Celebrities that died young

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Heath Ledger

4th April 1979 - 22nd January 2008

At the tender age of 28, Heath has been found dead in his New York home. The cause of his death has not yet been confirmed, but police said prescription tablets were found near his body.

Anna Nicole Smith

28th November 1967 - 8th February 2007

American model and TV star Anna Nicole rose to fame as 1993's Playboy playmate of the year. Her marriage to Texan oil baron, J Howard Marshall, who was 63 years her senior, also catapulted her into the limelight.

In September 2006 her son, Daniel Smith, passed away. A couple of months later 39-year-old Anna Nicole died, after being found unconscious in a hotel room in Florida. Police confirmed she died of a drug overdose.

Kurt Cobain

20th February 1967 - 5th April 1994

The Nirvana frontman shot himself in April 1994. This was just weeks after being taken to hospital in a coma after what many claim was an overdose. Kurt suffered from a heroin addiction and had unsuccessfully tried rehab.

He had married Courtney Love in 1992 and the same year they had a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

Marilyn Monroe

1st June 1926 - 5th August 1962

The movie star sweetheart of the 50s and 60s, Marilyn was found at her home in Brentwood, California. While some reports say the official cause of her death was listed as "acute barbiturate poisoning" by a doctor from the LA county coroner's office, her death was classified as a probable suicide, because a lack of evidence meant it could not be ruled a suicide or homicide.

Jim Morrison

8th December 1943 - 3rd July 1971

The charismatic lead singer of The Doors died at the age of 27. He was living in Paris, France at the time of his death, and was found in the bathtub of his apartment by his girlfriend at the time, Pamela Courson.

No autopsy was performed, but foul play was ruled out. A doctor's report said the cause of death was heart failure, aggravated by heavy drinking. Today his gravesite in France is still visited by hordes of fans and tourists.

James Dean

8th February 1931 - 30th September 1955

The American actor and bona fide Rebel Without A Cause died in a car accident.

Driving a Porsche Spyder at the time, his car collided with another in Cholame, California.

Aaliyah

16th January 1979 - 25th August 2001

After finishing filming a music video early in the Bahamas, Aaliyah and her crew boarded an aircraft to travel to Miami. The plane crashed shortly after take off and later an investigation ruled it was grossly overweight, due to heavy equipment from the video shoot.

The plane's pilot, it was also later discovered, was not qualified to fly the aircraft.

River Phoenix

23rd August 1970 - 31st October 1993

River died of a heroin and cocaine overdose on Halloween morning. He was just 23 years old when he died outside the Viper Room, a nightclub in Hollywood that was partly owned by Johnny Depp until a couple of years ago.

Tupac Shakur

16th June 1971 - 13th September 1996

Also known as 2Pac, Makaveli and Pac, and hailing from New York, Tupac died after being shot by unknown gunmen while driving in a car with a Death Row Records executive. After six days in a coma he died in hospital.

Bruce Lee

27th November 1940 - 20th July 1973

The death of the martial arts master, hailing from California, but raised in Hong Kong, was ruled death by misadventure.

Reports say he died from cerebral edema, caused by a reaction to a headache tablet. However, trace amounts of cannabis were also said to have been found in his system. Some conspiracy theorists made rumblings about a curse on the Lee family.

Sadly, Lee's son, Brandon, died nearly 20 years after his father while filming The Crow.

Brandon Lee

1st February 1965 - 31st March 1993

Bruce's son made a name for himself as an actor. He died tragically while on set filming The Crow, after being shot in the stomach with a faulty blank bullet while filming a scene. He's buried next to his father in Seattle.

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes

27th May 1971 - 25th April 2002

Known by her stage name, Left Eye, TLC star Lisa was killed in a car accident in Honduras aged 30.

Jimi Hendrix

27th November 1942 – 18th September 1970

The American guitarist and singer was found dead in a basement flat of a hotel in London's Lansdowne Crescent.

Reports said he choked on his own vomit, after drinking and taking 10 sleeping pills.

However, the circumstances around his death have never been confirmed and his then girlfriend gave conflicting reports as to what had transpired. Some thought he may have committed suicide, but this has never been proven.

Karen Carpenter

2nd March 1950 - 4th February 1983

One half of 1970s sibling duo The Carpenters, Karen was a talented singer and drummer. She suffered from anorexia, which was little known of at the time, eventually dying from complications related to recovery from the illness at the age of 32.

Sid Vicious

10th May 1957 - 2nd February 1979

The London-born Sex Pistols bass player died of a heroin overdose. His autopsy apparently confirmed he died from an accumulation of fluid on the lungs, which is characteristic of heroin abuse.

Sid was believed to have been at a party to celebrate his release on bail, pending his trial for the murder of a former girlfriend, Nancy Spungen.

Nancy Spungen

27th February 1958 - 12th October 1978

Most famous for being Sid Vicious' girlfriend, it was this relationship that ultimately killed her. Although it has never been confirmed that Sid murdered her, Nancy was found dead in their New York hotel room with a single stab wound - which came from Sid's knife.

Princess Diana

1st July 1961 - 31st August 1997

The UK came to a standstill when Diana, Princess Of Wales died. Hugely popular and only 36, there was a state of disbelief that she had died in a car crash in Paris.

Michael Hutchence

22nd January 1960 - 22nd November 1997

Known for being a sex symbol as well as the lead singer of INXS, Michael Hutchence was 37 when he died.

Found dead in a Sydney hotel room with a belt by his side, there was some debate at the time as to the cause of his death - with his family ruling out suicide.

Details later emerged that Michael had been found naked, prompting speculation that he accidentally died from erotic asphyxiation.

Brian Jones

28th February 1942 - 3rd July 1969

The Rolling Stones band member was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool in his Sussex home.

A coroner's report listed his death as "death by misadventure".