From veteran stars of stage and screen to a music industry titan and a style icon centenarian, we have lost several famous faces in 2024.
Dame Maggie Smith, Donald Sutherland, Quincy Jones, John Prescott, Iris Apfel and Shannen Doherty were among the notable figures we said goodbye to.
One Direction star Liam Payne also tragically died, aged 31.
Here, we look back at the lives and careers of those who are no longer with us.
January
Derek Draper, a former political adviser and husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, died after several years of serious health complications due to coronavirus.
A prominent figure in New Labour in the 1990s, Draper worked for Blairite Peter Mandelson and set up the Progress organisation with Liam Byrne, who went on to become an MP.
The 56-year-old was said to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering COVID patients, spending 13 months in hospital after contracting the virus in March 2020.
Garraway announced the death of her “darling husband”, while former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, who Draper worked with in the 1990s, and prominent New Labour figure Alistair Campbell also shared tributes.
Obituary: Larger than life Labour character will not be forgotten
Broadcast icon Annie Nightingale was Radio 1’s first female DJ, appearing as a panellist on the BBC’s Juke Box Jury before joining the radio station seven years later.
She remained the station’s only female DJ until 1982, which saw the arrival of Janice Long, and is credited with helping to pave the way for the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball.
She was awarded an MBE in 2002 and a CBE in 2020 – and in 2004, she became the first female DJ from Radio 1 to be inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame.
Ball and Whiley were among those paying tribute following her death at the age of 83, with Ball describing Nightingale as “the original trailblazer for us women in radio”.
Obituary: How Annie Nightingale changed the industry
German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer was widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
A talented defender, he won an array of trophies and honours across his glittering career, including a World Cup with West Germany as both a player and a manager, and two Ballon d’Or awards.
He was also famed for carving out his own role as a sweeper – sitting slightly behind his team’s defensive line and sweeping up any man or ball that broke through.
Former England star Gary Lineker was among those paying tribute to Beckenbauer following his death at 78, describing him as “one of the absolute greats of our game”.
Obituary: Der Kaiser who changed the perception of Germany
Other stars and notable figures who died in January 2024 include:
Starsky & Hutch actor David Soul (pictured above right with co-star Paul Michael Glaser)
Film and TV director, and Kate Beckinsale’s step-father, Roy Battersby
Actor Christian Oliver
Mary Poppins actress Glynis Johns
X-Men and Designated Survivor star Adan Canto
Emmerdale and Hollyoaks actress Georgina Hale
Filmmaker Norman Jewison
Boney M founder and producer Frank Farian
Alien Nation and Star Trek Enterprise actor Gary Graham
Neighbours star Troy Beckwith
Gogglebox star Pat Webb
Broadway legend Chita Rivera
Adele Springsteen, mother of Bruce Springsteen
Welsh rugby player JPR Williams
February
Radio DJ Steve Wright was another BBC broadcasting legend, who hosted shows for the broadcaster for more than four decades.
He started his career as a clerk before leaving the corporation to join Thames Valley Radio to begin his broadcasting career in 1976 – returning to the BBC four years later to present weekend programmes on Radio 1 before launching the show that would ultimately define his career, Steve Wright In The Afternoon, in 1981.
He later became known for Sunday Love Songs on Radio 2, as well as a series of specials and podcasts.
Wright died at the age of 69, with the BBC’s director of music among those paying tribute.
“He loved radio, and he loved the BBC,” she said. “But most of all… he loved his audience.”
Coronation Street star John Savident (pictured above with his co-star Sue Nicholls) arrived on the famous cobbles in 1994 and was quickly established as a fan favourite, known for playing the booming-voiced butcher Fred Elliott.
Fred’s disastrous love life, including three marriages and several failed proposals, provided many of the character’s most memorable storylines on the soap. He also had a secret son, Ashley, played by Steven Arnold, and the two later developed a close bond as they worked as butchers together.
Like so many much-loved comedy characters, he had a simple catchphrase – “I say” – which peppered his speech.
