Even though we may never meet them, knowing that one of our favorite celebrities has passed away can leave a hole in our hearts. The profound impact that music and film can have on our lives means that we often form one-sided connections with the talented people who bring them to life, and learning that they're gone can be hard to deal with. While many stars are able to live out their dreams well into their golden years, others were just getting started when their lives were tragically taken from them.
Although we can never truly be prepared for someone's death (beloved celebrities included), it can be easier to deal with someone's passing when we know it's coming. But these celebrity deaths were so sudden and unexpected, they shocked everyone when the news broke. While some young celebrities passed away due to illness, many more have fallen victim to the lavish lifestyle that makes finding and purchasing dangerous drugs extremely easy. Some of us might cling onto the hope that our favorite deceased celebrities are still roaming the Earth as ghosts, but personally, I like to think that they're making Heaven a more entertaining place to be.
Take a look at a few stars who passed away far too soon. It's never easy to say goodbye to someone we love, even if we only were able to grow to love the person from a distance through their art, but when it comes to these famous celebrities, the best thing we can do is enable them to live on through their work even when they themselves are gone.
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1. Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Capote actor was just 46 when he died in 2014 of a drug overdose in his home.
2. Heath Ledger
The talented actor with performances in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight was found unconscious in his bed by his housekeeper when he was 28 years old. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he died soon after of a drug overdose.
3. Amy Winehouse
The soulful "Rehab" singer had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse, and it finally caught up to her on July 23, 2011, when she died of alcohol poisoning at age 27.
4. Paul Walker
The Fast and the Furious star was only 40 years old when he perished in a car crash with his friend, Roger Rodas. The two were driving at speeds reaching nearly 100 mph in a 45 mph speed zone when the car drifted into a lamppost and two trees and burst into flames.
5. Joey Feek
Half of the country-gospel duo Joey + Rory passed away on March 4, 2016, at age 40 after a long battle with cancer. The duo won over their fans not only with their hits such as "Cheater Cheater," but also with their loving marriage and down-to-earth lifestyle. When she was initially told that her cancer was terminal, Joey was told she probably wouldn't make it past Thanksgiving of 2015, but she held on long enough to see her daughter Indiana's second birthday and spend one more Valentine's Day with her beloved husband.
6. Aaliyah
The "Princess of R&B" had had multiple successful hits, including "Try Again," before dying in a plane crash in the Bahamas at age 22. It was said that the pilot of the aircraft hadn't been approved to fly and had cocaine and alcohol in his system when the autopsy was performed.
7. Cory Monteith
The actor who played Finn on the series Glee had a history of struggling with drug abuse, which is ultimately what caused his untimely passing at age 31. The show held a special episode entitled "The Quarterback" in his honor, and his girlfriend Lea Michele (who also played his on-screen love interest), assisted in holding a celebration for his life that included virtually everyone who had worked on Glee with Monteith.
8. Steve Irwin
News of the Crocodile Hunter's shocking death rocked the world on September 4, 2006, when he was stabbed through the heart by a large stingray's tail. Steve Irwin was only 44 when he passed away, but his family continues to carry on his legacy through their work with animals.
9. Brittany Murphy
The Boy Meets World and Clueless actress was found dead in her home at age 32 due to what appeared to be a combination of the effects of pneumonia and the medications she was taking to treat it. Tragically, her husband passed away five months later due to pneumonia and anemia.
10. Ryan Dunn
The Jackass star was famous for his goofy, prank-loving nature, but his life met a tragic and unnecessarily early end in 2011 when, at 34, he died after crashing his car while driving drunk.
11. Jeff Buckley
Buckley only released a single studio album, entitled Grace, which included the now famous song "Hallelujah," before he passed away at age 30 in 1997. The cause for his untimely passing was due to drowning after going for an impromptu night swim in a lake and being caught in the wake of a passing boat.
12. Whitney Houston
The "I Will Always Love You" singer had struggled with addiction for much of her life, and in February 2012, it finally claimed her life when she drowned in her bathtub and was found with numerous drugs in her system. She was 48.
13. Selena Quintanilla-Pérez
The woman who broke barriers in the Tejano music genre was only 23 when she was shot dead by her friend and employee, Yolanda Saldívar, over a dispute about embezzled funds. Although she died in 1995, her legacy has lived on through her music and tributes to her life, including the movie Selena, which starred Jennifer Lopez.
14. Tupac Shakur
Tupac was a legend in the rap industry thanks to hits such as "All Eyez on Me." His life was taken from him in 1996 when a drive-by shooting sent him to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his wounds at age 25.
15. Scott Weiland
The lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver was 48 when he died of an overdose in December 2015.
16. Natasha Richardson
This actress, who worked in The Parent Trap and was married to actor Liam Neeson, sustained a head injury after a skiing accident in 2009. She died two days later at age 45.
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