Celebrities Coping with Loss
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3 min readFame and fortune can buy many things, but they don't exempt you from loss and grief. Many celebrities have been through the pain that comes with losing a family member or close friend, and in some cases, they've spoken out about what they went through in the wake of their loved one's death. From words of advice for others who are grieving to memories of raw grief, these are the words of celebrities who have experienced loss.
Sheryl Sandberg: "I want to choose life and meaning"
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After Sheryl Sandberg lost her husband, SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg (1967–2015), she did what any Facebook executive would do: she shared her grief online. In a poignant Facebook post that went viral, Sandberg wrote:
"I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe. Or you can try to find meaning. These past thirty days, I have spent many of my moments lost in that void. And I know that many future moments will be consumed by the vast emptiness as well. But when I can, I want to choose life and meaning..."
The Facebook COO then wrote a book, "Option B," and started a campaign to help people be resilient in the face of adversity.
Queen Latifah: "live your life to the maximum"
Getty Images / WireImage / Johnny Nunez
When her mother, Rita Owens, died March 21, 2018, Queen Latifah posted this touching tribute: “Anyone that has ever met her knows what a bright light she was on this earth. She was gentle, but strong, sweet, but sassy, worldly but pragmatic, a woman of great faith and certainly the love of my life... I am heartbroken but know she is at peace." Latifah's brother Lancelot Jr. was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1992. Afterwards she told More magazine, "If the person who you lost loved you like you loved them, there’s no way they would not want you to live your life to the maximum, to appreciate it, to go for your dreams, go for your goals."
Prince Harry: "I intuitively know what my mother would like me to do"
Getty Images / Georges De Keerle
Prince Harry opened up in 2017 about losing his mother, Princess Diana (1961–1997) 20 years earlier, telling Newsweek:
“My mother died when I was very young. I didn't want to be in the position I was in, but I eventually pulled my head out of the sand, started listening to people and decided to use my role for good... I intuitively know what my mother would like me to do and want to progress with work she couldn’t complete.”
Read more about Princess Diana
Jordan was close to his father and was devastated after his 1993 murder. He sat down with Oprah Winfrey a few months later and talked about his dad:
"He saw my last game. That's the greatest gratification I could have."
According to Glamour UK, Jordan said of his father's passing:
“It was a very difficult moment for me and somehow I just kept my head high and looked at the good of it — the time that we used to spent [together] and the education that he gave me. I thought about all the things that he used to say to me like turn a negative into a positive, and here I was dealing with him in that way. It was tough.”
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