An eerie number of celebs have correctly predicted their deaths,
while just as many have been incredibly wrong. From escaping a life of crime, to beating cancer,
to surviving addiction, here are some celebs who mistakenly predicted they'd be dead by now.
Demi Lovato has been open about their issues with addiction and mental illness,
notably an eating disorder and self-harm. But at one point, Lovato was in such a dark place that
they truly believed they would die in their early 20s. They told American Way Magazine in 2016:
"I lived fast and I was going to die young. I didn't think I would make it to 21."
Lovato later spoke to Dr. Phil about the advice they would give to other
young people who felt they had no choice but to die young. They declared that they
should "hold on", and ultimately have faith in their own inner strength:
"Because the longer you go without acting on an urge, the easier
that it will be for you and the more resilient, the more strong that you'll become."
In 2018, Lovato survived a near-fatal overdose. They shared in "Dancing With The Devil":
"I'm so proud of the person that I am today.
One of the main reasons I'm coming forward is so I never have to live that life again."
Lovato turned 29 in 2021, proving their younger self wrong. The singer's many loving fans and
admirers are no doubt relieved that their premonition didn't come true.
Without a doubt, rap superstar 50 Cent has overcome some life-changing and
potentially life-threatening events. His first brush with death came when
he was shot multiple times in 2000, leaving him in critical condition.
"Where were you shot?" "In my hands, my legs several times, like
five times in my hands, and then, and my legs, and then in my face."
In an interview with Rolling Stone, 50 Cent said that he first predicted
he would either end up in jail or die young when he was 19. He said:
"It was comin'. Long as you stay there, you don't beat the odds."
But he did beat those odds and managed to go on to achieve colossal stardom in the 2000s.
Nevertheless, 50 Cent's firm belief that he would meet an early death never dissipated. In 2012,
he predicted that he didn't have long left. He tweeted at the time:
"I'll be honest I don't think I'm gonna live much longer."
The rapper went on to post a series of messages that suggested he believed
his life was soon coming to an end. He continued:
"I'm good if I die tonight. I've taken care of the
people who took care of me when I couldn't take care [of] myself."
Of course, 50 Cent's prediction was not fulfilled. But almost a decade later, the issue continues to
haunt him. In 2020, The Guardian asked him if he's surprised he's still alive. To this, he replied:
"A lot of my friends growing up, they're not here. It's easier to not think about those things."
Before enjoying romcom fame with her hit films "Never Been Kissed" and "The Wedding Singer,"
Drew Barrymore was a child actor. Most notably, her cherubic demeanor charmed audiences in "E.T."
"Is he a pig? He sure eats like one."
But her early years were a far cry from the youthful innocence depicted on-screen,
as her childhood was blighted by addiction. The actor explained in
an interview with The Sun that she was addicted to cocaine by the age of 12,
and acknowledged that she's blessed to have come out of the dark side. She explained:
"I don't know how I ended up here but I will never lose sight of how lucky I
am. Being blacklisted at 12, I appreciate every job I have."
Subsequently, Barrymore is stunned that she's in the fortunate position in which she now
finds herself. Speaking with The Guardian, she shared that 13 was her hardest year,
and that her mother had her institutionalized for a year and a half. She was then asked
whether her teenage self could fathom living her best life at 40. She admitted:
"Half no, in that I was so scared of not knowing where I was going. I
really had a fear that I was going to die at 25."
But she was very wrong. More than two decades later,
she's still just as relevant and charming as ever.
Having played morbid characters in "Six Feet Under" and "Dexter," death has always seemed
to follow Michael C. Hall around. This sense of impending mortality was exacerbated by the loss
of his father, who died of cancer just before he turned 40. In a cruel irony, Hall himself was
diagnosed with cancer in 2010, just a year younger than his father was. Subsequently, Hall had long
assumed that he might befall a fate similar to that of his dad, with the lead-up of his 39th
birthday being a particularly significant moment in his life. He pondered to The New York Times:
"I think I've been preoccupied since I was 11, and my father died, with the idea of the age 39:
would I live that long? What would that be like?"
Despite his fears, Hall made it to 39, and beyond.
He later explained to The Daily Beast that he was amazed when he turned 47, saying:
"I found myself thinking, 'I'm not 35 anymore. No, wait, I'm 37. No, wait, I'm 47.'"
When Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor was at the height of his fame in the '90s,
he was certain he was only heading in one direction.
Opening up about the perils of celebrity, he told Spin in 2005:
"It led me down a very dark and terrible path. At the end of it,
which was close to four years ago, it was very clear to me that I was trying to kill myself.
That was the path I chose. I was going to just drink myself or drug myself out of it."
Eventually, Reznor decided to get sober, embarking on an arduous journey of recovery.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he reflected:
"Like getting sober for me. Incredibly unpleasant experience. Hardest thing I've
ever done. But many benefits come from it, aside from not being dead. I sorted through
a lot of s--- that I was carrying around. I'm very grateful that I had to go through that."