Nicholls, who played Fred’s long-term love interest Audrey Roberts in the ITV soap, hailed him for bringing “joy” to her life, following his death at 86.
Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers (pictured right above) initially worked as a make-up artist and first met Si King, the man who would become his on-screen cooking partner, while working on a TV drama called The Gambling Man in 1995.
Their first TV appearance together was on The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook in 2004, in which the pair rode the length of Portugal in a part-cooking show, part-travel programme. Over their near 30-year friendship and career, the pair became TV cookery favourites and published more than 25 books.
Myers also took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, reaching week seven of the BBC competition with partner Karen Hauer.
King led the tributes after his death from cancer at 66, saying: “I wish you god’s speed brother; you are and will remain a beacon in this world.”
Kelvin Kiptum ran his first ever marathon in Valencia at the end of 2022. Just a few months later, the Kenyan ran his second, the London Marathon, and won it.
His third, in Chicago in October 2023, saw him break the world record for the fastest ever marathon time – two hours and 35 seconds – smashing fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge’s record by 34 seconds.
Kiptum would have gone on to achieve more – but tragically died in a car crash in western Kenya, alongside his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana, aged 24. He had been in training with his sights set on a new record – eyeing the first official marathon run under two hours in Rotterdam.
Kenya’s former prime minister, Raila Odinga, paid tribute to a “remarkable individual” and “Kenyan athletics icon”.
Obituary: Kiptum was gearing up for another remarkable feat
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics and relentlessly campaigned against corruption in the Kremlin.
He had been serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges of extremism at the time of his death, aged 47, and always maintained the case against him was politically motivated.
Two months earlier, he had been moved from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to the “Polar Wolf” penal colony about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) northeast of Moscow, and within the Arctic Circle.
“If your convictions mean something, you must be prepared to stand up for them and make sacrifices if necessary,” he wrote in his memoir, Patriot, which was published posthumously in October 2024.
Read more: ‘I’ll never see my grandchildren‘
Other stars and notable figures who died in February 2024 include:
The Office star Ewen MacIntosh (pictured above right with his co-stars)
A Place In The Sun presenter Jonnie Irwin
Rocky, Predator and Happy Gilmore actor Carl Weathers
Dad’s Army actor Ian Lavender
Only Fools And Horses actor Michael Jayston
Author Wendy Mitchell, who announced own death
Music executive Bing Worthington, brother of Snoop Dogg
Strictly Come Dancing star Robin Windsor
Grange Hill and Brookside star Stuart Organ
Porn star Kagney Linn Karter
Star Trek and Marvel actor Kenneth Mitchell
Curb Your Enthusiasm and Robin Hood: Men In Tights star Richard Lewis
TikTok singer Cat Janice
March
Born in New York in 1921, Iris Apfel was primarily an interior designer, but became a public figure thanks to a contract that saw her and her husband Carl consult on interiors in the White House for six presidents.
Later in life, she captured attention through her colourful bohemian style – wearing irreverent, eye-catching outfits, mixing haute couture and oversized costume jewellery.
Her fame blew up in 2005 when the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York hosted a show about her called Rara Avis – Latin for rare bird.
She referred to herself as a “geriatric starlet”, and regularly appeared in the style pages of the New York Times, was photographed for Vogue Magazine, and featured in adverts for Coach, MAC Cosmetics and Kate Spade.
Apfel died aged 102, just days after marking the Leap Year on her Instagram account.
Eric Carmen rose to fame with power pop group Raspberries before achieving solo success with hits including Never Gonna Fall In Love Again – and became most famous for his power ballads including All By Myself and Hungry Eyes.
All By Myself features in the classic opening scene of Bridget Jones’s Diary, and was famously covered by Celine Dion and also Jewel, for the Clueless soundtrack.
Hungry Eyes featured in Dirty Dancing, starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, and Carmen also wrote Almost Paradise, from the Footloose soundtrack.
