The deaths of much-loved celebrities sparked mass morning in 2025
Tributes were paid in 2025 following the deaths of acclaimed actors including Diane Keaton, Terence Stamp, Prunella Scales, and Dame Joan Plowright.
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne was among those mourned in the music industry while the fashion world said farewell to designers Paul Costelloe and Giorgio Armani.
Meanwhile, the world of sport was rocked by the sudden deaths of boxer Ricky Hatton and Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota. Here are some of the well-known people who died in 2025.
January
– Wayne Osmond, who sang with his brothers in chart-topping pop group The Osmonds, died aged 73.
Osmond formed a barbershop quartet with his brothers Alan, Merrill and Jay in 1958 and they were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy to form The Osmonds.
The group became teen idols, selling more than 77 million records worldwide and having five UK top 10 singles, including a number one in Love Me For A Reason, and four UK top 10 albums.
– RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne died aged 32.
James Lee Williams won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and came third on the 2023 edition of Dancing On Ice.
Williams, who was born in Wales, adopted the drag name as they were known for wearing Vivienne Westwood clothing.
– Singer Linda Nolan died aged 65 following a long battle with cancer.
The Irish star was part of the family group The Nolans, which also included her sisters Coleen, Maureen, Bernie, Denise and Anne.
The Nolans released their most enduring hit I’m In The Mood For Dancing in 1979, and enjoyed a string of further chart successes.
– Oscar nominee Dame Joan Plowright died at the age of 95.
The British actress, who was married to Lord Laurence Olivier, was known for her Golden Globe award-winning performances in TV biopic Stalin and Enchanted April, for which she was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Dame Joan also starred in Love You To Death with River Phoenix, and was a star of the West End and Broadway before her international movie success.
– Hollyoaks actor Paul Danan died aged 46.
The star of the Channel 4 soap played bad boy Sol Patrick from 1997 to 2001, and was later known for his reality TV appearances including Celebrity Love Island in 2005 and 2006 and Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.
He was found dead at his home in Bristol and a coroner concluded his death, from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin, was misadventure.
– Director David Lynch, known for the surreal TV series Twin Peaks and films such as Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, died aged 78.
The US director’s work was known for its dreamlike, surreal quality, with his films also including The Elephant Man (1980), Wild At Heart (1990) and Mulholland Drive (2001).
Born in Missoula, Montana, Lynch began a career in painting before switching to making short films during the 1960s.
– Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull died at the age of 78.
Faithfull’s hits included As Tears Go By, which was written by The Rolling Stones’ Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
In addition to her music career, Faithfull also acted in films including The Girl On A Motorcycle with French actor Alain Delon, as well as theatre productions.
February
– Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the former leader of Plaid Cymru, died aged 78.
Lord Elis-Thomas died following a “short illness”. He led Plaid between 1984 and 1991.
– Grammy-winning US singer Roberta Flack died aged 88.
She was known for songs including The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, originally by Ewan MacColl, and Killing Me Softly With His Song, written by Lori Lieberman and Norman Gimbel and composed by Charles Fox.
In 2022 it was announced that Flack had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological condition that had made it “impossible” for her to sing, according to a representative.
– US actress Michelle Trachtenberg, known for her roles in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, died aged 39.
Born in New York City, Trachtenberg began her acting career in adverts at the age of three and later joined hit show Buffy The Vampire Slayer in its fifth season as Buffy’s younger sister, Dawn.
She died as a result of complications from diabetes, New York City’s medical examiner said.
– Oscar-winning American actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the US.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the couple, who had been married since 1991, were found dead along with their dog in their Santa Fe home.
Arakawa, a concert pianist, died as a result of hantavirus, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings, while Hackman’s main cause of death was heart disease.
Hollywood star Hackman, 95, received two Oscars, two Baftas, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award in an acting career which spanned six decades.
March
– American boxing champion George Foreman died at the age of 76.
Foreman was an Olympic gold medallist in 1968 before claiming his first heavyweight title with a stoppage win over Joe Frazier in 1973. He lost the belt a year later to Muhammad Ali in the infamous Rumble In the Jungle bout held in the African nation then known as Zaire.
His second championship came more than two decades later at the age of 45, with a stunning knockout win over Michael Moorer in 1994 making him the oldest heavyweight champion ever.
April
– Top Gun star Val Kilmer died at the age of 65.
The US actor was also known for playing Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever (1995) and rock star Jim Morrison in 1991 film The Doors.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times the actor had died from pneumonia.
– Pope Francis died aged 88 on Easter Monday, just a day after greeting crowds in Vatican City.
He had been vocal on politics, speaking out against war and climate change, and urged more focus on the poor and downtrodden of the world.
His death prompted warm tributes from leaders across the globe and his funeral drew hundreds of thousands of mourners.
– Virginia Giuffre, a sex trafficking survivor who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, died aged 41.
