Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE WORLD LOST some of its most famous names in 2025. We’ve already looked back at the Irish people who have died, so now it’s time to look at the rest of the world.
From well-known movie stars, to politicians and musicians, to activists and even a Pope, here are some of the well-known people who died this year.
Jean-Marie Le Pen died aged 96 on 7 January. He co-founded the National Front, a far-right, anti-immigration and Eurosceptic party, in 1972; the party was rebranded later as the National Rally, and is now led by Le Pen’s daughter, Marine Le Pen.
Hollyoaks actor Paul Danan died at the age of 46 on 15 January. The star of the Channel 4 soap played bad boy Sol Patrick from 1997 to 2001, and was later known for his reality TV appearances.
On 16 January, trailblazing director and artist David Lynch died aged 78. The four-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker was known for highly-regarded feature films including behind Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Wild at Heart and The Elephant Man, as well as the Showtime drama Twin Peaks.
Manchester United and Scotland legend Denis Law died aged 84 on 17 January. He won two league titles with United and was a member of their European Cup-winning side under Sir Matt Busby in 1968.
On 21 January, British guitarist John Sykes – who played with Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake – died aged 65. He became lead guitarist with Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, alongside Scott Gorham, in the 1980s and performed on the Thunder And Lightning album.
Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull died at the age of 78 on 30 January. Her hits included As Tears Go By and she acted in films including The Girl on a Motorcycle, as well as theatre productions.
Aga Khan, Imam of the Ismaili Muslims and a notable supporter of Irish racing, died aged 88 on 4 February. He was a notable supporter of Irish racing and one of the driving forces behind the redevelopment of the Curragh, and gave his name to the Aga Khan Trophy, a renowned event on the Irish showjumping calendar.
Grammy-winning US singer Roberta Flack died aged 88 on 24 February. The soul and R&B icon was best known for songs including The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song.
Michelle Trachtenberg, the actress best known for roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, died on 26 February at the age of 39. She played Buffy’s younger sister Dawn Summers in the former show, and socialite Georgina Sparks in the latter.
On 27 February, the death of legendary US actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa was announced. Their bodies were found at their home in New Mexico at least a week after their deaths, though both are believed to have died of natural causes.
Hackman won Oscars for his roles in the French Connection and Unforgiven, earning three more nominations during a five-decade career in which he appeared in more than 80 films.
On 4 March, KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky died in his UK home at the age of 86. Code-named Hetman, Gordievsky was one of the most important spies in Britain during the Cold War.
In the early 1980s, he was able to warn the West that fears among the paranoid Soviet leadership of a surprise Nato nuclear attack had brought the two sides perilously close to war, prompting US President Ronald Reagan to dial down his anti-USSR rhetoric.
US boxing legend George Foreman passed away on 21 March at the age of 76.
He was two-time world heavyweight champion in a boxing career that spanned over two decades, before he hung up his gloves and saw success as an entrepreneur with his George Foreman Grill line.
In 1974, he fought and lost to Muhammad Ali in the infamous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ bout held in the African nation then known as Zaire.
On 29 March, American actor Richard Chamberlain died in Hawaii aged 90.
He rose to fame in the 1960s when he played the titular character in show Dr Kildare. He featured in the miniseries Shōgun and The Thorn Birds, and starred in a number of films, including 1985 film King Solomon’s Mines with Sharon Stone.
He was also known for his role in the miniseries The Bourne Identity and film The Three Musketeers.
Hollywood legend Val Kilmer passed away at the age of 65 on 1 April.
Originally a stage actor, Kilmer got his start on the big screen with Cold War spoof Top Secret! in 1984. But he shot to fame for playing the competitive naval aviator Tom “Iceman” Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 mega box-office hit Top Gun.
A versatile actor whose career spanned decades, he also got a shot at leading man roles in Oliver Stone’s The Doors, the masked Gotham vigilante in Batman Forever, while he had further appearances as the gunslinger Doc Holliday in Tombstone and master thief Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 thriller Heat.
On 6 April, Blondie drummer Clem Burke died aged 70 after a cancer diagnosis.