His wife, Amy, announced his death at 74, saying: “It brought him great joy to know, that for decades, his music touched so many and will be his lasting legacy.”
Other stars and notable figures who died in March 2024 include:
Oscar-winning The King’s Speech writer David Seidler
Star Wars and Gremlins actor Mark Dodson
Bullseye darts legend Tony Green
BBC presenter Nick Sheridan
Manga artist Akira Toriyama
World Party frontman and former Waterboys member Karl Wallinger
Charlie Bird, former RTE correspondent
Mountaineer and adventure filmmaker David Breashears
Blade Runner and Knives Out actor M Emmet Walsh
Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother star George Gilbey
Louis Gossett Jr, the first black man to win the best supporting actor Oscar
Gen V star Chance Perdomo
April
OJ Simpson, a fomer American football star and Hollywood actor, was tried for double murder in 1995, in what was dubbed the “trial of the century” and watched by millions around the world.
It came after he infamously fled from police when suspicion fell on him after the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, in a freeway car chase that was also televised live.
Simpson was ultimately found not guilty of murder, but was later found responsible for the deaths in a civil lawsuit. He was then imprisoned for nine years in 2008, for armed robbery and kidnapping after an incident at a hotel in Las Vegas.
He died at the age of 76 after suffering from cancer. Speaking to Sky News, the Goldman family’s lawyer, David Cook, said he still believed Simpson was “a murderer” and “the fact he died doesn’t change it”.
Read more: How the dramatic OJ Simpson case unfolded
Known for his flamboyant and glamorous style, Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli founded his label in the early 1970s.
He was known for his animal-print designs, bright colours and patchwork effects, and stars including Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez and Taylor Swift were known for wearing his creations.
Cavalli died at his home in Florence at the age of 83, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Fellow designer Giorgio Armani was among those paying tribute, saying: “I cannot imagine a vision of fashion more distant from mine than that of Roberto Cavalli, yet I have always had enormous respect for him: Roberto was a true artist, wild and wonderful in his use of prints, capable of transforming fantasy into seductive clothes… his Tuscan verve will be greatly missed.”
Professor Peter Higgs was the Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose pioneering theory led to the discovery of the Higgs boson particle.
Higgs boson, or the “God particle”, explains why matter has mass and holds the universe together.
A “truly gifted” scientist, he predicted the existence of the new subatomic particle as far back as 1964, but his theory would not be confirmed until 2012 – when experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern finally proved its existence.
The following year, Prof Higgs, emeritus professor at Edinburgh University, was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this work, along with Francois Englert.
He died aged 94, with Edinburgh University’s principal and vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, paying tribute to a “remarkable individual” whose “pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists, and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations to come”.
Other stars and notable figures who died in April 2024 include:
Terry Carter. Pic: THA/Shutterstock
Battlestar Galactica and McCloud star Terry Carter (pictured above)
Ultravox star Chris Cross, who co-wrote Vienna
Yellowstone actor Cole Brings Plenty
Viral YouTuber Angry Rantman
Irish football manager and player Joe Kinnear
Actress and charity co-founder Samantha Davis, wife of Warwick Davis
The Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer Dickey Betts
Iraqi social media influencer Om Fahad
Bestselling author CJ Sansom
Line Of Duty actor Brian McCardie
US author and filmmaker Paul Auster
May
Kris Hallenga was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 23 and lived with the illness for 15 years, tirelessly campaigning to raise awareness in that time.
She was the founder of breast cancer charity CoppaFeel! and in 2023 organised a “living funeral” so she could be there to see her life celebrated.
Dawn French gave the eulogy in character as the Vicar of Dibley, while Ms Hallenga gave a speech. Afterwards, she posted on Instagram: “I’ve never felt love like it. I’ve never felt joy like it. I’ve never felt such kinship with mortality. I’ve never felt so alive.”
She died at the age of 38, with a statement on the CoppaFeel! website saying: “She hasn’t lost a battle, she wasn’t in a fight and she certainly wouldn’t want you to see her death as tragic. She was simply living. She was 38 and died with fulfilment and a heart full of love.”
