Celebrities Who Died in Their 30s
by John Doe
by John Doe
10 min readWhen celebrities die at a young age, it stops us in our tracks. Far too many famous figures and cultural icons have died in their 30s, from Marilyn Monroe to Cory Monteith, Malcolm X to John F. Kennedy Jr., the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Princess Di, leaving fans and followers everywhere to mourn. In this photo gallery of celebrities who died before 40, we remember legends and budding stars from politics, film, television, music, and sports gone much too soon.
Nipsey Hussle (1985–2019)
Getty Images / David Crotty / Patrick McMullan
Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, was Grammy-nominated West Coast rapper known for his mixtapes and his 2018 debut studio album “Victory Lap.” He died at 33 of injuries sustained in a shooting.
Misty Upham (1982–2014)
Todd Williamson / Invision for Sony / AP
The actor was known for her performances in the films "Frozen River," "August: Osage County," and "Django Unchained." She died at 32.
Cory Monteith (1982–2013)
AP Photo / Chris Pizzello
Monteith is known best for playing Finn Hudson on television's "Glee." For an actor with no background in musical theater, Monteith still managed to win hearts with his songs. He died at 31 of an accidental overdose.
Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly (1978–2013)
Getty Images / Time & Life Pictures / Acey Harper
Kelly was half of 1990s kid rap duo Kris Kross. They made one of the decade's most memorable songs with the frenetic "Jump." Kelly died at 34 of a drug overdose.
View Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly's obituary
Mindy McCready (1975–2013)
AP Photo
Country singer MINDY MCCREADY (1975 - 2013) found early fame with songs such as "Ten Thousand Angels" and "Guys Do It All the Time." She long struggled with substance-abuse problems and publicly tried – and ultimately failed – to get sober on "Celebrity Rehab." McCready died by suicide at 37.
View Mindy McCready's obituary
Corey Haim (1971–2010)
Getty Images / WireImage / Mark Weiss
Haim was a natural and talented actor, a 1980s teen heartthrob who charmed his fans whether he was tackling a complex movie role or just offering his lopsided grin in a teen-magazine photo. After struggles with drug addiction, he died at 38.
Brittany Murphy (1977–2009)
AP Photo / Max Nash
Murphy believed from a young age that she was destined to be star, and she devoted her life to performing. She made a name for herself in "Clueless" and would go on to continued success as a voice actress on "King of the Hill." In addition to her screen work, Murphy found her way to Broadway and worked steadily as a studio vocalist. Tragically, her bright career was cut short at 32 when she succumbed to pneumonia.
View Brittany Murphy's obituary
Anna Nicole Smith (1967–2007)
AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill
Smith, who burst into American popular culture from the pages of Playboy magazine, dreamed of being the next Marilyn Monroe. That dream came true in more ways than one; like her idol, Smith died young of a drug overdose. Before her death in 2007 at 39, Smith was a fixture on television, thanks to her reality show and her work as a spokeswoman for the Trimspa weight-loss program and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
View Anna Nicole Smith's obituary
Jam Master Jay (1965–2002)
AP Photo / Krista Niles
Jason William Mizell, aka Jam Master Jay, was a member of hip-hop pioneers Run-DMC, credited with bringing hip-hop to the mainstream. Mizell was murdered at 37.
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (1971–2002)
Getty Images / Mission Pictures / Dave Hogan
Lopes was a member of 1990s Grammy-winning trio TLC. With TLC she sold more than 45 million albums worldwide, appeared in dozens of music videos, performed at the Grammy Awards and the MTV Music Awards, and hosted a short-lived talent search TV show. Lopes died in a car accident at 30.
View Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' obituary
JFK Jr. (1960–1999) and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (1966–1999)
Getty Images / NY Daily News Archive / Richard Corkery
Kennedy and Bessette were married just three years before they were killed when the plane Kennedy was piloting crashed near Martha's Vineyard. The Kennedys, a family often beset by tragedy, would have to mourn again — and they were joined, once again, by a saddened country.
Dana Plato (1964–1999)
Getty Images / NBC / Frank Carroll
Plato began her career at age 7, appearing in television commercials. She is known best for her role as Kimberly Drummond on "Diff'rent Strokes." She struggled with drug and alcohol abuse for years before her death by suicide at 34.
Read more about the cast of "Diff'rent Strokes"
Florence Griffith Joyner (1959–1998)
AP Photo / Lennox McLendon
Griffith Joyner, known to her many fans as Flo-Jo, is considered the fastest woman of all time, with the world records she set at the 1988 Olympics still standing today. Griffith Joyner died in her sleep of asphyxiation brought on by a severe epileptic seizure. She was 38.
View Florence Griffith Joyner's obituary
Princess Diana (1961–1997)
AP Photo / Herman Knippertz
Princess Diana was just 36 when she was killed in a car crash. Princess Di gave us so many of the things we look for in an international celebrity: beauty and style, love and scandal, great heights and occasional lows. She was committed to helping others, with an impressive group of charities she supported. She was a devoted mother, determined to raise her sons herself. And she was a style icon.