Ms Giuffre was one of the most outspoken accusers of convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
She alleged they trafficked her to Andrew when she was 17, a claim which Andrew has denied.
– The Alarm frontman Mike Peters died at the age of 66 after battling aggressive blood cancer.
Peters first rose to prominence in the early 1980s with The Alarm, with hits including 68 Guns and Strength.
Alongside his wife, he co-founded Love Hope Strength, a cancer charity to encourage action around stem cell donation.
May
– Former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Sir Kenneth Bloomfield died at the age of 94.
Sir Kenneth began his career in public service in the 1950s and served as cabinet secretary to the 1974 Stormont powersharing executive, and head of the NI Civil Service, from 1984 to 1991.
During this time, the IRA tried to kill Sir Kenneth at his home in Co Down in 1988 but his family survived the bomb attack.
– Former BBC executive and TV presenter Alan Yentob died aged 78.
Yentob joined the BBC as a trainee in 1968 and held positions as controller of BBC One and BBC Two, director of television, head of music and arts, as well as the director of BBC drama, entertainment and children’s.
He launched CBBC and CBeebies and was credited with the revitalisation of BBC2 with commissions like Absolutely Fabulous, arts series The Late Show and Have I Got News For You, which later moved to BBC One.
June
– Guitarist, songwriter and Bad Company co-founder Mick Ralphs died at the age of 81.
Bad Company was formed in 1973 after the members of the bands Free, Mott The Hoople and King Crimson joined forces.
Ralphs’ final performance with Bad Company was in October 2016, with the musician suffering a stroke the following month.
– TV personality Kim Woodburn died aged 83.
Woodburn, who rose to fame presenting How Clean Is Your House?, died following a short illness.
She had appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2017 and was among the line-up for E4’s Celebrity Cooking School in 2022.
– Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson died aged 82.
Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of the three musical brothers who formed the American rock band in 1961, alongside their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.
His band, known for their vocal harmonies, released their most recognised album, Pet Sounds, in May 1966 which included the popular songs Wouldn’t It Be Nice and God Only Knows.
– The Day Of The Jackal author Frederick Forsyth died aged 86.
The former RAF pilot and investigative journalist went on to write novels including The Fox, The Kill List, and The Afghan.
As a reporter he had covered international stories and the attempted assassination of French general Charles de Gaulle provided inspiration for his best-selling 1971 novel, The Day Of The Jackal, which was turned into a film starring Edward Fox in 1973.
July
– Theatre school founder Sylvia Young died aged 86.
Young founded a theatre school which taught the likes of singer Amy Winehouse, EastEnders actor Adam Woodyatt and James Bond star Lashana Lynch.
The Sylvia Young Theatre School, which was established in 1972, also produced stars from singers such as Dua Lipa and Rita Ora, to actors such as Doctor Who’s Billie Piper and Nosferatu’s Nicholas Hoult.
– Veteran jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine died at the age of 97.
Nicknamed the First Lady of Jazz, Dame Cleo was famed for her scat singing style.
She was a Grammy award-winning, leading figure of the British jazz music scene along with her late husband, saxophonist Sir John Dankworth, for many years and worked with the likes of Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.
– American Wrestling star Hulk Hogan died aged 71.
Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was a leading figure in wrestling during the 1980s and won six WWE Championships.
He faced names including Andre the Giant and Randy Savage and enjoyed a career in the media, featuring in films and television shows.
– Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne died aged 76.
Osbourne died just over two weeks after the band were reunited at Birmingham’s Villa Park, barely two miles from where they first played together more than 50 years earlier.
The heavy metal singer’s theatrical stage presence, including once biting off the head of a bat and styling himself as the Prince of Darkness, marked him out as a controversial figure.
– Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Blair died aged 72.
Ian Blair, who ran the force from 2005 to 2008, took a seat as a crossbench peer in 2010 when he became Lord Blair of Boughton.
He had been in charge of the force during the July 7 2005 bombings and was knighted in 1999.
– Tory former Cabinet minister Lord Norman Tebbit died at the age of 94.
The Conservative grandee was one of Margaret Thatcher’s closest political allies and played a key role in Tory politics for a generation.
As employment secretary he took on the trade unions, and as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987 he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory. He also served as trade secretary.
– Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota died in a car crash in Spain aged 28.
A Lamborghini which Jota was travelling in veered off the road and burst into flames following a suspected tyre blowout.
He was found dead alongside his brother Andre Silva.
August
– Superman actor Terence Stamp died aged 87.
The Academy Award-nominated actor played Kryptonian villain General Zod in Superman and Superman II.
He starred as a transgender woman in 1994’s The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and was nominated for a Bafta for his performance.
Born in the East End of London in 1938, Stamp rose to acting fame in the 1960s after he won a drama school scholarship.
