Over the years, there have been many promising actors who suffered untimely deaths.
Though their causes of death may vary, all of them are tragic examples of lives lost
too soon.
Here are some actors who died shortly after they became famous.
Brad Renfro started acting before he even hit his teens, and he made more than 20 movies
over the course of his career.
He began his career in 1994, when he was only 10, playing a witness in a Mafia case in Joel
Schumacher's "The Client."
His other notable films include "The Cure," "Tom and Huck," "Sleepers," "Apt Pupil," and
"Bully."
Over his short career, Renfro worked with some of Hollywood's biggest directors, like
Barry Levinson and Bryan Singer, and acted alongside some of the greatest actors in the
world, solidifying his place in movie history.
Unfortunately, early fame led to Renfro growing up very quickly, and the actor started using
drugs when he was quite young.
According to People, Renfro was first arrested on drug charges in 1998, when he was only
16.
He continued to have trouble with drugs and the law throughout the rest of his life.
In 2008, Renfro died of "acute heroin/morphine intoxication" in what was later ruled an accidental
overdose.
He was 25 at the time.
A recently-released HBO documentary called "What Happened, Brittany Murphy?"
delves deep into the mysterious death of Brittany Murphy, who passed away suddenly in December
2009 — five months before her widower's own mysterious death.
Official records show her cause of death as the result of a combination of untreated pneumonia,
anemia, and a number of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
Nonetheless, her death has been surrounded by rumors for years, much like her short life
was plagued by rumors of eating disorders, drug usage, and domestic drama.
Murphy made her professional acting debut in 1991, and she quickly started landing gigs
on television shows such as "Drexell's Class" and "Sister, Sister."
The actress gained higher notoriety with her turn as Tai in 1995's iconic "Clueless," and
followed with solid supporting work in Hollywood dramas including "Girl, Interrupted", the
Eminem-fronted "8 Mile," and "Don't Say A Word," which earned her a Satellite Award
nomination.
Murphy began landing lead roles with films like the 2003 dramedy "Uptown Girls" and the
hit romantic comedy "Just Married," in which she starred with then-boyfriend Ashton Kutcher.
In addition to her on screen roles, Murphy was known for voicing Luanne Platter in over
250 episodes of "King of the Hill" on FOX.
"I think God has a plan for me.
And it involves puppets."
Her final role was in "Something Wicked," released five years after Murphy's death.
Fans were heart-broken when Heath Ledger died in January 2008, at the height of his fame.
Toxicologists determined that Ledger died of an accidental overdose, as the result of
abusing prescription medications.
Only 28 years old at the time of his death, he was on the cusp of releasing "The Dark
Knight," which ended up earning Ledger an Oscar for his performance as The Joker.
"It's a funny world we live in.
Speaking of which, you know how I got these scars?"
The Australian actor first made his mark in 1999, when he appeared as bad boy Patrick
Verona in the teen film "10 Things I Hate About You."
From there, he quickly transitioned into more serious parts, starring in films such as "The
Patriot," "Monster's Ball," "The Brothers Grimm," and "The Four Feathers."
Including posthumous releases, Ledger accumulated 23 acting credits.
He received widespread acclaim for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," in which he starred
as a married cowboy who had a secret gay relationship in 1960s and '70s Wyoming.
For the role, Ledger earned an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA nomination, a Golden Globe
nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild nomination, among other awards.
Not to be confused with his son — actor Freddie Prinze Jr. — Freddie Prinze was
a groundbreaking Puerto Rican comedian and actor who gained fame in the 1970s after a
series of buzz-worthy appearances on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show."
Most people remember him from his role in "Chico and the Man," an NBC vehicle built
around Prinze.
On the series, Prinze played Chico Rodriguez, an optimistic young Latino who worked alongside
a cranky old garage owner in East Los Angeles.
The show was notable for offering a rare primetime representation of Latinos, and was the first
sitcom to have been set in a Mexican-American neighborhood.
Prinze suffered with depression, and shot himself at the age of 22.
Doctors fought to save his life for 33 hours before the actor passed away.
One of his friends told The Los Angeles Times:
"People don't seem to be able to understand that you can be talented, good-looking, healthy,
that you could have fame and fortune and still have a problem."
Prinze's son was not even a year old when he passed, but he would become a celebrity
in his own right in films like "She's All That" and "Summer Catch."
