The 10 Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of the Past 5 Years!
Published on January 7, 2014. Updated April 1, 2017Some celebrity deaths are just so shocking that, despite not knowing these individuals personally, many of us go into mourning! To commemorate all of the amazing talent that we have lost, we have created a list of 10 of the most shocking celebrity deaths in the last 5 years. Which was the saddest for you?
10. Cory Monteith
Death: July 2013
Cory Monteith’s death this past summer was especially shocking. He was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver with two empty bottles of champagne and “a spoon with drug residue and a used hypodermic needle.” Monteith’s official cause of death was listed as “mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol.” The coroner suggested that Monteith’s tolerance for heroin may have been lower than usual because he had stopped using it after a rehab stint last April.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com9. Corey Haim
Death: March 2010
Corey Haim, an ’80s teen idol, succumbed to a combination of pneumonia and a bad heart a few years ago. Before his death, Haim had been in bed with a fever and a cough. Although eight drugs were found in his system, including marijuana and cold medication, they did not play a role in his death. Corey was 38 when he died.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com8. Whitney Houston
Death: February 2012
Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her hotel room on the eve of the Grammy Awards almost two years ago. According to the coroner’s report, Houston died from accidental drowning, cocaine overdose and coronary artery disease. The six-time Grammy winner was only 48 years old at the time of her death.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com7. James Gandolfini
Death: June, 2013
James Gandolfini made his way onto television screens all over the world as he played American Mafia crime boss Tony Soprano on the hit show The Sopranos and his untimely death in June of 2013 left fans devastated. The renowned actor was in Italy on June 19, 2013 enjoying vacation time in Rome with his family. After a day of sightseeing in hot temperatures, it was Gandolfini’s 13-year-old son who found him unconscious on the bathroom floor of their hotel room. The cause of death was a heart attack.
Phil Stafford / Shutterstock.com6. Natasha Richardson
Death: March 2009
Natasha Richardson was on a ski vacation at Mont Tremblant Resort when she sustained a head injury during a ski lesson. The actress refused to be taken to a hospital twice, only to go to a hospital a few hours later, complaining about a headache. Richardson died the next day from blunt trauma to the head caused by massive internal bleeding in the brain. Doctors say it could have been prevented if Richardson had gone to the hospital immediately after her fall.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com5. Michael Jackson
Death: June 2009
Michael Jackson died from a fatal combination of prescription drugs. At the time of his death, Jackson had been scheduled to begin a series of comeback concerts. His death was ruled a homicide and Conrad Murray, the doctor who had administered the drugs, was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.
landmarkmedia / Shutterstock.com4. Brittany Murphy
Death: December 2009
Brittany Murphy suddenly died suddenly at the age of 32 in her home. According to the coroner’s report, Murphy died from multiple drug intoxication, pneumonia and iron deficiency anemia. The death was ruled as accidental but, sadly, it could have been avoided if Murphy had seen a doctor.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com3. Amy Winehouse
Death: July 2011
Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London in July of 2011. She had been fighting a very public battle with drugs and alcohol for years and, after a period of sobriety, she died from accidental alcohol poisoning after she had resumed drinking again. Winehouse had shot to fame in 2006 with her album “Back to Black,” which won five Grammys. Winehouse was only 27 at the time of her death.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com2. Heath Ledger
Death: January 2008
Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs that included painkillers and sedatives. Ledger was only 28 years old and was considered to be one of the most promising young actors of his generation. Before his death, Heath had already been nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in “Brokeback Mountain.” Since his death, Ledger won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as The Joker in “The Dark Knight.”
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com1. Paul Walker
Death: November 2013
Paul Walker – star of the action packed “Fast and the Furious” franchise – met his untimely end in a fiery car crash in November of 2013. Walker’s friend had been driving the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, which had been traveling at 100+ mph, when the car hit a light pole and tree. The impact was so powerful the car spun 180 degrees then smashed into a tree and burst into flames. Walker’s cause of death was ruled as “the combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries.”
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com