Skip to main content
Cloudy icon
66º

In memoriam: The people, smiles, voices we lost in 2020

39 of the most recognizable faces who died this year

Regis Philbin on set during his final show of "Live! with Regis & Kelly" on Nov. 18, 2011 in New York. (Neilson Barnard, Getty Images)

We lost a lot of big names in 2020, from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek to NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

Of course, it was a hard year for all people across the nation and the globe -- with more than 315,000 deaths in the United States (and counting) due to COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recommended Videos



We wish we could share all the names and faces, for celebrities and non-famous people alike, who are no longer with us.

For now, as the year wraps up and 2021 approaches, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the celebrity deaths from 2020 -- people from the worlds of music, sports, entertainment and politics.

This is not a complete list, but instead, a peek at 39 of the more recognizable faces.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg waits to enter a dinner on May 8, 2006 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek speaks as he is inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters' Broadcasting Hall of Fame on April 9, 2018 in Las Vegas. (Getty Images)
American rock musician Eddie Van Halen, of the group Van Halen, performs onstage at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on April 6, 1979. (Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on Dec. 29, 2019 in Los Angeles. They both passed away in a helicopter crash in early 2020. (Getty Images)
Actress Naya Rivera poses for a portrait session at the Giffoni Film Festival on July 24, 2013 in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy. (Getty Images)
John Prine performs on stage at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival at Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco on Oct. 2, 2009. He plays a Martin acoustic guitar. (Redferns/Getty Images)
Chadwick Boseman attends the European premiere of Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" at the Eventim Apollo on Feb. 8, 2018 in London. (Getty Images for Disney)
NASA scientist and mathematician Katherine Johnson poses for a portrait at her desk with an adding machine and a "Celestial Training device" at NASA Langley Research Center in 1962 in Hampton, Virginia. (NASA/Getty Images)
Nick Cordero attends HBO's premiere of "Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown" at Time Warner Center on Oct. 20, 2014 in New York City. (Getty Images)
Scottish film actor Sean Connery at Pinewood Studios, where he was filming "You Only Live Twice" with director Lewis Gilbert in 1967. (Graham Stark/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Congressman John Lewis in his offices in the Canon House office building on March 17, 2009 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
Then-President Barack Obama awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to civil rights leader C.T. Vivian in the East Room at the White House on Nov. 20, 2013. Vivian died this year at the age of 95. (Getty Images)
American restaurateur, actress and TV host, B. Smith, attends the "Memphis"-inspired cocktail launch at B. Smith’s Restaurant on Dec. 7, 2011. (Getty Images)
Regis Philbin on set during his final show of "Live! with Regis & Kelly" on Nov. 18, 2011 in New York. (Getty Images)
Kenny Rogers performs on stage in 1978. (Redferns/Getty Images)
Then-Vice President Hosni Mubarak arrives in Cairo after traveling in the Egyptian presidential helicopter in 1977. (Getty Images)
Musician Little Richard poses for a portrait, circa 1967. (Getty Images)
Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart of Canadian progressive rock group Rush is seen sound-checking at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, on May 20, 1977. (Redferns/Getty Images)
Nikki McKibbin of "American Idol." (WireImage/Getty Images)
Actress Elsa Raven attends The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Oscars outdoors screening of "Back To The Future" in August 2012. (Getty Images)
Bobbi Kristina Brown, at left, and Nick Gordon arrive at Tri-Star Pictures' "Sparkle" premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Aug. 16, 2012 in Hollywood, California. Gordon died Jan. 1, 2020 at the age of 30. (Getty Images)
Jan. 13, 1978: A potential client admires Dave Prowse, who, at the time, worked at Harrods and played the role of Darth Vader in "Star Wars." (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Charley Pride performs onstage during the the 54th annual CMA Awards at Nashville’s Music City Center on Nov. 11, 2020. He died Dec. 12 due to complications from COVID-19, his publicist told the New York Times. (Getty Images for CMA)
American country music singer and guitarist Doug Supernaw performs on stage at Whiskey River in Chicago, Jan. 27, 1993. (Getty Images)
Clifford Robinson, of the Golden State Warriors, rests during a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 14, 2004 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Getty Images)
British musician Peter Green, guitarist and co-founder of rock band Fleetwood Mac, circa 1968. (Getty Images)
Actor Grant Imahara arrives for The Geekie Awards on Aug. 17, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images)
English actress Diana Rigg in March 1969. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Kelly Preston and John Travolta attend the photocall for "Rendezvous With John Travolta - Gotti" during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2018. Kelly Preston died of breast cancer in July. (Getty Images)
Actor and director Ben Stiller and his father, comedian and actor Jerry Stiller, attend a party hosted by NBC during the Nantucket Film Festival on June 19, 1998. Jerry Stiller died from natural causes at his home in Manhattan on May 11, 2020, less than a month before his 93rd birthday. (Getty Images)
Max von Sydow attends the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards held at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 10, 2016 in Los Angeles. The great Swedish film and stage actor died at the age of 90. He starred in "The Exorcist," "The Greatest Story Ever Told," he was Oscar-nominated in "Pelle the Conqueror" and even had a role in "Game of Thrones." (WireImage/Getty Images)
Actor Fred Willard attends "CATstravaganza featuring Hamilton's Cats" on April 21, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images for Kitty Bungalow)
Musician Betty Wright performs on stage at the 12th Annual Jazz In The Gardens Music Festival at Hard Rock Stadium on March 18, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images for Jazz in The Gardens Music Festival)
Roy Horn of the illusionist duo Siegfried & Roy waves outside The Mirage Hotel and Casino after the duo's Las Vegas Walk of Stars dedication ceremony on Horn's 62nd birthday, Oct. 3, 2006 in Las Vegas. (Getty Images)
Lynn Cohen attends the 5th annual Lilly awards at Playwrights Horizons on June 2, 2014 in New York City. (Getty Images)
Actor Kirk Douglas attends the last 70mm film screening of "Spartacus" at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Aug. 13, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty Images)
Hall of Famer Al Kaline is introduced during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 29, 2018 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac) (Getty Images)
Charlie Daniels performs during FOX News Channel's "FOX & Friends" All-American Summer Concert Series on June 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff). (Getty Images)

Thank you for your contributions. 💛


Loading...