Canadian actor Cory Monteith became a star due to his work on FOX's "Glee," where he
played sensitive jock Finn Hudson.
Though he played a teenager, Monteith was actually 27 when "Glee" started in 2009.
Though he was not a household name before "Glee," Monteith had appeared in a recurring
capacity on the series "Kyle XY" and in TV movies like "Killer Bash".
In July 2013 — four years into the run of "Glee" — Monteith was found dead in a hotel
room in Vancouver.
Just 31 years old at the time of his death, the autopsy would later report that Monteith
had died of, quote, "mixed drug toxicity, involving heroin and alcohol."
In the aftermath of his passing, the "Glee" cast and crew presented a tribute episode
entitled "The Quarterback," in which viewers saw the aftermath of Monteith's character's
death by unspecified causes.
The "Glee" family has suffered more loss than just Monteith — and Naya Rivera's 2020 death
was particularly tragic because it resulted in her leaving a young son behind.
Headlines were made when Rivera's four-year-old son was found alone on a rented pontoon boat
at Lake Piru in California.
Fans took to social media hoping for Rivera's safe return, as friends and family gathered
to help officials with the search.
After several tense days, Rivera's body was ultimately found less than a week later, with
the assumption that she saved her son from drowning but wasn't able to save herself.
Rivera had been a working actress for essentially her entire life, starring in commercials as
a baby and then becoming a child star.
As a kid, she appeared on programs like "Family Matters," "Smart Guy," and "The Royal Family,"
on which she had a main role.
It was not until "Glee" that Rivera became a household name, however, thanks to her role
as snarky cheerleader Santana Lopez.
When she died, Rivera was between seasons on the TV show "Step Up: High Water."
In addition to acting, she also released music and wrote a book in the years before her death.
Cameron Boyce was a rising child actor in the process of making the difficult transition
to an adult career when he unexpectedly passed away in his sleep in July 2019.
Boyce's family later told the media that he died after having a seizure, as the result
of epilepsy.
He had just turned 20 a couple of months prior, and had filmed interviews for Alex Winter's
"Showbiz Kids," an HBO documentary that examined the treacherous bridge between child and adult
acting.
Boyce's first role was in a music video for the band Panic! at the Disco.
In 2011, Boyce was cast in a lead role on the Disney Channel's "Jessie," which ran for
98 episodes across four seasons and led to further Disney work in the popular "Descendants"
franchise; Boyce also appeared in the "Grown Ups" movies, and provided voice work on "Jake
and the Never Land Pirates" and "Descendants: Wicked World."
Much of his adult acting work would be released posthumously, including the HBO miniseries
"Mrs. Fletcher," the musical drama series "Paradise City," and the thriller film "Runt."
The Phoenix family boasts a well-known Hollywood bloodline, with Joaquin as the most successful
of the siblings.
That said, it was River Phoenix who appeared to be on the path to superstardom when he
died young in 1993, having headlined several hit films.
The older Phoenix died at age 23 during a night partying at the famed Viper Room in
Hollywood, due to an overdose on cocaine and heroin.
Like his brother, Phoenix started in commercials and performed throughout childhood.
His big breakthrough came in Rob Reiner's iconic film "Stand By Me".
"No one even asked me if I took the milk money that time.
I just got a three day vacation."
His star continued to rise as he appeared in 1986's "The Mosquito Coast," and 1988's
"A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon".
After this, he garnered an Oscar nomination for Sidney Lumet's powerful 1989 family drama
"Running on Empty," and then stood out as young Indiana Jones in the opening flashback
of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
More classics followed in the next few years, including Gus Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho"
and 1992's lighthearted hacker drama "Sneakers".
The fact is, nobody knows what Rebecca Schaeffer's career would look like today had the young,
talented actress not been killed just as her career seemed to be blossoming.
In a headline-grabbing tragedy, the "My Sister Sam" star was shot on her own doorstep by
obsessed fan Robert John Bardo in 1989, with her tragic death leading to the first anti-stalking
law in the United States.
Schaeffer was only 21 when her life was cut short.
Schaeffer started out as a teen model.
She then had a few minor film roles before breaking out with "My Sister Sam," a sitcom
that cast her alongside TV favorite Pam Dawber as the teenage sister who moved in and had
begun wreaking havoc on her life.
Schaeffer's other credits included "Out of Time," "The End of Innocence," and "Scenes
from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills," a 1989 film that reportedly served as the
catalyst for Bardo's deranged obsession with the actress.