Born in New Jersey in the US, Burke featured on all of the Debbie Harry-fronted band’s studio albums from 1978 to 2017, while he also performed with Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, and Joan Jett.
Former Croatian soccer international Nikola Pokrivac was killed in a car accident at the age of 39 on 18 April.
He was capped by his country 15 times and a member of the squad that reached the Euro 2008 quarter-finals, and achieved the Croatian domestic double three times with Dinamo Zagreb. He won the 2010 Austrian title with RB Salzburg.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, 21 April.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he became pope in 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and was the first pontiff to adopt the papal name Francis.
He visited Ireland in August 2018 as part of the World Meeting of Families, where he said mass in the Phoenix Park and asked forgiveness for “abuses in Ireland, abuses of power, conscience and sexual abuses” perpetrated by Church leaders.
Virginia Giuffre, an outspoken survivor of abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein who settled a sexual assault lawsuit against the UK’s Prince Andrew, died aged 41 on 26 April.
She alleged that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to then-prince Andrew when she was 17, a claim which the British royal has denied.
She came forward publicly after the initial investigation ended in an 18-month Florida jail term for Epstein, who made a secret deal and was released in 2009.
Former South African rugby player Cornal Hendricks died of a heart attack at the age of 37 on 14 May.
He made his Test debut in 2014 and was capped 12 times for the Springboks, scoring five tries, and had a prolonged stint at the Bulls from 2018 to 2023 despite being diagnosed with a heart condition.
George Wendt, the American actor who played the affable, beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit 1980s TV comedy Cheers, died on 20 May aged 76.
He earned six straight Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from 1984 to 1989 for his role on Cheers, and later crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in Art, Hairspray and Elf.
Former Premier League referee Uriah Rennie died at the age of 65 on 7 June. The Jamaica-born official was the first black referee in the Premier League. He grew up in Sheffield and oversaw more than 300 top-flight matches.
On 9 June, The Day of The Jackal author Fredrick Forsyth died aged 86. The former RAF pilot and investigative journalist-turned-novelist was known for writing thrilling crime books including The Fox, The Kill List, and The Afghan.
Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys and a pop songwriting legend, died at the age of 82 on the same date.
He was the eldest and last surviving of the three musical brothers who made up the American rock band The Beach Boys, alongside their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.
In the group, whose hits included God Only Knows, California Girls, Surfin’ USA and Good Vibrations, Wilson played bass while his brother Dennis was the drummer and Carl played lead guitar.
TV star Kim Woodburn, who rose to fame presenting How Clean Is Your House?, died at the age of 83 on 16 June. She presented the show along with her sidekick Aggie Mackenzie, and the pair would visit dirty homes and proceed to clean them, sharing tips as they went.
Former Celtic defender John Clark, part of the club’s European Cup winning team in 1967, died aged 84 on 23 June. He made over 300 appearances for the club following his debut in 1959, spent over 40 years there as player, coach, assistant manager and kit man.
Actor Julian McMahon, known for his roles in Charmed and Nip/Tuck, died aged 56 on 2 July.
He was known for playing Doctor Doom in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and Jess LaCroix in FBI: Most Wanted. He played the role of Cole Turner in drama series Charmed, which ran from 1998 to 2006.
Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota died in a car accident in Spain, alongside his brother, at the age of 28 on 3 July.
He had just won the Premier League title with his club in May, and was married the week before his death.
He also made 49 appearances for the Portuguese national team, and was due to be part of the Portugal side that faced Ireland in World Cup qualifying this autumn.
On the same date, actor Michael Madsen died aged 67. He starred in a number of Quentin Tarantino films, including Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, the Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as well as in Donnie Brasco, Thelma and Louise, Die Another Day, Money for Nothing and Sin City.
Connie Francis, a wholesome pop star of the 1950s and 1960s whose hits include Pretty Little Baby, died on 16 July aged 87.
Able to appeal to both young people and adults, she had more than a dozen top 20 hits, starting with Who’s Sorry Now? and including the Number one songs Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You and The Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own.
Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 39km leap through the stratosphere, died at the age of 56 on 17 July.
He stunned the world in 2012 when he became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body, as part of the Red Bull Stratos team.