Reznor lives on to this day,
and continues to find success in the alt rock world as well as the movie world: The Nine
Inch Nails frontman has won multiple Oscars for his contributions to film scores. He told Spin:
"My chances of being alive a year from now are much
greater than they were a couple of years ago."
And he was more than right. Over fifteen years later, he's still flourishing.
It's difficult to fathom a world without Hollywood icon Jane Fonda. The acting legend is one of
the most inspiring in the industry, not least because of her unrelenting commitment to social
causes — you may recall how she was arrested yet again in 2019 for protesting climate change. It's
therefore sad to think that Fonda once thought she would die young. Fonda admitted to People in 2017:
"I never pictured 30. I assumed I wouldn't live very long and
that I would die lonely and an addict of some sort. I didn't think if I did live this long,
that I would be vibrant and healthy and still working. I'm grateful."
The "Grace and Frankie" star went on to reveal that her initial bleak perspective on her future
was largely shaped by her mother's suicide when Fonda was just 12. In an interview with
The Guardian, Fonda stated how she vowed to lead a good life in spite of the tragedy. She said:
"Living a whole, good life doesn't just happen — it requires intention. You have to decide:
this thing has happened to me, am I going to be a victim of it?
Because it's not what happens to you, it's what you do with it. If you can look back and see
it with understanding and with an open heart, then you can forgive and you can understand."
Machine Gun Kelly has caught a wave of critical and commercial success,
while also being one half of Hollywood's hottest power couple with Megan Fox. But
there was once a time when the content musician envisioned a far darker future for himself.
In an interview with GQ, he shared that he was ready to die before the age of 30. He divulged:
"It hurts my soul that I wasted 30 years of my life not having any desire. Dude,
I was down to die. I was good."
But falling in love with Fox gave him a reason to live. Poignantly, he continued:
"I've lost so many friends to suicide. Love gave me a reason to stay here."
Accordingly, he told NME that meeting Fox during the making of his album "Tickets to my Downfall"
was a turning point in his life; at once, his defeatist expectations had waned. Initially, his
fifth album had the morbid title to reflect where he genuinely believed he was heading. He admitted:
"There was probably a crossroads in the middle of making this album where the title would have
lived up to the reality. I think the universe caught on to me wanting to make a change.
It was like: 'Maybe we won't make this a reality; maybe we'll make this
ironic.' Instead of the downfall, go ahead and have the biggest rise of your f---ing life."
Glam rockers Mötley Crüe were typified by excess in the '80s. Their hit songs "Girls, Girls,
Girls" and "Kickstart My Heart" were testament to their commitment to debauchery. But of all
the band members, drummer Tommy Lee is perhaps best known for his penchant for the excesses
of a rock n roll lifestyle. As a result, Lee is pretty shocked that he didn't pass on years ago.
In an interview with GQ, Lee stated that he's absolutely incredulous
that he isn't dead considering his hard partying ways. He mused:
"Honestly, I pinch myself on a daily basis. I'm like, how am I still alive?"
After joking about his incredible luck throughout his life, he said:
"Watch [...] I'll walk out of my house now and get hit by a truck!"
In an interview with Yahoo,
Lee discussed his addiction issues and how he became aware of his own mortality. He shared:
"I was drinking two gallons — not pints, not quarts, but gallons,
the big-handles — a day [...] I just realized, 'Whoa dude, you're drinking enough to like,
you could probably die.' And it wasn't even fazing me [...] I just became sort of immune to it."
He decided to seek help and attended rehab. Now approaching 60,
Lee is undoubtedly in a position his younger self could never have dreamed of.
During a "60 Minutes" interview, Angelina Jolie
disclosed that she's surprised she's lived as long as she has. She said:
"I went through heavy darker times and I survived them. I didn't die young, so I'm very lucky."
In an interview with The Guardian, Jolie elaborated on those "dangerous things,"
citing heroin use, alcohol, and self-harm. However, she explained that having overcome
such turmoil has shaped her current work as a U.N. ambassador and advocate for children. She said:
"It took me a good while to feel I could be of use to anyone because I
felt for a long time that I was a little crazy, that I was a little unhinged,
and not settled. If you would have asked me as a teenager if I could have been anybody's mom,
or of any use to the UN or write a book, I would have said absolutely not."
But Jolie overcame the worst to become those very things: a mom to six children, an activist, and an
acclaimed actor and filmmaker. She has used the pain of her past experiences to empower others,
something that the fatalistic teen Jolie would no doubt be immeasurably proud of.
Ozzy Osbourne has become a much fabled figure of rock n roll folklore.
Many are surprised that he has managed to live as long as he has,
with Discover Magazine positing that the rocker's death-defying ways are down to a genetic mutation.
"Oh, don't be stupid."
But no one is quite as surprised by his longevity as Ozzy himself.
Speaking with Metal Hammer, Osbourne said he
had previously predicted he wouldn't see his fourth decade. He declared:
"If you'd said to me years ago,
'How long do you think you'll last?' I would've said, 'I'll be dead by 40!'"
He went on to joke about his longevity, remarking:
"I've fallen out of life shafts and windows. I broke my neck on a quad
bike. There was one time when I died twice on the way to hospital. I might be unsinkable!"
