It’s easy to forget that celebrities are ordinary people just like you and me, more so because they often fight their personal battles behind closed doors away from the limelight. Death is an awful experience in general but the loss of a loved figure can hit fans hard, especially when it seems to come out of the blue. Here are a few shocking celebrity deaths that sent the whole world into mourning.
David Bowie
The whole world was shocked when David Bowie passed away aged 69 after a secret battle with liver cancer. Only his close inner circle were aware of the singer’s illness, despite the fact he was diagnosed 18 months prior to his death. Bowie was still active in the music industry right up until his death, which occurred just two days after the release of his album Blackstar. This made his passing all the more surprising to his fans, who were left devastated when the news broke on 10 January 2016. Rather than splashing the cash on an extravagant funeral, ever-humble Bowie opted for a no frills cremation without a service and asked for his ashes to be scattered in Bali, Indonesia. This inspired many people to consider private cremations, with companies such as Beyond catering for the demand in no fuss funeral options.
Chester Bennington
Music fans were left heartbroken when rumours of Chester Bennington’s death were confirmed by fellow band member Mike Shinoda. The 41-year-old Linkin Park frontman had discussed his battle with depression and drugs in both his music and interviews. He managed to quit drinking alcohol in 2011 and used his music as a way of bravely expressing his emotions. Although he made his battle public, fans were shocked to learn of the singer’s death and even his family told CNN that he has seemed happy on the day of his death. The music industry banded together to celebrate Chester’s life, putting on various shows and tributes to give him the send off he deserved.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse was a prominent figure in British music thanks to her unique voice and image. She quickly rose to fame and became a global star with the release of her debut album, Frank. However, this may have been the worst thing to happen to Amy; The Huffington Post called her the ‘reluctant celebrity’ and many people believed that the pressure of fame caused her to get involved with a bad crowd. This led to her abusing alcohol and relying on drugs to cope, tragically resulting in her death at just 27 in 2011. Amy’s cause of death was listed as alcohol poisoning and she was more than five times the legal drink-drive limit at the time. Although her use of drugs was public knowledge, the world was shocked to see such a talented artist’s health decline so quickly.
Steve Irwin
People of all ages adored animal expert Steve Irwin – the man also known as The Crocodile Hunter. The whole world went into mourning when the Aussie was pronounced dead after a stingray’s barb pierced his heart. Steve had been filming a documentary with underwater cameraman Justin Lyons when the stingray went into defence mode, causing the fatal wound in a matter of moments. His death was particularly shocking as he had safely handled many dangerous animals, yet it was the normally calm stingray who proved to be fatal. The animal lover was buried in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo according to The BBC.