Read more: ‘I attended my own send-off‘
Bernard Hill was best known for his role as King Theoden in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, a performance which won him numerous awards, as well as for playing Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film Titanic.
He also featured as Yosser Hughes in the iconic drama series Boys From The Blackstuff.
Hill was married to fellow actor Marianna Hill, with whom he shared a son.
He died at the age of 79, with his management company paying tribute to “a true gentleman and extremely talented artist”.
Other stars and notable figures who died in May 2024 include:
Grease star Susan Buckner (pictured left, with Olivia Newton-John in the film)
Super Size Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock
ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy
Game Of Thrones actor Ian Gelder
Nirvana and Pixies producer Steve Albini
This Morning entertainment reporter Sam Rubin
Spurs and Wales football star Terry Medwin
Filmmaker Roger Corman
Susan Backlinie, who played the first victim in Jaws
Supergran star Gudrun Ure
Chris Pratt’s former stunt double Tony McFarr
Boardwalk Emperor and 9 To 5 star Dabney Coleman
Train bassist Charlie Colin
Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang songwriter Richard M Sherman
Doug Ingle, co-founder of heavy rock band Iron Butterfly
Albert S Ruddy, Oscar-winning producer of The Godfather
June
Donald Sutherland‘s film breakthrough came with his portrayal of irreverent soldier Vernon Pinkley in The Dirty Dozen, and he became known to different generations for a range of characters over the years.
He had roles in Robert Redford’s Ordinary People and Oliver Stone’s JFK, and played President Snow in the Hunger Games franchise alongside Jennifer Lawrence. In Kelly’s Heroes, he starred alongside Telly Savalas and Clint Eastwood as Sergeant Oddball – on a mission to steal gold from the Nazis.
Sutherland won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance in the mini-series Citizen X, and received an honorary Oscar in 2017.
He was also the father of fellow Hollywood star Keifer Sutherland, who led the tributes “to one of the most important actors in the history of film” following his death at 88. “He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
TV doctor Michael Mosley was known for appearing on television programmes such as This Morning and The One Show, and was also one of the presenters of the series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor on the BBC.
For the documentary Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four, he lived with tapeworms in his gut for six weeks, and was also credited for the rising popularity of the 5:2 diet for losing weight.
More recently, he presented Secrets Of Your Big Shop and Who Made Britain Fat? for Channel 4.
He died aged 67 after going missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi.
Obituary: A fearless gonzo journalist, unafraid to experiment on himself
Rob Burrow was a former rugby league star who worked tirelessly to raise awareness about motor neurone disease (MND) after being diagnosed with the illness himself.
He spent his entire league career at Leeds Rhinos, winning eight Super League titles, and also played internationally for England and Great Britain.
He will also be remembered for his bravery in dealing with his illness, for which he was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours List just months before his death at 41.
“I don’t want pity,” he had told Sky News shortly after his diagnosis. “I don’t want people feeling sorry for me, I just want to go on as normal.”
Read more: Rob Burrow’s wifes moving tribute: ‘Simply the best‘
Other stars and notable figures who died in June 2024 include:
Black Lace star, and Agadoo singer, Colin Gibb (pictured above)
Dance producer Dario G
Former Arsenal and Everton star Kevin Campbell
Hollywood and Broadway actress Janis Paige
Swedish rapper C.Gambino
TV presenter and conservationist Simon Cowell
YouTuber Comicstorian
French music icon Francoise Hardy
Suspicious Minds songwriter Mark James
Pirates Of The Caribbean star Tamayo Perry
US rapper Foolio
Crazy Town singer Seth Binzer, known as Shifty Shellshock
Night At The Museum actor Bill Cobbs
Roseanne and Arrested Development actor Martin Mull
July
Shannen Doherty (pictured left with her Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Jason Priestley) began acting as a child, moving to Los Angeles with her family when she was seven and playing Jenny Wilder in the final season of Little House On The Prairie at 11.