In an interview with The Sun, Osbourne revealed that,
at one point, he was certain that he was dying after suffering a fall:
"Sharon was saying, 'You've got to get out of bed.' I would say, 'What's the point,
I'm dying.' There were many times I thought, 'I'm done'. I was scared. I thought that was it."
Reflecting on his previous near-death experiences, Osbourne noted:
"I overdosed on drugs many times so I am lucky to be here anyway.
I've had so many brushes with death that I'm the Comeback Kid. If I was a cat I'd have 33 lives."
Billie Eilish may be one of the biggest artists on the planet, but there once was a time when
she believed she wouldn't get to see adulthood. Speaking on "The Gayle King Grammy Special,"
Eilish shared that she thought she would die before the age of 17. She reflected:
"I don't want to be too dark, but I genuinely didn't think I'd make it to 17. I was alone in
my hotel, and I remember there was a window right there [...] I remember crying because
I was thinking about how [...] the way that I was gonna die was that I was gonna do it."
Of course, her prediction did not come true. Her career is still blooming, with one of her
latest impressive credits being her performance of "No Time To Die" for the titular blockbuster
Bond film. In an interview with Vogue, she elaborated on her recovery. She said:
"When people ask me what I'd say to somebody looking for advice on mental health,
the only thing I can say is patience. I had patience with
myself. I didn't take that last step. I waited. Things fade."
She explained how the perils of fame,
particularly at such a young age, contributed to her morbid thoughts:
"In my dark places I've worried that I was going to become the stereotype that
everybody thinks every young artist becomes, because how can they not?"
Before his majestic comeback thanks to "The Wrestler," Mickey Rourke was grappling with
every aspect of his existence. He painfully recounted to The Guardian:
"I lost everything, the wife, the house, my friends, my name in the business.
I was paying $500 a month for an apartment with my dogs [...] A friend used to give
me a couple of hundred of dollars a month to buy something to eat."
To live was simply too much for Rourke,
and he had resigned himself to the prospect of an early death.
"This is the old days, man, the bad days! The all-or-nothing days!
They're back! There's no choices left."
In an interview with GQ, the actor expressed his disbelief that he's still alive. He stated:
"Sure, I probably shouldn't be here."
He went on to ruminate that he, quote, "would have seen it through"
if it weren't for his Catholicism. He said:
"I kept thinking if I made it look like an accident then it couldn't be a sin, right?"
However, Rourke told The Guardian that his dogs have saved him. He said:
"Beau Jack is probably responsible for keeping me here. I remember sitting in the closet one day,
and thinking, I'm not going through this any more,
and I looked down and [Beau Jack] went like this. He looked at me and it meant
who's going to take care of him, if I'm not here [...] I mean, I'm very fortunate to be here."
Rourke has been through it all, and is most definitely a survivor in every sense of the word.
The "27 Club" comprises myriad musicians who died at that tender age,
from rock legend Jimi Hendrix to chanteuse Amy Winehouse. Thus,
the significance of a 27th birthday was not lost on singing superstar Miley Cyrus, who
conceded that she could very well have befallen a similar fate to the icons who preceded her.
Opening up to Zane Lowe for an Apple Music interview, Cyrus explained that her looming
27th birthday was a turning point in her life, one which spurred her to seek help
for her addictions. Discussing the so-called "27 Club," she told Lowe:
"27 to me was a year that I really had to protect myself. That actually really
made me want to get sober because we've lost so many icons at 27."
She further addressed the importance of this number in an interview with Rolling Stone,
acknowledging that she could have died at that age had she not gotten sober. She said:
"Actually, one of the reasons I got sober was I had just turned 26, and I said, 'I got to pull
my s--- together before I'm 27, because 27 is the time you cross over that threshold into
living or dying a legend'. I didn't want to not make it through being 27. I didn't want to join
that club. Probably about halfway into 26, I got sober. Then by 27, I was pretty much fully sober."
Portia de Rossi told SFGate in 2010:
"I wanted to disappear. Once I realized that starving would lead to sickness and
possibly even death, I thought I could disappear."
In her memoir, "Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain," de Rossi
wrote candidly about her anorexia diagnosis, explaining that as the
illness consumed her she cared less and less about whether she died. She wrote:
"I had always wanted to get old so I didn't have to care anymore,
but I began to think that it would be best just to skip the getting older part and just die."
She went on to recount that her mother, noting her frame, burst into tears and pleaded with her:
"If you don't eat something, you're going to die."
Yet, de Rossi was not fazed by her mother's tears, partly due to her reluctance to
accept that her daughter was gay, which de Rossi says exacerbated her eating disorder.
However, she recovered and also came out as gay.
Living her truth has been fundamental to de Rossi's newfound lust for life.
"So I just kind of thought: Well, I don't want to live like this. I don't have to. I don't need to."
She went on to explain further in an interview with Bust:
"I've gotten to a place in my life where I see the value of honesty and the value of
sharing your experiences [...] I've just been living my life in a more honest and open way."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues,
help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).