Singer Ozzy Osbourne died at the age of 76 on 22 July, just weeks after his band Black Sabbath performed a giant farewell tour at Villa Park in Birmingham.
As frontman of Black Sabbath, he was at the forefront of the heavy metal scene – a deeper, darker offshoot of hard rock. His theatrical stage presence, including once biting off the head of a bat, and styling himself as the Prince of Darkness marked him out as a controversial figure.
Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan died aged 71 on 24 July.
The American, whose given name was Terry Bollea, was perhaps the most famous wrestler in the United States across several decades. He was the best-known performer as part of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) before he left the organisation in the mid-90s to focus on TV and film work.
On 5 August, Portuguese footballer Jorge Costa died at the age of 53 after suffering cardiac arrest at Porto’s training ground. He had captained the club to Champions League glory in 2004 under Jose Mourinho.
Jim Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed Moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, died aged 97 on 7 August.
One of Nasa’s most travelled astronauts in the agency’s first decade, he flew four times — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 — with the two Apollo flights riveting audiences back on Earth.
British actor Terence Stamp passed away at the age of 87 on 17 August.
From Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Theorem to George Lucas’s Star Wars, the sixties icon captivated audiences in both arthouse films and Hollywood with his magnetic presence, making more than 60 films during his genre-spanning career.
On 23 August, actor Jerry Adler died aged 96. He spent decadres behind the scenes of storied Broadway productions before pivoting to acting in his 60s.
His credits included The Sopranos, on which he played Tony Soprano’s adviser, Hesh Rabkin, across all six seasons, and The Good Wife, where he played law partner Howard Lyman.
Shane Christie, a former Maori All Blacks player known for campaigning for concussion awareness, died at the age of 39 on 27 August.
He became a campaigner after retiring from the game in 2017, when he reportedly suffered from headaches, memory lapses, speech problems, depression and mood swings consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani died at the age of 91 on 4 September.
Synonymous with modern Italian style and elegance, Armani combined the flair of the designer with the acumen of a businessman, after he founded Armani in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels.
Charlie Kirk, the conservative American commentator and prominent MAGA activist, was assassinated at a college campus in Utah on 10 September. He was 31 when he was killed.
The father-of-two used his evangelical Christian faith as a prominent feature of his politics, and gained attention for debating college students on politics at universities.
On 14 September, former boxer Ricky Hatton died aged 46. During his career, he won world titles at light-welterweight and welterweight and his all-action style made him one of the most popular fighters in the first decade of the 21st century.
Hollywood icon Robert Redford died at the age of 89 on 16 September. One of the biggest film stars of the 1970s, he was best known for his roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and All the President’s Men.
In a career that spanned more than six decades, he won numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes and a BAFTA. He went on to produce and direct several feature films, and became synonymous with independent cinema after founding the Sundance Film Festival.
Matt Beard, the women’s football coach who led Liverpool to back-to-back Women’s Super League titles last decade, died aged 47 on 20 September.
He had two spells as manager of the Reds and most recently left the club in February this year. He was appointed Burnley boss in June but resigned in August, and also had spells with the Boston Breakers in the United States, West Ham and Bristol City.
Former test cricket umpire Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird died at the age of 92 on 22 September. He was one of the most prominent umpires of his era and officiated in 66 Test matches and 69 One Day Internationals, including three World Cup finals.
Jilly Cooper, the best-selling British author died at the age of 88 on 5 October.
She was best known for her ‘bonkbuster’ romance novels The Rutshire Chronicles, which were mostly set around equestrians in the English countryside. The first in the series, Riders, was published in 1985.
There are 11 books in the series, the last of which was published in 2023, while the second novel of the series, Rivals was adapted into a television series on Disney+.
Actress Diane Keaton died at the age of 79 on 11 October. She was one of the best-known and loved stars in Hollywood with an acting career that spanned stage and screen.
In 1977, she won an Academy Award for her role in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. She was also the recipient of two Golden Globes, a BAFTA, two Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
He filmography included cult classic films like The Godfather film series, Father of the Bride, Something’s Gotta Give, and The First Wives Club.
