21 Celebs Who Died — Some Really Young — During The Most Successful Times In Their Careers
1.First, Chadwick Boseman died in 2020 at the age of 43 from colon cancer. At the time of his death, Chadwick had just completed several big projects, like Da 5 Bloods and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, with the latter earning him a posthumous Oscar nomination. After the historic success of Black Panther, Chadwick was also slated to begin production on Black Panther 2.
Director and writer Ryan Coogler revealed that during his last conversation with Chadwick, he offered to send him the first draft of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for him to read, but he told Ryan he would rather "read it later." Ryan later found out that Chadwick was sick and he was "too tired to read anything."
2.Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment on Jan. 23, 2008. The day before he was nominated for his second Academy Award for his work as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Following his death, Heath won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and a SAG Award for his work in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
His final film role ended up being The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which he was in the middle of filming.
3.James Dean died in a car crash in Sept. 1955 when he was only 24 years old. Earlier that same year, James starred in East of Eden, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Following his death, Rebel Without a Cause was released, which became his most celebrated role.
In his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, the publication wrote, "one of Hollywood's brightest new motion-picture stars," and they compared his star power to that of Marlon Brando.
4.Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed on March 31, 1995 outside a motel in Texas when she was only 23 years old. The year before her death, Selena won her first Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Album for Selena and her posthumous album Dreaming of You debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, making Selena the first Latin solo artist to do so.
At the time of her death, the New York Times reported that many radio stations took calls from "distraught listeners" throughout the day, and they played Selena's music. They also reported that "hundreds of fans" gathered at the gas station across from the motel and played recordings of Selena's songs, too.
5.River Phoenix died in 1993 at the age of 23. Prior to his death, he starred in movies like Stand by Me, Running on Empty, My Own Private Idaho, and more. Running on Empty earned him an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In his obituary in the New York Times, the publication wrote that Hollywood was stunned because "the 23-year-old actor was one of the most gifted of his generation. Mr. Phoenix was viewed by studio executives and producers as one of the most talented young actors in Hollywood, a performer whose skill and professionalism impressed colleagues."
6.Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 at age 27. At the time of his death, he was considered a genius musician and "a star, as brightly gorgeous as a star [who has] ever graced rock 'n roll music." His performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock in 1969 earned him his one and only Grammy nomination. His influence is still felt today, and he is one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.
Prior to his death, he had released four albums, and there have been countless other recordings that have been released posthumously. Many consider that the height of his career in his short lifetime is Woodstock, but his fame and reputation has only grown since with each posthumous release.
7.Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash in 2001 when she was only 22 years old. Prior to her death, she released three studio albums including Aaliyah, which came out a little over a month before her death. Posthumously, she received three Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
At the time of her death, Emil Wilbekin, who was the editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, explained that Aaliyah was at the beginning of a huge career. He wrote, "I think Aaliyah was the next Jennifer Lopez, the next Whitney Houston, um, the next Madonna, the next Janet Jackson."
8.Amy Winehouse died in 2011 at the age of 27. Three years prior, she had won five Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Rehab." Back to Black, her second studio album, is still considered one of the best albums of the 21st century by some music critics.
Following her death, Back to Black became the biggest-selling album in the UK and hit the top of the charts once again. Lady Gaga has credited Amy with making it possible for an unconventional pop star to reach mainstream success, saying, "[Record labels] had nowhere to put me. And then I saw her in Rolling Stone and I saw her live. I just remember thinking 'Well, they found somewhere to put Amy…'"
9.Tupac Shakur was killed in Sept. 1996 while leaving a boxing match in Las Vegas. At the time of his death, he had released four studio albums including All Eyez on Me. The album charted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it debuted and has gone on to be considered one of the best albums of all time.
He is still widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, with Rolling Stone placing him on their 100 Greatest Artists list.
10.Mac Miller died in 2018 at the age of 26. At the time of his death, Mac had released five studios albums, with the latest being Swimming, which earned him a posthumous Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. In 2020, Circles was released, which was the album Mac was working on at the time of his death. His final album received acclaim from critics and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
In an op-ed by the New Yorker following his death, Doreen St. Félix wrote, "It is a tragedy that Miller won’t get to keep growing."
11.Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson Family in 1969 alongside four other people. Sharon had risen to widespread acclaim thanks to her performance in Valley of the Dolls in 1967. The role earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination for Most Promising Newcomer — Female. At the time of her death, she was thought to be "one of Hollywood's most promising young starlets, even though her television and film appearances were not primarily in leading roles."
Due to her career really just taking off, many have pointed out that her death has "enveloped" her legacy for the last 55 years. She had one film, 12 + 1, release posthumously in 1969.
12.Kurt Cobain died in 1994 at age 27. At the time of his death, Nirvana had released three studio albums including Nevermind, which steadily rose up the Billboard 200 charts eventually becoming the No. 1 album in 1992. Nearly two years after his death, Kurt won a posthumous Grammy alongside Nirvana for Best Alternative Music Performance for their legendary MTV Unplugged in New York album.
