This was the year we said goodbye to some big names.
From Hollywood legends to local TV icons, these were the biggest celebrity deaths of 2025.
Julian McMahon
The death of Australian actor McMahon at age 56 on July 2 shocked fans everywhere, his wife, Kelly, revealing he’d passed peacefully after a private cancer battle. Remembering her Charmed co-star, Alyssa Milano wrote on Instagram, “He walked into a room and lit it up – not just with charisma, but with kindness.”
Robert Redford
Hollywood lost a true legend with the passing of Oscar winner Redford on September 16. The 89-year-old died at home in Provo, Utah – “the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved”, his publicist, Cindi Berger, told The New York Times.
Tributes poured in for the actor, director and activist, whose Sundance Film Festival became instrumental for indie films. “His impact will endure for generations to come,” Leonardo DiCaprio reflected.
Michelle Trachtenberg
Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl star Trachtenberg was found unconscious in her New York apartment on February 26, the 39-year-old’s cause of death cited as diabetes complications.
“Michelle was one of a kind,” co-star Chace Crawford wrote. “She was a force of nature and just so so unapologetically funny.”
Virginia Giuffre
Jeffrey Epstein’s most public sexual abuse survivor, mum-of-three Giuffre, 41, took her life on April 25, six months before her tell-all memoir’s release.
Gene Hackman
On February 26, Hackman, 95, and wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead at home. It’s thought the actor died on February 18, a week after his wife.
Jane Goodall
Heaven gained another angel with the passing of the primatologist, 91, on October 1. She died in her sleep of cardiac arrest while on a speaking tour.
Giorgio Armani
Revolutionary Italian fashion designer Armani died at the age of 91 on September 4, leaving behind an enduring stylish legacy.
Ozzy Osbourne
Just 17 days after he took to the stage for his Back to the Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham, England, the Black Sabbath frontman passed away at home in Buckinghamshire on July 22, aged 76.
His death was ruled as cardiac arrest, while he also suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease. Remembered as a “true legend” by friend Elton John, he left behind wife of 43 years Sharon and six children.
Val Kilmer
After paring back acting due to throat cancer affecting his voice in 2015, Kilmer died from pneumonia on April 1, aged 65.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, his Batman Forever co-star Jim Carrey reflected, he left “an enviable legacy of indelible acting performances”.
Loretta Swit
The M*A*S*H star, best known as head nurse Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the Korean War-set medical comedy, passed away from natural causes aged 87 on May 30.
The show’s longest-serving cast member, alongside co-star Alan Alda, she appeared in all but 11 episodes of the award-winning series, which ran from 1972 to 1983. She was nominated for 10 Primetime Emmys and won two for her popular role, before going on to appear in TV series The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote and Diagnosis Murder, and films Whoops Apocalypse, S.O.B. and Forest Warrior.
Friend and co-star Alda remembered her as a “supremely talented actor”.
“She deserved all her 10 Emmy nominations and her two wins,” he wrote on X. “But more than acting her part, she created it.”
Diane Keaton
Oscar winner Keaton’s death from pneumonia on October 11, aged 79, came as a shock, even to many close to her, with a source telling People her health “declined very suddenly”.
Her Book Club co-star and friend Jane Fonda took to Instagram to pay tribute to the star, writing, “She was always a spark of life and light, constantly giggling at her own foibles, being limitlessly creative … Unique is what she was. And though she didn’t know it or wouldn’t admit it, man, she was a fine actress!”
Patricia Routledge
The Keeping Up Appearances star’s agent said she died “peacefully in her sleep” aged 96 on October 3, “surrounded by love”.
George Wendt
The Cheers star, 76, died in his sleep at home in Studio City, California, on May 20. Co-star Rhea Perlman called him “the sweetest, kindest man I ever met”, adding, “I’ll miss him more than words can say.”
Terence Stamp
Tributes flowed in after the actor’s death on August 17, aged 87.
Priscilla co-star Guy Pearce wrote on X, “You were a true inspiration, both in and out of heels.”
Emmie Milligan
Gogglebox Australia’s Silbery family matriarch died aged 96 on July 8. Granddaughter Isabelle thanked fans for “loving her as much as we did”.
Brian Wilson
After the Beach Boys musician died of respiratory arrest in Beverly Hills on June 11, aged 82, bandmate Al Jardine paid tribute to him as “a real musical intellect, who taught the world how to smile”.
Hulk Hogan
The pro wrestler died of a heart attack at home in Florida on July 24, aged 71.
US President Trump paid tribute on X, writing, “We lost a great friend … Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart.”
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Isiah Whitlock Jr., a respected character actor whose career spanned more than three decades, died Tuesday in New York at 71-years-old.
Whitlock was widely recognised for his work on acclaimed television series including The Wire, Veep, Your Honor, and The Residence, as well as for frequent collaborations with filmmaker Spike Lee.
His manager, Brian Liebman, confirmed the news to Deadline, saying the actor “died peacefully after battling a short illness.”
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