The lives of celebrities can seem charmed, but even members of the A-listers’ world
have likely suffered their share of heartbreak. While most of us have grieved the loss of
someone we held dear, there's a particular tragedy in losing a loved one at the hand
of someone else.
Iconic comedy actor Kelsey Grammer is best known for his turn as Frasier Crane. But perhaps
that brilliant sense of humor evolved out of the devastating losses he suffered in his
past.
Grammer's parents divorced when he was a boy, and he was just barely a teen when his father,
Frank — then living with his second wife — was murdered outside of his home. Frank
heard a noise outside his house and went out to take a look. When he did, he found a man,
later identified as Arthur B. Niles, setting fire to his car. Niles then shot Frank twice,
killing him. Niles was later apprehended but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Five years later, when Grammer was 20, his 18-year-old sister Karen was abducted and
murdered by serial killer Freddie Glenn. He and his two accomplices were eventually captured,
and Glenn was sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison. But the tragedy in Grammer's
life didn't end there. Five years after Karen's death, Grammer's two half-brothers, Billy
and Stephen, died in a scuba accident when one failed to resurface and the other died
of an air embolism after going back down to look for him.
"Do you ever get over it?" "Uh…no."
The 1990s Chicago Bulls were legendary, and center stage in that franchise was Michael
Jordan, one of the greatest to have ever played the game. People still talk about the amazing
circumstances behind the team's rise to fame, as featured in the Netflix miniseries "The
Last Dance."
But one part of the story doesn't get as much press. Around July 23, 1993, Michael's father,
James Jordan, suddenly went missing, according to The New York Times. It wasn't until the
following month that he was finally found. First, his red Lexus was discovered in North
Carolina. Not long after, authorities located his body, 60 miles away. The death shocked
Michael and directly led to his first NBA retirement two months later.
According to authorities, James had parked his car alongside a highway while traveling
through North Carolina to take a nap. Two men, Daniel Green and Larry Demery, found
him still asleep and intended to tie him up and steal the car. But a turn of events left
James shot and killed. While the official story is that the incident was a carjacking
gone wrong, there are numerous conspiracy theories, including that the killing was related
to Michael's excessive gambling debts.
"He's the voice of reason that always drove and challenged me. That's the type of father
I had." "Like a friend?" "Yeah, like a friend."
Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson's career was just beginning in 2008. She had just released
her debut album, a huge hit despite her loss on "American Idol" a few years prior. And
with an Oscar win for her role in "Dreamgirls," she had nowhere to go but up.
But on October 24, 2008, Hudson received a tremendous personal blow when her mother,
Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson, were found shot to death in their Chicago
home, according to ThoughtCo. Her sister Julia's son, seven-year-old Julian King, was also
missing and presumed kidnapped. Police found his body three days later. He had also been
shot. Chicago police arrested Julia's estranged husband, William Balfour, for the crimes and
found that he had previously threatened to kill Julia's family, multiple times.
Balfour was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Meanwhile, Jennifer ceased
all public appearances until the following year. She and her sister Julia also started
the Hudson-King Foundation for the Families of Slain Victims, a charity to support the
families of those who had been murdered. Jennifer eventually returned to her career, putting
out two more successful albums and continuing to garner awards for her performances in music
and acting — but the losses remain deeply woven into her story.
"It literally, just…takes a part of you."
Venus and Serena Williams are household names due to their legendary talents on the court.
But they also have several other siblings who aren't quite so famous. The oldest of
these was the duo's half-sister, Yetunde Price, who was also raised in Los Angeles.
Sadly, L.A. has a history of gang violence, especially in the suburb of Compton. On September
14, 2003, Price and her boyfriend, Rolland Wormley, parked outside of a local drug house
and caught the attention of two members of the Southside Crips: Robert Edward Maxfield
and Aaron Michael Hammer. Maxfield fired a gun at the parked vehicle.
Wormley quickly drove off, not knowing that Price had been struck in the back of the head
by one of the rounds. He stopped at a nearby relative's house to call 911, but it was too
late. Price was declared dead at the hospital. Initially, there were rumors that the two
had stopped to buy drugs, but this was later found to be incorrect. They were innocent
victims the Crips mistook for members of a rival gang.
"It's not easy, but the best part of it all is we have memories."
Starting his career as a music store employee, moving up to radio DJ, and finally transforming
into a rap superstar, DJ Khaled has truly worked his way up the ladder in the music
industry.
But on his rise to the top, Khaled and his family have encountered devastating tragedy.
Just months before Khaled married his wife, Nicole Tuck, her brother Jonathan was murdered
during a break-in at a Bronx apartment on February 4, 2018, according to Vibe. While
initial reports claimed that the apartment was the home of a drug dealer and that Tuck
had been there buying drugs, this has been called into question, with later reports saying
he was just visiting to watch the Super Bowl.
Regardless, during the game, a man named Richard Jimenez burst in and attempted to rob the
apartment owner. Reportedly, Jimenez intended to strike Tuck with the butt of his gun, but
the weapon went off by mistake, killing Tuck. A year later, Nicole Tuck later wrote a letter
to the federal judge overseeing the case asking for the harshest sentence possible, according
to People. Jimenez was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime.