On 14 October, R&B singer D’Angelo died at the age of 51. The singer, whose real name was Michael Eugene Archer, blended hip-hop grit, emphatic soul and gospel-rooted emotion into a sound that helped spearhead the neo-soul movement of the 1990s.
Hie 1995 album earned him multiple Grammy nominations and cemented him as one of R&B’s most original new voices.
Prunella Scales, the actress who was best known for her role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, died at the age of 93 on 27 October.
Her Fawlty Towers character was the long-suffering wife of Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, in a show that won the Bafta for best scripted comedy in 1976.
She also played the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett’s A Question of Attribution and, in 1973, Scales teamed up with Ronnie Barker in the series Seven Of One, also for the BBC.
Former US vice president Dick Cheney died aged 84 on 3 November. The veteran politician, who also served as a congressman for Wyoming and held senior roles in Republican administrations, was vice president to George W. Bush during the 2000s.
Marshawn Kneeland, a defensive end with NFL side the Dallas Cowboys, died at the age of 24 on 6 November. He had played in seven of the Cowboys’ games this season.
Actress Pauline Collins, who starred in Shirley Valentine, died aged 85 on 5 November. Her role in the 1989 film, playing the lead character of the bored Liverpudlian housewife, earned her an Oscar nomination.
James D Watson, whose co-discovery of the twisted-ladder structure of DNA in 1953, died at the age of 97 on 6 November.
He shared a 1962 Nobel Prize with British scientist Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a double helix.
Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson died at the age of 68 on 8 November. He was one of the first hosts on the hit BBC motoring show, alongside Jeremy Clarkson, before he went on to front Fifth Gear.
Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, best known as the bassist in the Stone Roses and Primal Scream, died aged 63 on 20 November. Though he was born in Manchester, his mother came from Athy, Co Kildare.
Reggae pioneer, singer and actor Jimmy Cliff died at the age of 81 on 24 November.
Known for classics such as You Can Get It If You Really Want, Wonderful World, Beautiful People and The Harder They Come, he was one of the first singers to bring reggae from Jamaica to a global audience.
Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major champion who once sparked a firestorm with a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, died at the age of 74 on 27 November.
He remains the last man to win the Masters in his first attempt, triumphing at Augusta National in a three-way playoff in 1979.
Oscar-winning playwright Tom Stoppard died at the age of 88 on 29 November. He wrote the screenplay for 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, for which he won an Academy Award.
He was also behind the screenplays for 2012 film Anna Karenina, which starred Kiera Knightley, and Brazil.
Canada-born US architect Frank Gehry died aged 96 on 5 December. The biggest of the so-called “starchitects”, his daring and whimsical designs includedthe Guggenheim Bilbao to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Texas billionaire Tom Hicks, a former co-owner of Liverpool Football Club, died aged 79 on 6 December. The 79-year-old philanthropist also owned the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars from 1995 to 2011 and baseball’s Texas Rangers from 1998 to 2010.
Sophie Kinsella, the bestselling author of the Shopaholic series, died at the age of 55 on 10 January. Her 2000 novel The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic was adapted into film Confessions of a Shopaholic in 2009, starring Isla Fisher.
Hollywood director Rob Reiner, who was 78, was killed alongside his wife Michele on 15 December.
One of the most significant figures in the history of film and television, his smash hit filmography included This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, Stand By Me and Misery.
On 22 December, James Ransone, the actor best known for his role as Ziggy Sobotka in the acclaimed HBO series The Wire, died at the age of 46.
A character actor who often played men with troubled pasts, he went on to work repeatedly with The Wire’s creator David Simon, including a prominent role as Marine Corporal Josh Ray Person in the 2008 HBO miniseries Generation Kill, alongside Alexander Skarsgard.
French film icon Brigitte Bardot died aged 91 on 28 December.
She became a global star after appearing in And God created Woman in 1956, and went on to appear in about 50 more movies before giving up acting in 1973.
In the decades afterwards, she devoted herself to fighting for animals but was also a divisive figure who alienated many fans with her political views, gaining five convictions for hate speech, mostly about Muslims.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say