– Dame Stella Rimington, the first female director general of MI5, died aged 90.
Dubbed the “housewife superspy” when she came into the role, she is widely credited as the model for Dame Judi Dench’s M in the James Bond films.
After leaving MI5 in 1996, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath and published her autobiography, Open Secret, in 2001, kickstarting her career as a novelist.
– TV and radio presenter James Whale died aged 74, after battling stage four kidney cancer.
Whale rose to fame in the 1980s with his frank style, dry wit and no-nonsense approach on late-night programme The James Whale Radio Show gaining a legion of loyal listeners.
He spent 13 years at TalkSport before hosting the drivetime show on LBC and the breakfast show on BBC Essex.
September
– Former Liberal Democrat leader Ming Campbell died aged 84.
Lord Menzies Campbell, known as Ming, grew up in Glasgow and represented his constituency of North East Fife for almost three decades before taking his seat in the upper chamber in 2015.
He was also known for being a talented sprinter, with the former Olympic athlete holding the British 100 metres record between 1967 and 1974.
– Veteran broadcaster John Stapleton died aged 79.
Stapleton began his career in newspapers before presenting BBC’s Panorama and Newsnight and had reported from the Middle East, El Salvador and Argentina during the Falklands War in the early 1980s.
He also presented on Good Morning Britain on ITV, before returning to the BBC in 1986 to to host consumer show Watchdog alongside his wife Lynn Faulds Wood until 1993.
– Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid actor Robert Redford died aged 89.
Redford was acclaimed for films including All The President’s Men, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting, for which he was nominated for an Oscar.
He won an Oscar for directing Ordinary People and was also known for his environmental activism.
– The Duchess of Kent, wife of the late Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent, died aged 92.
Katharine was known for consoling losing Wimbledon finalists, notably a tearful Jana Novotna in 1993, and presented trophies at the championships for many years.
She preferred to be known as Mrs Kent and dropped her HRH style, retreating from royal life to spend more than a decade teaching music in a state primary school in Hull.
– Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani died aged 91.
Armani, who dressed celebrities including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Lady Gaga, was famous for his relaxed tailoring.
He was one of the most influential and globally famous designers of the late 20th century.
– Former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton died at the age of 46.
Hatton won world titles at light-welterweight and welterweight and his all-action style made him one of the most popular fighters in the first decade of the new century.
He was open about the mental health issues he endured upon his retirement from the ring but Hatton’s down-to-earth demeanour endeared him to fans during appearances on TV shows including Dancing On Ice.
October
– Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales died aged 93.
Scales was best known for starring in the popular BBC comedy series playing Sybil, the long-suffering wife of bumbling hotelier Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese.
Her big career break was starring in the early 1960s sitcom Marriage Lines and she featured in many BBC Radio 4 sitcoms, stage productions and films including 1987’s The Lonely Passion Of Judith Hearne.
– Soft Cell star Dave Ball died aged 66.
Formed in the late 1970s, the duo were pioneers of the synth pop sound which would become popular in the 1980s, and were best known for songs such as their cover of Gloria Jones’ Tainted Love, Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, and Torch.
Their 1981 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is one of the most acclaimed albums of the decade, embracing the provocative nature of New York electronic duo Suicide, one of the group’s main influences, with songs such as Seedy Films and Sex Dwarf.
– American R&B singer D’Angelo died aged 51.
D’Angelo, whose real name was Michael Archer, was known for his raspy voice, and music which blended hip hop, soul and gospel to create a fresh sound, which would go on to become known as neo soul.
He rose to major mainstream attention with the release of his 2000 single Untitled (How Does It Feel), and its accompanying shirtless music video.
The song won him a Grammy for best male R&B vocal performance and propelled his album Voodoo to top the Billboard 200 chart, winning the Grammy for best R&B album.
– EastEnders actor Tony Caunter died aged 88.
Actor Tony Caunter played Roy Evans in EastEnders from 1994 to 2003.
The car dealer and father of Barry Evans (played by Shaun Williamson) was a love interest for Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement), with the couple later marrying as part of the soap storyline.
– Annie Hall actress Diane Keaton died aged 79.
The actress shot to fame in the 1970s with her role as Kay Adams in The Godfather and was a regular collaborator of Woody Allen’s, winning an Oscar for his influential film Annie Hall and becoming associated with the title character’s menswear-centric wardrobe.
Her other films included Father Of The Bride, The Family Stone, Something’s Gotta Give and The Book Club movies.
– “Bonkbuster” author Dame Jilly Cooper died after a fall aged 88.
Dame Jilly was best known for The Rutshire Chronicles books, featuring the showjumping lothario Rupert Campbell-Black.
Her book Rivals was recently adapted for a successful television show by Disney+, attracting fans including Dame Jilly’s friend the Queen who said she binge watched the series when she had pneumonia.
