They may have more fame, money, and possessions than you or I, but celebrities go through loss and sadness just like the rest of us, and they have to mourn in front of the eye of the public.
Here is a list of some of our favorite stars who lost their loved ones way too soon.
Sofia Vergara
You would never imagine that the bubbly and hilarious Modern Family star has gone through such a tragic loss of a loved one.
But Vergara lost one of her closest family members way back in 1988 before she was a famous actress.
Kidnapping and Murder
It was back in 1988 that she experienced a shocking loss when her 27-year-old brother Rafael was kidnapped and murdered on the streets of Bogata.
Vergara often speaks about how she will always carry him with her through her successful journey.
Learn about other stars who have gone too soon:
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves may be one of the most successful actors of our generation and have a career most people dream of.
But his life has come with some of the most dreadful tragedies you can imagine.
Loss of His Daughter and Girlfriend
In 1998 he met Jennifer Syme. The two instantly fell in love and she fell pregnant with their daughter.
However, after eight months their child was stillborn. Reeves has been candid about this loss actually drove the two apart. 18 months later, Jennifer tragically died in a car accident.
Prince
He is my personal favorite singer of all time and one of the most talented musicians to live.
But Prince’s life was not devoid of tragedy by any means. Prince’s son, Boy Gregory, was born with Pfeiffer Syndrome and died one week after his birth in 1996.
Pretending All Was Well
In one of the strangest decisions he made, just weeks after his son died, Prince and his wife Mayte Garcia had Oprah over for an interview.
During the interview, they both put on smiles and pretended everything was alright even taking her on a tour of their late child’s nursery.
Chelsea Handler
Sometimes it's hard to grasp that even the funniest of actors have gone through life’s tragedies.
Take Chelsea Handler who lost her older brother Chet when she was only 9-years-old.
Hiking Accident
Chet Handler’s death was absolutely tragic. He fell off a cliff during a hiking trip in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1984.
Handler has spoken about the tragedy in detail and at one point wrote in her book, “he told me he’d come back, and he said he’d never leave me with these people, referring to my parents...and he was just going hiking and that I would always have him, and he never came back."
Joe Biden
Vice president Joe Biden went through the kind of trauma you don’t wish on your worst enemies.
Just as he had been elected to the US Senate at the age of 30, he lost both his wife and his baby daughter Naomi.
Tragic Car Accident
They were both killed in a car accident. His wife Nelia was driving with their three children when a tractor-trailer hit their car at full speed.
The two died instantly. Their sons Beau and Hunter survived with minor injuries, but as you can imagine life was never the same for the Biden household.
Pierce Brosnan
He may play James Bond on screen, but it’s in real life where Brosnan is the real superhero.
The actor tragically lost his wife of 17 years, Cassandra Harris, to ovarian cancer when he was 38. Brosnan not only raised their son, but he adopted both of her children from a previous marriage and raised them on his own.
The Heartbreak Continues
But the tragedies did not end there. Charlotte Harris also died of ovarian cancer at age 41.
Somehow throughout all this loss, Brosnan did not lose his warmth. He married Keely Shaye 10 years after his first wife’s death and had two more sons.
Michelle Williams
Actress Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger were together for three years from 2004 till 2007.
During that time, they had a daughter, Matilda. It was only five months after they split that Ledger tragically died due to a drug overdose.
How the Young Mum Handled It
As you can imagine, it was beyond difficult for the young mum and her daughter Matilda, to cope during that time.
Michelle recently spoke about how she keeps Heath in her and her daughter's heart stating, I never gave up on love. I always say to Matilda, ‘Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes.’
Lea Michelle
We are remembering Glee’s leading couple Lea Michele and Cory Monteith that took their high school romance from the screens to real life.
No one could have imagined the tragic end that would lead up to Cory’s sudden death.
She Broke the News to His Parents
These two were dating for two years when Monteith died of a heroin overdose in 2013.
