Many of us know of one or more talented celebrities who died at a young age. The really sad thing about these deaths is not only that we lost them at their prime. It’s the avoidable manner in which we lost them.
This is a list of celebrities who not only died before we could really enjoy their full potentials but who fell to vices and in some cases, murder.
Here they are….
1. Tupac
The well-known ‘dear mama rapper’, whose full name was Tupac Shajur Amaru, was aged 25 years when he died. His death took place in Las Vegas when he was shot by unknown gun men who fired four times into his chest. He died 6 days later. As at the time of his death, he already had 5 studio albums to his credit. It’s worthy of note that on the 30th of November 1994, he almost lost his life. While working on his 3rd which was titled “Me Against the World”, he suffered gun shot wounds during an attempt by two armed men to rob in the building housing the studio he was working in. He survived this but didn’t survive the drive by shooting 2 years later.
Another interesting piece of information about Tupac was that he had previously gone to jail for a case of sexual abuse. Tupac was born on the 16th of June 1971 and died on the 13th of September 1996.
2. Brittany Murphy
There was a lot of suspicion surrounding the cause of her death which was said to be multiple drug intoxication, anaemia and pneumonia. She was aged 32 when she collapsed and died at her home.
Despite the fact that several prescription drugs were found in her system by the medical examiner, her step brother, Tony Bertolotti, still claims that she was murdered. Brittany Murphy featured in several movies including girl and sin city. She was born on the 10th of November 1977 and died on the 20th of December 2009.
3. Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith or Finn Hudson, as he was well known in Glee, was born on the 11th of May 1982. He was known to have dated his fellow star Lea Michele who still pays tribute to him every year on the anniversary of his death. It was a well known fact among the Glee cast that the late star had a history of alcohol addiction. What was however not well known was that his addiction also extended to drugs.
He had his first encounter with harmful substances when he was aged 13. Sadly, before he was found dead from a combination of alcohol and heroine that proved toxic, at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel Vancouver, he had started rehab to get his life together.
Cory Monteith was born on May 11, 1982 and died on July 13 2013. He was indeed gone too soon.
4. Amy Winehouse
The British born and world-famous blues, jazz and soul singer who released the hits “Back to Black: and “Rehab”, won the Grammy award six times. She struggled with drug addiction and had an erratic behavior. She was confirmed to have had an accidental alcohol poisoning that caused her death after her body was found at her Camden Town home. She was born on September 14, 1983 and died on July 23, 2011 at age 27.
5. Aaliyah
The singer/actress who starred in the hit movie, “Age ain’t Nothing but a Number” and “Are You That Somebody?”, was also a well-known R & B singer, dancer and model. Aaliyah Dana Haughton was 15 years of age when it was alleged that she had gotten married to R. Kelly secretly. Though Aaliyah denied this, it was reported that she filed for an annulment of the marriage, thereby giving some credence to the rumors.
Following those allegations, she terminated her contract with Jive, discontinued any interactions with R. Kelly and had signed with Atlantic Records. Sadly, she died after the plane she was in crashed in the Bahamas shortly after takeoff. Her death was quite pathetic as she had a very promising future.
Even after her death, more of her songs were released. As of 2008, about 7 years after her death, her album sales were still going strong. She was recorded to have sold up to 32 million albums globally.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on the 16th of January, 1979 and died on the 25th August, 2001. She was aged 22 when she died.
6 Heath Ledger
he Australian actor’s acting career began in 1992 with his appearance in the TC series, “Clowning Around”. Following a number of roles in various TV shows in Australia, he landed his first role in a feature film “Blackrock” in 1997. Following this, he went on to star in the movie “10 things I hate about You”. and more roles followed as his reputation as an actor grew.
Heath Ledger became one of the youngest persons to be nominated for Best Actor in the Oscars as a result of his role in “Brokeback Mountain”. He died in the middle of filming the “Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” which obviously was his last movie. His unconscious body was found in his room by his housekeeper. He never regained consciousness despite efforts to revive him.
Autopsy reports show that he died from complications arising from the abuse of multiple prescription drugs. It was therefore ruled an accidental death. He was aged 28 as at the time of his death. Some of his friends completed the movie he was working on and donated their salary to his daughter.
Heath Ledger was born on the 4th of April in the year 1979 and died on the 22nd of January, 2008.
7. River Phoenix
This American Actor was a vegan, an animal rights activist as well an environmentalist. Movies he starred in include: “Stand by Me”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, “I Love You to Death” and “Running on Empty”, to name just a few. His performance in “Running on Empty” earned him an Academy Award nomination.
He collapsed outside the “Viper Room”, a well known night club in Hollywood. He was later pronounced dead from a drug overdose. Jude River Phoenix was born on the 23rd of August 1970 and died on the 31st of October 1993 at the age of 23.
8. Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain was an American singer best known for his role as the Nirvana band front man. He actually founded the band in 1988 and the rest, as they say, is history. This talented musician was known to be a troubled soul. He started using heroine around the early 1990s after he made his career shaping move to a major label, Geffen Records.
Following his many psychological problems, he committed suicide in the guest house behind his home in Seattle. He was said to haver placed a shot gun in his mouth and fired, installing killing himself.
Kurt Cobain was born in the year 1967 on the 20th of February and died on the 5th of April 1994. He was just 27 years when he died.