She appeared in the 1989 teen comedy Heathers before her breakout role – playing Brenda in hit teen series Beverly Hills, 90210, the following year.
Doherty left during the fourth season in 1994, but Aaron Spelling, who produced the show, later cast her in the supernatural series Charmed.
She died at the age of 53 after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, with her former co-stars among those paying tribute.
Read more: Co-stars pay tribute to ‘force of nature’ Shannen Doherty
John Mayall was the British blues musician whose band was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars. He is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s.
At various times, his band the Bluesbreakers included Clapton and Jack Bruce, later of Cream; Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac; Mick Taylor, who played for five years with the Rolling Stones; Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor of Canned Heat; and Jon Mark and John Almond, who went on to form the Mark-Almond Band.
Although Mayall never approached the same heights of fame as some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s – and was known as the “Father of British blues”.
He died at home in California, aged 90.
Abdul “Duke” Fakir (left) was the last surviving original member of one of Motown’s most popular and enduring acts, The Four Tops.
Many of Motown’s greatest stars, from the Supremes to Stevie Wonder, came of age at the Detroit-based company, which was founded by Berry Gordy in the late 1950s. But Fakir and his group – with lead singer Levi Stubbs, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton – had been together for a decade when Gordy signed them in 1963.
Between 1964 and 1967 they had 11 top 20 hits, including two number ones: I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) and Reach Out I’ll Be There. Other hits included Baby I Need Your Loving, Standing In The Shadows Of Love, and Ask The Lonely, and they reached the top 20 for the last time in the early 1980s, with When She Was My Girl.
Fakir died with his wife and other loved ones by his side, aged 88.
“Contenders, ready! Gladiators, ready!” For those who grew up in the 1990s, John Anderson‘s was one of the most familiar voices of Saturday night TV.
He was best known as the umpire in the original ITV series of Gladiators, which aired between 1992 and 2000, and the revamped Sky series in 2008.
But the Scottish sports coach also trained more than 100 Olympians and was inducted into the Coaching Hall of Fame in 2002. He was a head coach for the Amateur Athletics Association of England and a Scottish national coach.
He died at the age of 92, with the official Gladiators social media accounts paying tribute and remembering his “iconic voice”.
Shelley Duvall was an actress best known for her performance alongside Jack Nicholson in psychological horror The Shining, and also starred in films including Popeye, alongside Robin Williams, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, and Jane Campion’s The Portrait Of A Lady, opposite Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich.
She worked frequently with the filmmaker Robert Altman, performing in movies such as Nashville and 3 Women – with the latter earning her the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
But it is her iconic performance as a terror-stricken wife and mother in classic 1980 horror The Shining for which she will be remembered, playing tormented Wendy Torrance in the Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the Stephen King novel. Kubrick, a famous perfectionist, was notoriously hard on the actress during production of the film, set in the creepy Overlook Hotel, with one distressing scene reportedly performed in 127 takes.
She died at the age of 75, with her partner Dan Gilroy paying tribute to his “beautiful Shelley”.
Other stars and notable figures who died in July 2024 include:
US fitness instructor Richard Simmons (pictured above)
EastEnders and The Bill actress Roberta Taylor
Neighbours star Janet Andrewartha, known as Lyn Scully
DJ and producer Tomcraft, known for hit single Loneliness
Elf and The Big Bang Theory actor Bob Newhart
Titanic and Avatar producer Jon Landau
Great British Bake Off contestant Dawn Hollyoak
TV sex therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer
August
Sven-Goran Eriksson rose from working as a PE teacher in a small Swedish town to the peaks of English football – becoming the first foreign manager of the England men’s team, coaching players including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, in 2001.
During that period they famously beat Germany 5-1 in 2001, with a hat-trick from Michael Owen, in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup. They went on to reach the quarter-finals – and did so again for Euro 2004 and the following World Cup in 2006.