She was the one that let his parents know about the tragic death. Since then Michelle has written a song about her lost love titles “If You Say So”.
Joaquin Phoenix
Actor Joaquin Phoenix is also amongst those who lost a family member early on in his life.
He lost his brother, the talented actor River Phoenix when he found him after he overdosed on speedball.
The 911 Call
River died at the young age of 21 and at only 17-years-old he was the one to find him and placed a frantic call to 911 which was played over repeatedly on TV and the radio.
Being famous, he was not granted the privacy to mourn in peace like anyone who goes through a loss wishes to have.
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone is another celebrity to suffer the loss of losing a child. In 2012 his 36-year-old son, Sage Stallone was found dead in his Los Angeles home.
His housekeeper was the one to find him after Stallone’s mother asked her to check on him since she was worried, she hadn’t heard from him.
No Drugs Involved
Despite the nasty rumors that went around about a drug overdose, the autopsy established beyond a doubt that the cause of death was a heart attack and no drugs were involved.
Stallone sent out a plea to the public following the harrowing news, "Because when a parent loses a child there is no greater pain," Stallone said. "Therefore, I am imploring people to respect my wonderfully talented son's memory and feel compassion for his loving mother”.
Courtney Love
It is widely known that Rockstar Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love had one tumultuous relationship.
Cobain was confused and depressed with the sudden fame he had when Courtney entered his life and according to many sources, she was the one that introduced him to heroin.
A Quick Romance and a Tragic suicide
The two had a whirlwind romance and got hitched months after meeting when Love was already pregnant with their daughter.
Tragic struck after two years of being together when Cobain committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in 1994 and joined the 27 club…Love never got over the loss.
Charlize Theron
It’s easy to look at the perfect faces of celebs and imagine nothing bad has ever happened to them, but this couldn’t be more false especially when it comes to South African actress Charlize Theron.
Theron’s father was an abusive alcoholic whose death was a result of her mother shot him in self-defense.
Opening Up
Opening up about this total tragedy of her youth, Theron told Howard Stern she had no idea how to react at the time.
“I just pretended like it didn’t happen. I didn’t tell anybody — I didn’t want to tell anybody. Whenever anybody asked me, I said my dad died in a car accident. Who wants to tell that story? Nobody wants to tell that story.”
Jennifer Hudson
It was on October 24th, 2008 that unthinkable tragedy struck the family of award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson.
The bodies of her mother and brother were found shot to death in the family’s home, days later her nephew’s body would be found in the back seat of an SUV parked on West Side.
Estranged Husband Found Guilty
Chicago police soon arrested Julia Hudson’s estranged husband, William Balfour for all three murders.
Following the violent tragedy, the Hudson family created the Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims whose aim is "to care for the needs of families who have lost relatives to a violent crime,"
Prince William and Prince Harry
One of the most infamous car accidents in the world occurred on the 31st of December 1997 in which Princess Diana lost her life.
While at first, it was the paparazzi who were blamed for the accident, the blame soon shifted to the driver, Henri Paul who lost control of the Mercedes due to being intoxicated and on prescription drugs.
Effects Felt Forever
At the time of her death, young Prince William and Prince Charles were both under the age of 15 and extremely impressionable.
Eleven years later, Prince William said, "'Not a day goes by when I don't think of Mummy."
Mike Tyson
Potentially one of the most devastating deaths on the list is the tragic accident that left Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter, Exodus Tyson dead.
Exodus Tyson died in hospital after she was found with her neck caught in the power cable of the treadmill.
Heartfelt Status
Last night he and his family said in a statement: 'We are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love and prayers from all over the world.
'There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Exodus.’
Nelly
Rapper Nelly has one big heart. He suffered a major loss when his sister Jackie Donahue passed away after suffering from Leukaemia in 2005.
His sister, Jackie Donahue and him were incredibly close, especially in their adult years. She even worked as his stylist until she had to stop working because of her illness.