View Princess Diana's obituary
Chris Farley (1964–1997)
Getty Images / NBC
Farley was unafraid of making a fool of himself for laughs. As a cast member on "Saturday Night Live," the comedian famously danced topless next to Patrick Swayze, mocked his Midwest heritage as an overzealous Chicago Bears fan, and slapped on a skirt and wig to play a "Gap Girl." Farley died of a drug overdose at 33.
Jeff Buckley (1966–1997)
Getty Images / Bob Berg
The singer and guitarist drowned in 1997 when he was just 30. Buckley was a songwriter, and a talented one ... but his most famous and enduring recording is one that came from another pen. Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" captivated listeners with its haunting guitar and Buckley's gorgeous vocals.
Eazy-E (1964–1995)
Getty Images / Michael Ochs Archives / Al Pereira
Eazy-E is known as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap." With his group N.W.A. and album "Straight Outta Compton," Eazy-E (along with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube) took the music world by storm. Eazy-E's own label Ruthless Records launched N.W.A. and would later discover acts such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. The rapper and entrepreneur died of AIDS at age 30.
Sam Kinison (1953–1992)
Wikimedia Commons
Kinison was a stand-up comedian and actor known for his harsh, intense and politically-incorrect humor. He died in a head-on car collision at 38.
Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954–1990)
Getty Images / Redferns / Robert Knight Archive
The beloved guitarist is considered one of the most influential blues electric guitarists. He died in a helicopter crash at 35.
Andy Gibb (1958–1988)
Getty Images / Michael Ochs Archives
Gibb was the iconoclast of his famous family: he was the only one of the four sons who wasn't part of the multi-platinum pop/disco band the Bee Gees. After years of drug and alcohol abuse, Gibb died just days after his 30th birthday.
Christa McAuliffe (1948–1986)
Wikimedia / NASA
In 1986 the teacher-astronaut died along with six other crew members in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The tragedy captured worldwide attention and remains emblazoned in our national consciousness.
View Christa McAuliffe's obituary
Andy Kaufman (1949–1984)
Getty Images / NBC
The entertainer — he preferred not to be called a comedian — was a familiar face on TV: a regular on the sitcom "Taxi" who also appeared several times on "Saturday Night Live." Kaufman died of cancer in 1984 at 35.
Karen Carpenter (1959–1983)
Getty Images / Harry Langdon
Carpenter's death is one of the great tragedies of the music world. Blessed with a warm, friendly singing voice and a natural flair for drums — but perhaps feeling a lack of control over her life, professionally and personally — she turned to diets to shape the one thing she felt she could control: her body. Anorexia nervosa and its vicious circle of dieting and pills eventually led to her death at 32.
View Karen Carpenter's obituary
Dennis Wilson (1944–1983)
Wikimedia Commons
Wilson was the only real surfer in the Beach Boys, despite the boards-and-baggies image the band displayed. He also was the band's drummer, as well as a guitarist and pianist who occasionally took lead vocal duties. Wilson drowned at 39.
John Belushi (1949–1982)
Getty Images / Universal
Belushi died of an accidental drug overdose at 33. A short life, but one packed with a lifetime's worth of memorable performances. Belushi isn't remembered for just one iconic role. Instead we remember the way he added his trademark humor to dozens of characters, from stand-alone "Saturday Night Live" sketches to all-time favorite movies.
Bob Marley (1945–1981)
Getty Images / Redferns / Peter Still
Marley died at 36 of malignant melanoma. But in the limited years he was given, he produced an amazingly broad discography that helped bring Jamaica's reggae music to an international audience.
Harry Chapin (1942–1981)
Getty Images / Redferns / Keith Bernstein
Chapin, who died in a car accident at 38, was a storyteller. He tugged at our heartstrings with his musical tales of ordinary lives — a too-busy dad who raises a too-busy son ("Cat's in the Cradle"), a cab driver who has a chance meeting with an ex-girlfriend ("Taxi"), a disc jockey who throws himself into his work and loses his family ("W*O*L*D").
Minnie Riperton (1947-1979)
Wikimedia Commons
Riperton, a hugely talented singer with a five-and-a-half octave range, hit No. 1 with "Lovin' You" in 1975. She died of breast cancer a few years later at 31. Her daughter, actress Maya Rudolph, was just 6 at the time.
Read more about Minnie Riperton
Keith Moon (1946–1978)
Getty Images / Redferns / Jan Olofsson
Moon, known best as the drummer for rock group The Who, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction before dying at 32 of an overdose.
Sandy Denny (1947–1978)
Getty Images / Redferns / Estate Of Keith Morris
The singer-songwriter was the voice of British folk music through the late 1960s and '70s, with groups like the Strawbs, Fairport Convention and Fotheringay. She released four albums on her own, and her duet of "The Battle of Evermore" with Robert Plant earned her the distinction of being the only guest vocalist on a Led Zeppelin studio album. Substance abuse and health problems led to her early death at 31.
Phil Ochs (1940–1976)
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