Eriksson left the England role after the 2006 World Cup and would later manage Mexico and the Ivory Coast, as well as English clubs Manchester City and Leicester City. Due to health issues, he stepped down as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad in February 2023.
After announcing his cancer diagnosis, he was granted his lifelong wish when he led out Liverpool Legends, as they played in a charity match against Ajax at Anfield just a few months before his death at 76.
Obituary: Eriksson’s England era was about football and fame
Black Panther actress Connie Chiume was a South African star and filmmaker who appeared in the Black Panther films, set in the fictional land of Wakanda.
She played Zawavari, a former leader of the Mining Tribe, in the 2018 original, which also starred the late actor Chadwick Boseman in the lead role of T’Challa. It was the first superhero movie ever nominated for best picture at the Oscars, and made $1.3bn (£997.6m) worldwide at the box office.
In the 2022 sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Chiume’s character became a Wakanda elder who was part of the funeral passage for T’Challa.
Chiume, who died at the age of 72, also appeared in the South African series Gomora, Seriously Single and Queen Sono, as well as the musical film, Black Is King, directed by Beyonce. Her accomplishments included a South African Film and Television Award (Safta) for best supporting actress for her role in Zone 14, a series about two warring families, in 2009.
US rapper and hype man Fatman Scoop was best known for his 2003 hit Be Faithful and its sampling of Faith Evans’s Love Like This.
He was also known for featuring on Mariah Carey’s Grammy-nominated song It’s Like That, on Missy Elliott’s Lose Control, and for his collaborations with artists including Nick Cannon, Skrillex and Timbaland.
In 2015, he appeared on Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother: UK vs USA, and was the third housemate to be evicted.
He died aged 56, after being seen collapsing on stage during a performance in Connecticut. Elliott was among those paying tribute, saying his voice and energy had contributed “to many songs that made the people happy and want to dance for over two decades”.
Other stars and notable figures who died in August 2024 include:
French film star Alain Delon (pictured above)
Legendary Hollywood agent Jay Kanter
Former Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare
Double Oscar nominee and The Notebook star Gena Rowlands
Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe
September
Born in Essex in 1934, Dame Maggie Smith became internationally recognised and one of the most versatile, accomplished and meticulous performers of her generation – winning two Oscars, several BAFTAs and numerous other awards during her career.
At the National Theatre and Old Vic, she excelled in both tragedy and comedy, moving easily from Shakespeare to Noel Coward, to Restoration comedy to Ibsen.
She was best known for playing Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey, and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, but her CV also included performances in Death On The Nile, Gosford Park, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, and The Lady In The Van – the adaptation of Alan Bennett’s memoirs.
She died aged 89, with the King and Queen leading tributes to a “national treasure”, remembering “her warmth and wit”.
Obituary: Shakespeare to Harry Potter – Dame Maggie garnered generations of fans
James Earl Jones was an acting great known for his distinctive voice – most famously as Star Wars villain Darth Vader and Mufasa in The Lion King.
He also appeared in Conan The Barbarian, played the father of Eddie Murphy’s character in Coming to America, starred in The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games, and was one of just a select group of entertainers who have won the quadruple EGOT prizes – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
He died aged 93 surrounded by family members, his agent said, with stars including Mark Hamill and Colman Domingo paying tribute.
“RIP dad,” posted Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, Vader’s son, in the Star Wars films.
Born in Texas, Kris Kristofferson was a country music legend who started his music career in the mid-1960s.
Despite being a singer himself, many of his songs were best known for their performances by others, including Ray Price’s US number one hit For the Good Times and Janis Joplin’s 1971 single Me And Bobby McGee.
In the mid-1980s he joined forces with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings to create the country supergroup The Highwaymen, releasing three albums before all four returned to their solo careers.
On the big screen, he won the 1976 Golden Globe Award for best actor after his performance in the romantic drama A Star Is Born opposite Barbra Streisand – itself a remake, which was later remade again starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
Tributes from music stars flooded in after his death at 88, with Dolly Parton saying: “I will always love you.”