Campaigner
Nelly was very close to her and it affected him greatly. But he decided to channel the loss into something positive.
Since then he became an active campaigner in the education of African Americans about the importance of bone marrow transplants.
John Travolta
John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston went through a parent’s nightmare when they lost their son Jett in 2009.
The 16-year-old died after suffering a seizure during a family trip in the Bahamas. He was taken to the hospital after he was found on the floor but was declared dead on arrival.
Worst Nightmare
John Travolta has described losing his teenage son Jett as the “worst thing that’s ever happened in my life”.
Jett was the eldest of the Travolta family. At only 2-years-old he was diagnosed with a heart condition and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Dr. Dre
In 2009, Dr. Dre’s also went through a traumatic loss when his 20-year-old son passed away from an overdose of heroin and morphine.
At the time of his son’s death, Dr. Dre issues a statement requesting from the public to give him and his family respect and privacy.
The Night it Happened
Andre R Young Jr. was discovered by his mother in his bed after a night out with his friends. "She found him unresponsive and called paramedics," Winter said.
Later Dr. Dre was alerted. He took a step out of the public eye for a short time to mourn the loss of his son.
Eric Clapton
One of the most tragic stories on the list is the story of Eric Clapton’s son. In 1991, tragedy struck when Clapton’s four-year-old son passed away.
Little Conor was running around the 53rd apartment in New York when he jumped on to the low window ledge where he would normally press his nose against and disappeared.
Fell to His Death
The four-year-old tragically fell to his death on that day. Clapton wrote his chart-topping hit Tears in Heaven in response to the devastating accident.
Clapton once described his son as “the one thing in my life that good could come out of.”
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow experienced some serious tragedies, Three of her ten adopted children suffered tragic deaths.
Her adopted daughter Tam died from heart failure at 19, her daughter Lark died at age 3 from AIDS-related complications and her son Thaddaeus took his own life.
Brother Speaks Out
Moses, another son of Mia who is estranged, spoke out on Tam’s death and claimed that it was not a heart-failure, but a suicide.
He stated, ‘One afternoon in 2000, after one final fight with Mia, which ended with my mother leaving the house, Tam committed suicide by overdosing on pills.'
Loretta Lynn
Country music superstar Loretta Lynn experienced severe loss when she lost her 34-year-old son and her favorite among her six children, Jack Benny Lynn.
It all happened when Jack Benny Lynn mounted his horse and went off riding into the hills and never returned.
Her Favorite
She always had a special bond with her son. Her daughter Patsy confirms her mom’s special feelings for Jack. “They were very close,” she says. “It was probably because he took after my dad.”
Following his death, reports were that the singer was absolutely in pieces and it took her a very long time before she even began to feel normal again.
Vince Neil
Motley Crue’s frontman Neil’s daughter, Skylar, passed away from cancer when she was only 4 years old in 1995.
It was then that Vince Neil threw himself into a self-destructive path that was worse than anything he had experienced previously.
Destructive Coping Methods
In the months that followed the tragic death of his daughter, he found himself in a very dark place. He was suicidal, depressed, and hiding behind alcohol and drugs.
Finally, after years, he began to face his demons and find better ways of dealing with the loss. “It occurred to me that maybe I really did need a better way to work through my emotions,” he said. “There was a lot of grief inside me, though it didn’t really occur to me then … it would be years before I would realize the toll of a lifetime of strife.”
Robert Plant
Robert Plant, a member of Led Zeppelin, lost his son when he died of a severe stomach infection while he was on tour.
It was in 1977 when it happened. Shortly after the singer went on to write ‘All My Love’ in his late son’s honor.
Speaking About His Loss
Years later when asked about how he coped with the loss of his son he stated, “Well it wasn’t easy, in the light of the fact that there’s the whole hysteria that surrounded (Led Zeppelin in) the mid to late seventies. It was anything but conducive to normal family life”
But he continues stating how the pulled through, “we pulled tight together and both my wife and I, we had strong families. And good support, I mean, John Bonham from Zeppelin and his wife Pat, they were magnificent with us and helped us a lot”.