Out of all the stars on this list, James Dean is perhaps the most iconic, an enduring symbol
of young stardom and a career ultimately cut short by tragedy.
Six decades after his death, Dean is still a towering topic of Hollywood legend, inspiring
discussion, speculation and arguments about everything from his sexuality to talk of whether
he really had the goods to turn his raw talent into a lengthy, flourishing career.
Despite his young death — or perhaps because of it — Dean has become a Hollywood legend
whose legacy persists.
Dean began his career by way of a 1950 Pepsi commercial, but his acting chops and anguished
features catapulted him to fame.
He only lived long enough to star in three films — two of which were released posthumously
— and they all became classics: 1955's "East of Eden," the same year's "Rebel Without a
Cause," and 1956's "Giant."
Dean died in a car accident in September 1955, at the age of 24.
Alongside Marlon Brando, James Dean may have influenced more actors in each subsequent
generation — and helped pioneer an acting sea change that valued authenticity over theatricality
— than any other Hollywood star.
Unlike the others on this list, Chadwick Boseman was not in his 20s or 30s at the time of his
death.
But that hardly lessens the sense that he was another actor with many special performances
still in his future.
Boseman's shocking death came at age 43, just after films like "Black Panther" and "Avengers:
Infinity War" had made him a cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — he received
a colon cancer diagnosis in 2016 but had kept it private.
Boseman's first onscreen role was in a 2013 episode of "All My Children," which he followed
with guest roles in a plethora of other television series.
Boseman inched closer to the mainstream after playing a trio of startlingly disparate, real-life
legends — Jackie Robinson in 2013's "42", James Brown in 2014's "Get on Up", and Thurgood
Marshall in 2017's "Marshall".
But when he appeared as T'Challa in "Captain America: Civil War" and "Black Panther", he
quickly became a household name.
Posthumously, Boseman received his only Oscar nomination for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom",
and considerable award attention as well for Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods".
Marvel fans received a bittersweet farewell in 2021, as the Disney+ series "What If...?"
presented multiple episodes featuring voiceover readings Boseman had done as T'Challa before
his passing.
Known primarily as a singer, Aaliyah's acting career was just starting to manifest itself
when the actress died in a plane crash at age 22.
The accident occurred in August 2001, as the "Try Again" singer was making her way home
from shooting a music video in the Bahamas.
The beloved musician-turned-actress is still talked about today — USA Today even called
Aaliyah "The Princess of R&B" when they published a piece to toast her legacy on the 20th anniversary
of her death.
Aaliyah's experience was limited in terms of acting, but her two film roles displayed
a magnetic on-screen presence, as well as talent that seemed likely to blossom.
She first tried her hand at acting in 2000's "Romeo Must Die," in which she played a mobster's
daughter in love with a man from a rival mobster family.
Her other film role was as a vampire in the horror flick "Queen of the Damned," released
shortly after her death.
Anton Yelchin was a well-known Hollywood actor and star of well-regarded films like "Charlie
Bartlett" and blockbusters like the J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" reboot movies — and then a terrible,
bizarre accident ended his life at the age of 27.
In June of 2016, Yelchin was killed when his Jeep rolled backwards down his driveway, pinning
him between a brick pillar and a fence.
The actor's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the vehicle maker, which
was settled out of court.
The Russian-born actor was a recognizable face thanks to shows like the Hank Azaria
series "Huff" and movies including "Alpha Dog," "Terminator Salvation" and "The Beaver."
But it was his casting as Pavel Chekov that seemed in the process of taking Yelchin's
career to the next level when he passed away.
2016's "Star Trek Beyond" was dedicated in his memory, and he had four other films released
posthumously.
Back in the 1990s, it seemed impossible to open a teen magazine that didn't feature Jonathan
Brandis somewhere within its pages.
First starting with modeling and commercial work, he eventually became a star at 14 when
he appeared in "The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter," and his leading role in
"SeaQuest DSV" solidified his teen heartthrob status.
Brandis' other notable work included the television miniseries "It," and the films "Sidekicks"
and "Ladybugs."
Brandis had less success as an adult actor, though he did have a few supporting roles
Though Brandis did not leave a suicide note, insiders told People magazine that he was
depressed over the state of his career, and had been drinking heavily prior to his death.
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).
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741
call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264),
or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).