Tito Jackson was an original member of The Jackson 5, who found fame with his siblings Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael – who went on to become a pop megastar and died in 2009.
He was the third of nine Jackson children in total, and played guitar and provided backing vocals in the group. Their hits in the 1970s included ABC, I Want You Back, Blame It On The Boogie, and I’ll Be There.
Tito was still touring with brothers Jackie and Marlon earlier this year and they played a festival in the UK in the weeks before his death at 70. His death was announced “with heavy hearts” by sons Taj, Taryll and TJ Jackson – who found fame themselves in the group 3T in the 1990s.
Other stars and notable figures who died in September 2024 include:
Trailblazing ballerina Michaela DePrince (pictured above)
Crazy P singer Danielle Moore
Former Coronation Street star Geoff Hinsliff
Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei
Tony-award winning star Gavin Creel
Dawson’s Creek star Obi Ndefo
Danger Mouse writer Brian Trueman
US rapper Rich Homie Quan
Terry Wogan’s wife, Lady Helen
Former Liverpool football captain Ron Yeats
Grammy-winning Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes
X Factor finalist Ben Thapa
US voice actor Peter Renaday – Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Karate Kid villain Chad McQueen
Thunderbirds and Peppa Pig actor David Graham
Crossroads and Paddington actress Cleo Sylvestre
October
Liam Payne rose to fame in One Direction, the boyband formed on X Factor in 2010. The group went on to become one of the most successful pop band’s of all time, achieving huge chart success and touring stadiums around the world with hits including What Makes You Beautiful, Story Of My Life, and Best Song Ever.
Payne had wanted to be a singer from a young age, and forged a career as a solo star after the group’s break-up. He signed a deal with Capitol Records, had hits including Strip That Down and Get Low, and worked with a range of high-profile artists.
His death at 31, after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, shocked the world. He left behind his son, Bear, with former partner Cheryl – who paid tribute alongside stars including his former bandmates and Simon Cowell.
“Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious,” said Harry Styles in his tribute. “He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.”
Obituary: One Direction made childhood dream a reality – but fame was never easy
Alex Salmond who led the Scottish National Party between 1990 and 2000 and then again between 2004 and 2014, and was a prominent figure in the country’s nationalist movement.
The second time around he used his mandate as first minister to hold a referendum on Scottish independence. However, the “Yes Scotland” campaign was defeated and he resigned as a result.
At the time of his death at 69 – which happened suddenly in North Macedonia, as he was attending a cultural diplomacy forum – he had been the leader of the nationalist Alba Party since 2021.
King Charles was among those paying tribute to a politician whose “devotion to Scotland drove his decades of public service”.
Read more: The shock of Salmond’s death is reverberating around UK politics
Cissy Houston was a two-time Grammy winner in her own right, who sang as back-up for artists including Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley.
She recorded more than 600 songs throughout her career, and her vocals can be heard on tracks by Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Jimi Hendrix, Luther Vandross, Beyonce, Paul Simon and Roberta Flack.
She was also the mother of the late Whitney Houston, one of music’s greatest ever vocalists.
Her daughter-in-law Pat Houston announced her death at 91, saying Cissy’s “more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts”.
Other stars and notable figures who died in October 2024 include:
Die Hard 2 and Roots star John Amos (pictured above)
Madonna’s brother – artist, dancer and designer Christopher Ciccone
Musician Nell Smith
DJ Jackmaster
Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno
Top Gun: Maverick instructor Charles Thomas Coleman
Baywatch star Michael Newman
Beechgrove Garden presenter Jim McColl
Tarzan and Doc Savage star Don Ely
Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh
Young Frankenstein and Tootsie star Terri Garr
November
Quincy Jones was a legendary music producer and composer who worked with stars from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson – with the historic Thriller album among his best-known credits of a career spanning more than 75 years.
Jones collected 28 Grammy award wins out of 80 nominations, and was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine. He also composed the soundtrack to the hit 1969 British film The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine, and oversaw the all-star recording of the 1985 charity record We Are The World.