Paul Newman
Paul Newman is also one of the people on the list that had to go through the devastation of losing a child.
It was in 1978 when Allan Scott Newman, at 28-years-old, was found in a room in West Los Angeles dead after an accidental overdose of tranquilizer and alcohol.
What Lead Up to His Death
It all came after he had an accident on his motorbike and was put on painkillers for the damage caused in the accident.
Paul Newman, who was never a fan of being in the spotlight and hated that aspect of being an actor, struggled to cope with the publicity of his son's death.
Roy Orbison
Singer, songwriter, and musician Roy Orbison went through tragedy after tragedy during his lifetime including deaths of several loved ones.
It started off in 1966 when his wife Claudette, was killed in a motorcycle accident.
More Tragedy Followed
Just two years later in 1969 two of his sons died in a tragic house fire when his Hendersonville house burned down.
Following this trauma, Orbison stopped writing music for a while as he tried to process the loss. But months later, he recorded an album that addressed the trauma which was lost for years until it was discovered by his sons after his death.
Elizabeth Taylor
When producer Mike Todd married actress Elisabeth Taylor, it was not only the third marriage for both but it was also the only marriage that didn’t end in divorce.
Rather it ended much more tragically when Todd died in a plane crash only a year after they married.
Her One True Love
Taylor had originally planned to go with her husband on that fateful flight but changed her mind last minute when she caught a cold.
Taylor mourned the loss tremendously. Although many stated that their marriage was very tempestuous, later in life the actress stated, "I was happiest with Mike Todd.”
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando and his daughter, Cheyenne had one tumultuous relationship. While growing up. The actor did not allow her nor her brother to leave Teihotu and visit him in the USA stating it would be too dangerous for them.
It is said that as a daughter she loved her father and boasted about him, but her feelings changed drastically as a teenager. In an interview, she stated, "I have come to despise my father for the way he ignored me when I was a child. He came to the island maybe once a year but really didn't seem to care whether he saw me or not. He wanted us but he didn't want us."
Her Dark Path
Cheyenne was a model for some time until she was seriously injured in a car accident which forced her to end her modeling career.
It started her on a destructive path which ended in Cheyenne hanging herself at her mother's house. her father did not even attend her funeral.
Jackie Kennedy
Jackie Kennedy and JFK made the ultimate golden couple. They were married for ten years through the pinnacle of his career.
However, all was not that dandy behind closed doors. The two had their own separate rooms and JFK had several affairs during their marriage.
Tragic Death
Whether their marriage was perfect or not, Jackie experienced serious loss when the 35th president was shot and killed right next to her while they rode in a motorcade in Dallas in 1963.
Jackie reacted like a superwoman despite her despair. Hours after her husband was assassinated many urged her to wipe the blood stains off her face and legs and her Chanel suit. But she refused, stating, “I want them to see what they’ve done”.
Bill Cosby
It is hard to feel pity for Bill Cosby, but he went through loss when in 1997 Cosby’s son Ennis was struck down when he was changing a tire on the side of the road.
His friend was following him in her car when she saw the armed man attacking him. When she reached him, she found Ennis Cosby had already passed away.
Cosby’s Downfall
It was far from the hardest thing he would go through. Years later, Cosby went from the ideal image of ‘America’s Dad’, to a serial rapist who took advantage of his position.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being charged with sexual assault when dozens of women accused him of sexual assault.
Dylan McDermott
Dylan McDermott experienced tragedy at way too young of an age when he was just 5 years old his mother passed away.
Her boyfriend, John Sponza was charged in relation to her death, but claimed she shot her self accidentally while she was trying to clean your gun.
Case Re-opened
Although the case was considered closed, it was reopened a couple of years ago by police in Connecticut who determined that it was, in fact, her boyfriend who murdered her.
