He leaves behind one daughter.
Sushant Singh Rajput
Sushant Singh Rajput was a highly acclaimed Bollywood celebrity. His body was found in his apartment after what appeared to be a suicide. The actor was only 34 years old when he took his own life. Though it was kept hidden during his lifetime, actress Rhea Chakraborty revealed after his death that she had been his longtime girlfriend.
Max Von Sydow
Max von Sydow was a Swedish actor and director who appeared in 150 films and dozens of television series in a variety of languages throughout his 70-year career. Among his works are The Exorcist, Flash Gordon, Dune, Minority Report, Shutter Island, Robin Hood, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He was 90 at the time of his death.
James Lipton
James Lipton was a writer, lyricist, and actor. He was most notably the executive producer, writer, and host of the series Inside the Actors Studio. According to his wife, Kedakai Lipton, James died of bladder cancer at his New York home. He was 93 years old when he passed.
Phyllis George
Phyllis George was a businesswoman, actress, and sportscaster. As a co-host of the CBS Sports pre-show in 1975, George was among the first women to have an on-air position in televised sports broadcasting across the US. She passed due to complications with polycythemia vera at the age of 70.
B. Smith
B. Smith was a restaurateur, model, author, businesswoman, and TV host. Her restaurants often bore her same name, with several B. Smith spots around the east coast. She was also the first black model featured in Mademoiselle magazine. Smith died due to early-onset Alzheimer's disease at age 70.
Bob Kulick
Bob Kulick was an award-winning guitarist and record producer. Bands like Kiss, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf, and Michael Bolton all worked with Kulick throughout his career. According to his younger brother and Kiss frontman Bruce Kulick, Bob died due to heart failure in his home at the age of 70.
Harry Hains
Harry Hains, best known for his roles in "American Horror Story" and "The OA", passed away on January 7th due to an accidental fentanyl intoxication. The 27-year-old reportedly suffered from addiction and depression throughout his life. "He was 27 and had the world at his feet," wrote his mother on Instagram, "A brilliant spark shone bright too short a time."
Margaret Nolan
Margaret Nolan was an actress who was best known for her appearances in films like Goldfinger, A Hard Day's Night, and six Carry On films. Nolan passed away from cancer on October 5th, 2020 in her London home. She was 76 and working on a memoir with author Paul Stenning prior to her death.
Caroline Flack
Caroline Flack passed away on February 15th of 2020. The former Love Island host was found dead in her apartment after what appeared to be a suicide. She was set to appear before a court on assault charges the following month.