Reality TV star and brief presidential assistant Omarosa is known for her shrewdness and aggressive
approach to business. But long before her reality TV savvy would make her a household
name, Omarosa would have to navigate a different type of territory.
Her father, Jack, was murdered in 1981, when Omarosa was only seven. While exact details
haven't been made public, 40 years later, Omarosa has spoken about her father's death
and its deep impact on her life, crediting the early trauma with her own personal growth
in spite of the hardship.
But tragedy would hit her family, again, decades later. In 2011, her brother, Jack — who
was named after their father — was murdered as he slept, according to Radar Online. He
had recently begun dating a woman and was staying with her when the two were attacked
by her ex-boyfriend, Marco Cardenas, who shot and killed Jack. The woman survived the ordeal,
and Cardenas was later sentenced to 21 years to life in prison.
Even before she became a superstar in the film and television industries, Sofia Vergara
was already doing well for herself, having been raised in a wealthy family in her native
Colombia, according to Nine News.
The family was so well-off that her older brother, Rafael, kept bodyguards around him
at all times, since his position in the family made him a constant target. But this ended
up directly leading to tragedy. In 1998, before Sofia emigrated to the U.S., Rafael went without
his bodyguards for just one day. It was then that kidnappers tried to abduct him. It's
not clear exactly what happened, but when the attempt failed, one of the would-be kidnappers
shot and killed Rafael.
"None of us was able to say goodbye."
As a direct result of the tragedy, Sofia moved some of her family members to Miami with her,
to start a new life.
One of the most influential guitarists of the past 30 years has been Dave Navarro, one
of the founding members of Jane's Addiction.
But back in 1983, just a few years before Jane's Addiction made Navarro world-famous,
his mother, Connie Navarro, was murdered at her home alongside her friend Sue Jory, according
to The New York Times. Dave was only 15 at the time and has gone on record saying that
he believes he would have been killed that night, too, if not for a last-minute scheduling
move which led to him staying at his father's house. Connie and Sue's murderer went free
for nearly a decade until the story was featured on "America's Most Wanted," in 1991. A viewer
tip led police to arrest John Riccardi, Connie Navarro's ex-boyfriend. He was subsequently
convicted and sentenced to death, later changed to life without parole.
"I mean, it just was…" "The darkest, most horrible, horrible, moment of my life."
Navarro made a documentary about the murder in 2015 called "Mourning Son," which includes
an off-camera visit to Riccardi in prison. Navarro described the meeting as "awkward"
and said of Riccardi,
"He's just some old dude dying in jail."
Charlize Theron has cemented herself as a bona fide action star, in addition to winning
Oscars for her dramatic performances and critical acclaim for her comedy roles. But as a young
girl growing up in South Africa, Charlize and her mother Gerda were terrorized by her
alcoholic father, Charles Theron.
"It feels like people want that to be the thing that defines me." "I won't let something
like that define me."
While Charlize and Gerda had experienced violence from Charles in the past, it was June 21,
1991 that would be the breaking point. Charles drunkenly threatened his family and even fired
shots at Charlize and Gerda, missing both of them. In fear, Gerda fled into another
room and retrieved another handgun, and she then returned fire at Charles, killing him.
When South African authorities investigated the shooting, they declared Charles' killing
to be a justifiable use of self-defense. No charges were ever filed against Gerda. Charlize,
only 15 at the time, began telling people that her father died in a car accident so
she didn't have to tell them the real story. But in more recent years, she's opened up
about it, telling Today,
"I'm not ashamed to talk about it because I do think that the more we talk about these
things, the more we realize we are not alone in any of it."
Ice Cube is either a rapper-slash-actor or an actor-slash-rapper, depending on who you
ask. But no matter what, he's quite popular in both fields.
But back in 1981, Cube was only 12 years old, and his half-sister, Beverly Jean Brown, was
10 years older. She had married Carl Clifford Brown, whom Ice Cube has described as a "wannabe
cop" who couldn't cope with a rejection from the LAPD. He became abusive to Beverly, and
on June 29, 1981, things reached a boiling point. According to the book "Original Gangstas,"
Carl took Beverly hostage in their home. LAPD officers surrounded the property but were
unable to get inside before Carl shot and killed Beverly. It seems Carl planned on a
murder-suicide but only managed to injure himself. He died less than a month later.
Ice Cube has talked openly about how the incident affected his views on gun violence, once telling
HuffPost,
"America is built on the gun. America is in love with the gun. It's a sick love affair.
But it's just hard to break."
"Fight Club" author Chuck Palahniuk isn't shy about grisly stories. The author himself
has credited a traumatic incident in his own life for inspiring at least some of his work
— the 1999 murder of his father, Fred.
Not long before the release of the film adaptation of "Fight Club," Fred and his girlfriend Donna
Fontaine were killed by Fontaine's ex-husband, according to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
But, sadly, this wasn't the first time the family had grieved this type of loss. Early
in his life, Chuck was told that his grandparents died from diphtheria. But when he turned 18,
his father told him the chilling truth. When Fred was three years old, he had hidden himself
under a bed while his own father murdered his mother and then went looking through the
house for young Fred. When he was unable to find Fred, he turned the gun on himself. Chuck
continues to mine these deeply dark memories for the work he creates, even decades later.
"It's finding that metaphor that allows you to kind of share your grief in this overblown way and to really exhaust it."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.