On the day he died, the New York Times reported fans went and stood in the rain outside his house in Seattle, which further exemplified his impact. One fan said, "It's hard to be a young person nowadays. He helped open people's eyes to our struggles."
13.Angus Cloud died at the age of 25 in 2023. At the time of his death, not only was he known for starring as Fez on Euphoria, but he has three films — Your Lucky Day, Freaky Tales, and an untitled movie from the team behind Ready or Not and the new Scream movies — that are scheduled to release posthumously.
Director and writer Daniel Brown spoke about releasing Your Lucky Day now following Angus's death, saying, "I just have all this wealth of responsibility for people to see it for him. I just hoped he would have loved it. And I hoped he would be proud of himself. It’s not really even mine anymore. It’s really for him." The movie now concludes with "For Angus" on screen.
14.Cory Monteith died in 2013 when he was only 31 years old. At the time of his death, Cory was starring as Finn Hudson on Glee, a show that launched his career and received critical acclaim. His death was written into the series with the Season 5 episode "The Quarterback," which brought in 7.4 million viewers when it aired, marking one of the biggest episodes for the series since early Season 4.
On the 10-year anniversary of his death, Lea Michele wrote on Instagram, "Hey you. 10 years. It feels like only yesterday that you were here and yet a million years ago all at the same time. I hold all of our memories in my heart where they will stay safe and never forgotten. We miss you every day and will never forget the light you to brought to us all. I miss you big guy. I hope you found Taylor [Hawkins] up there and are playing the drums together."
15.Cameron Boyce died in 2019 at just 20 years old. Cameron starred in the hit Disney Channel show Jessie before landing the role of Carlos in the Descendants movie franchise. When the first film debuted, it received 10.5 million viewers, making it one of the biggest Disney Channel movies since Teen Beach Movie in 2013. Posthumously, Cameron had five projects release, including Descendants 3, Mrs. Fletcher, and Runt.
He had also won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2017 for Timeless Heroes — Be Inspired. Following his death, Cameron's parents started the Cameron Boyce Foundation, which honors his legacy and spreads awareness for curing epilepsy and ending SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy).
16.Paul Walker died in a car crash in 2013 at age 40. At the time, he was in the middle of starring in the Fast and Furious movie franchise, which earned him widespread recognition. In 2014, following the release of Fast & Furious 6, Paul won Best On-Screen Duo at the MTV Movie Awards alongside Vin Diesel, an award they had previously won in 2002 when the first movie debuted.
Paul was considered one of the biggest action stars at the time, thanks to the Fast and Furious movies, with Fast & Furious 6 grossing $788 million worldwide the year of his death.
17.Janis Joplin died in 1970 at the age of 27. She had recorded four albums, with two of them being solo albums. She is widely considered "one of the biggest female rock stars of her time" even before her death. In 1972, Janis was nominated for two Grammy Awards posthumously for Pearl.
Rolling Stone reviewed Janis's final album, saying, "I suspect that some of the tracks are not in their final shape, but these are not scraps, and there is every indication that Janis was working toward a new maturity and confidence."
18.John Candy died in 1994 from a heart attack at age 43. In the years leading up to his death, John was one of the most in demand comedic actors, starring in movies like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Splash, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck, Spaceballs, Cool Runnings, and more. In 1995, following his death, he was awarded the Earle Grey Award alongside the SCTV cast for their lifetime achievements in comedy.
His final film, Wagons East, was released posthumously. When reviewing Splash in 1984, the New York Times talked about his incredible comedic presence on screen, saying, "[The movie] would not be nearly so successful without the bulldozing presence of John Candy."
19.Taylor Hawkins died in 2022 at age 50. Considered one of the best rock drummers of all time, he was known for his work with the Foo Fighters. Alongside several Grammy Awards, he was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the band in 2021. Less than a month after his death, the Foo Fighters won three Grammy Awards for their latest album.
At their first shows without Taylor, Dave Grohl wrote to fans thanking them for sticking with them and being together during this time. He ended the note with, "We've always done this together. Time and time again."
20.Brittany Murphy died in 2009 from pneumonia at age 32. Leading up to her death, Brittany had starred in a string of successful movies like Clueless, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Girl, Interrupted, 8 Mile, and more. Posthumously, she appeared in two movies.
Since her death, many of her past costars have paid tribute to the late star. In 2019, the Clueless cast reunited, and Alicia Silverstone talked about Brittany, recalling, "I had to tell [writer/director] Amy [Heckerling] just in case she didn’t know that Brittany Murphy was the one that had to play the part. She was so good."
21.And finally, Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray while filming a documentary in 2006 at age 44. He received global fame thanks to his nature series The Crocodile Hunter, which he hosted alongside his wife Terri. At the time of his death, the Prime Minister of Australia John Howard said it was "a huge loss to Australia."
Posthumously, his family have continued his legacy with their most recent show Crikey! It's the Irwins, which shows, Terri, Robert, and Bindi Irwin work at the Australia Zoo.
