Famous Faces of Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins today. Some might argue that we're all already aware of breast cancer – after all, most of us have been touched by the disease. Whether we have fought it ourselves or watched a mother, sister, aunt, friend or coworker struggle, our modern world knows about breast cancer.

But hundreds of thousands of people will die of breast cancer this year. That's a shocking statistic, and it's made all the more horrible when we remember that not one of those people is just a number. Each one is somebody's loved one, and each one will be desperately missed by survivors who wish we were all a little more aware of breast cancer – aware enough to find a cure.

One way we at Legacy.com help raise awareness is by spotlighting the faces and stories of some of those who have died from breast cancer. Our Breast Cancer Memorial Site includes tens of thousands of women and men who were affected by this disease.

The names of everyday people who died of breast cancer – the people who could be our relatives or neighbors or former classmates – are powerful, making us remember that the disease touches all of us. We are reminded of this too when we see the names of the famous women and also men who have died of breast cancer. Today, as Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, we honor and remember some of those celebrities.

V.C. Andrews, author (1923 – 1986)

Judi Bari, environmentalist and labor leader (1949 – 1997)

Ingrid Bergman, actress (1915 – 1982)

Rachel Carson, environmentalist and author (1907 – 1964)

Doris Coley, singer in The Shirelles (1941 – 2000)

Maggie Daley, former first lady of Chicago (1943 – 2011)

Faye Dancer, center fielder (1925 – 2002)

Bette Davis, actress (1908 – 1989)

Eva Ekvall, model and former Miss Venezuela (1983 – 2011)

Elizabeth Edwards, lawyer and activist (1949 – 2010)

Karen Fraction, actress and dancer (1958 – 2007)

Kay Francis, actress (1905 – 1968)

Georgia Frontiere, NFL owner (1927 – 2008)

Helen Gahagan Douglas, actress and Congresswoman (1900 – 1980)

Patricia Roberts Harris, first black U.S. Cabinet Secretary (1924 – 1985)

Judy Holliday, actress (1921 – 1965)

Shirley Horn, jazz singer (1934 – 2005)

Diana Hyland, actress (1936 – 1977)

Molly Ivins, journalist and author (1944 – 2007)

Virginia Clinton Kelley, mother of President Bill Clinton (1923 – 1994)

Audre Lorde, author (1934 – 1992)

Juliette Gordon Low, founder of Girl Scouts of the USA (1860 – 1927)

Linda McCartney, singer and activist (1941 – 1998)

Hattie McDaniel, first black actress to win an Oscar (1895 – 1952)

Grace Paley, poet (1922 – 2007)

Lynn Redgrave, actress (1943 – 2010)

Minnie Riperton, singer (1947 – 1979)

Rod Roddy, game show announcer (1937 – 2003)

Rosalind Russell, actress (1907 – 1976)

Naomi Sims, model and businesswoman (1948 – 2009)

Dusty Springfield, singer (1939 – 1999)

Jacqueline Susann, author (1918 – 1974)

Danitra Vance, actress and comedian (1954 – 1994)

Vivian Vance, actress (1909 – 1979)

Kay Yow, basketball coach (1942 – 2009)

Laura Ziskin, film and TV producer (1950 – 2011)

Written by Linnea Crowther