– Keeping Up Appearances star Dame Patricia Routledge died aged 96.
Dame Patricia was best known for her role as Hyacinth Bucket in BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.
She won an Olivier Award as the Old Lady in Leonard Bernstein’s operetta Candide in 1988, a Tony Award for her part as Alice Challice in Darling Of The Day in 1968, and had a career which spanned six decades.
– Conservationist Dame Jane Goodall, who was one of the world’s leading experts on chimpanzee behaviour, died aged 91.
Born in London, Dame Jane began researching free-living chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960, arriving at Gombe Stream National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika at a time when it was unheard of for a woman to venture into the wilds of Africa.
It was there she observed a chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs and use it to fish termites from a nest, a ground-breaking observation that challenged the definition of humans as the single species capable of making tools.
November
– Actress Pauline Collins died at the age of 85.
She starred in the first series of sitcom The Liver Birds but did not become a household name until getting a regular role in Upstairs Downstairs in 1971.
Her role in the 1989 film Shirley Valentine, playing the lead character of the bored Liverpudlian housewife, earned her an Oscar nomination.
– Baroness Helen Newlove, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, died following a short illness.
The Conservative peer had twice served in the post having become a community campaigner and activist in the wake of the killing of her husband Garry outside their Warrington home after confronting vandals in 2007.
She first served in the role for six years from March 2013 to May 2019 before being re-appointed in October 2023. She had been due to serve until the end of the year.
– Award-winning playwright Sir Tom Stoppard died aged 88.
Sir Tom, known for Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Arcadia and the film Shakespeare In Love, died at his home in Dorset.
Over his six-decade career, Sir Tom earned Tony and Olivier awards, as well as a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his and Marc Norman’s 1998 screenplay Shakespeare In Love, which starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Dame Judi Dench and Joseph Fiennes.
– Reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff died aged 81.
The musician, best known for the title track from seminal film The Harder They Come, died following a seizure after he came down with pneumonia, his wife Latifa said.
The singer, who was known for songs including I Can See Clearly Now and You Can Get It If You Really Want, had two Grammys and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2010.
– Former Stone Roses and Primal Scream bass player Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield died aged 63.
He worked on the Manchester band’s 1989 self-titled debut album, which featured hits such as I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs The Drums and I Am The Resurrection, as well as its harder-rocking 1994 follow-up Second Coming.
After The Stone Roses broke up in 1996, Mounfield joined Scottish rock band Primal Scream, first playing on their album Vanishing Point where his bass was a key part of krautrock-influenced lead single Kowalski.
– Diana, Princess of Wales’s former personal designer Paul Costelloe died aged 80.
Born in Dublin in 1945, Costelloe began his career at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris and later moved to Milan to support Marks and Spencer in their drive to enter the Italian market.
In 1983, he was appointed personal designer to Diana, Princess of Wales, and continued to collaborate with her until her death in 1997.
– Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson died aged 68.
Willson was one of the first hosts on the hit BBC motoring show, alongside Clarkson, fronting the series from 1991 until 2001 before going on to present Channel 5’s Fifth Gear.
He also created and presented a number of motoring shows including Britain’s Worst Drivers and BBC Two’s The Car’s The Star.
December
– Renowned photographer Martin Parr died at the age of 73.
Parr, who was known for capturing the reality of British life, rose to prominence with his 1980s collection The Last Resort, which depicted the Merseyside seaside town of New Brighton.
Among his other exhibitions was Only Human: Martin Parr, which was staged at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2019 and captured the “social climate in the aftermath of the EU referendum” of June 2016.
– Mortal Kombat actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa died aged 75.
The Tokyo-born actor, known for his role in the film adaption of the fighting video games, and in the TV series The Man In The High Castle, died following stroke complications.
Before stepping into the role of of evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat, Tagawa appeared in the 1989 James Bond film Licence To Kill, as an undercover agent of the Hong Kong Narcotics Board.
– Author of the Shopaholic series Sophie Kinsella died at the age of 55.
Kinsella, whose real name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, died after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Her death prompted tributes from authors including Jodi Picoult, Adele Parks and Jenny Colgan, who described Kinsella as a “joy in life”.
– Author Joanna Trollope died at the age of 82.
Trollope studied English language and literature at the University of Oxford after winning a scholarship and joined the Foreign Office after graduating.
She later trained as a teacher but turned to writing full-time in 1980 although it was not until 1991 that she became a household name with her novel, The Rector’s Wife.
– Comedy actor and impressionist Stanley Baxter died at the age of 99.
Baxter’s TV shows, in which he often appeared grotesquely in drag, drew huge audiences and marked him out as one of the funniest, as well as occasionally one of the most controversial, comics of his generation.
The Glasgow-born star, who was bold enough to mimic the Pope and even the Queen, was a popular figure on the Scottish pantomime circuit until his retirement in 1991.