His children include music producer Quincy Jones III and actress Rashida Jones, known for Parks And Recreation and the US version of The Office.
“Although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him,” his family said following his death at 91.
Obituary: The music legend stars desperately wanted to know
John Prescott was the longest-serving deputy prime minister in British history, serving in Neil Kinnock’s shadow cabinet before becoming Tony Blair’s deputy.
The son of a railway signalman and the grandson of a miner, he offered a fresh working-class perspective in stark contrast to Blair’s wealthy Oxbridge background – something the former prime minister himself has said undoubtedly contributed to Labour’s electoral success in that era.
He was a former trade union activist and ex-merchant seaman, who served as MP for Kingston upon Hull East for 40 years.
Paying tribute following his death at 86, Blair described Prescott as “one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics”, who could “talk in the bluntest and sometimes bluest language”.
Obituary: The pugnacious Labour stalwart who pulled no punches
Scottish comedian Janey Godley found viral fame with her dubbed imitations of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s COVID-19 news briefings during the pandemic.
After 15 years running a pub with her husband during the 1980s and 1990s, she had begun her stand-up career in 1994, going on to co-present BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends, as well as fronting BBC Radio 4 series The C Bomb.
She also appeared on shows including Have I Got News For You, the Scottish soap opera River City, and crime drama Traces.
Godley, who had cancer, died aged 63 a month after being moved to a hospice for end-of-life care, with Sturgeon describing as “a force of nature, and one of the funniest people I have ever known”.
Actor Timothy West was known for many performances in television and the theatre, including in popular soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
He was husband to Prunella Scales, who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, and the pair travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series, Great Canal Journeys.
In 1984, the actor was appointed CBE for his services to drama in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. He was also the winner of an RTS television award for his lead role in Churchill And The Generals, released in 1979, according to imdb.com. He actually played Winston Churchill three times during his career, including in The Last Bastion (1984) and in Hiroshima (1995).
He died peacefully aged 90 “after a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage”, his children said.
Other stars and notable figures who died in November 2024 include:
The Archers star June Spencer (pictured above as a young actress)
The Kinks and Who producer Shel Talmy
Irish comedian and Father Ted actor Jon Kenny
Supermodel Georgina Cooper
Hair stylist Trevor Sorbie
Former My Chemical Romance drummer Bob Bryar
Candyman star Tony Todd
December
Comedian Duncan Norvelle was famous for his “Chase me” catchphrase, and appeared on TV programmes such as Wogan and The Bob Monkhouse Show throughout his career.
He also hosted a pilot episode for a dating show that would later become Blind Date, hosted by Cilla Black.
Norvelle’s partmer, Lynn Trevallion, described him as “probably [the] last of the legends of true variety comedy”, following his death at 66.
Tommy Cannon, of comedy duo Cannon and Ball, also paid tribute to his friend, saying he had “fond memories working with him in summer season”.
Zakir Hussain was one of the greatest exponents of tabla music, a form of Indian drumming, and worked with artists including George Harrison and Van Morrison during a career in music spanning six decades.
His talent also won him four Grammys – the record for an Indian musician – including for best global music album, global music performance, and best contemporary instrumental album earlier in 2024.
In the 1990s he delved into Asian Underground music that fused Western music with Asian classics, but made sure to retain the prominence of the tabla. He has also made music for Bollywood and Hollywood films, including this year’s Monkey Man with Dev Patel, and acted in 1983’s Heat And Dust, a Merchant-Ivory production in which his character romanced Julie Christie.
He died at the age of 73, with his family saying he had left behind “an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an influence that will resonate for generations to come”.
Other stars and notable figures who died in December 2024 include:
Former England rugby player Tom Voyce (pictured above)
Music industry veteran Julian Spear
GB Paralympian Will Arnott
Topsy And Tim author Jean Adamson
Eminem’s mother Debbie Nelson
Princess Birgitta of Sweden
Disney influencer Dominique Brown
- This list is extensive but not exhaustive
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
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