“A star dies, but the light that he leaves us lives forever.” It especially rang so true in 2025, which was a year that witnessed death claim legends whose influence on what music, film, television, fashion, and even science were. To fans of pop culture, they were than just a name on a marquee both of them part of the soundtrack, the fashion, and the narratives that ran decades long.
From rock legends to movie moguls, each and every one of them was its own metric tonnage of respect and affection. They were the artists, entertainers, and creatives who were brave enough to be different, inspired others, and left us with art that will continue and continue and continue to delight us, challenge our minds, and inspire creativity for decades to come.
Here are eight incredible individuals who passed away this year and the ways in which they impacted the cultural landscape.
1. Robert Redford – The Sundance Visionary
Robert Redford’s life was a lesson in reinvention. He wasn’t merely the debonair on-screen movie star of such classics as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Way We Were, but also a twice Oscar-winning director of Ordinary People and an independent film-friendly producer through the Sundance Film Festival. His behind-the-scenes work launched careers for directors as diverse as Quentin Tarantino and Ryan Coogler. Redford died September 16 at 89 but left behind in the DNA of contemporary storytelling.
2. Ozzy Osbourne – The Prince of Darkness
Few rock musicians were more troubled by anarchy and charisma than Ozzy Osbourne. One of Black Sabbath’s original members, he rode to success during the ’70s and enjoyed a solo career with multi-platinum chart topping and anthem standards. His MTV reality show, The Osbournes, brought his zany domestic life into the television living room of homes across the nation. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003, he continued active as an actor until weeks before his death July 22 at age 76. His family press release stated that he died “surrounded by love,” a tribute worthy of an actor and a man whose music and presence were as large as they were loved.
3. Jane Goodall – The Voice of the Wild
Dr. Jane Goodall was no ordinary celebrity, yet what she uncovered made her so. Starting research among chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960, she totally overhauled our understanding regarding the primates and their understanding of human beings. Besides science, Goodall was also a conservation icon worldwide and received awards such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025. Goodall passed away calmly on Oct. 1 at the age of 91, leaving an environmental and compassion legacy spanning several generations.
4. Val Kilmer – The Maverick Actor
The unpredictability of the versatility of Val Kilmer was matched only by his presence on the screen. From shoplifter montages as Icman in Top Gun to Jim Morrison in The Doors and spine-tingling Doc Holliday in Tombstone, he equalized megascreen gravitas with laconic performances. Even after throat cancer was diagnosed in 2014, he worked on, even reprised his Icman role in 2022’s Top Gun Maverick. Kilmer died April 1 at 65, an unyielding actor who left nothing on the page.
5. Sly Stone – The Funk Pioneer
Sly Stone’s fusion of psychedelic-soul and Sly and the Family Stone revolutionized music in the ’60s and ’70s. Tunes like “Everyday People” and “Dance to the Music” dominated the charts but were also anthems of harmony and diversity. He was “a true pioneer who remapped the landscape of pop, funk, and rock music,” his family stated. Stone died June 9 at age 82 after a long battle with COPD, but his grooves remain blueprints for music today.
6. Gene Hackman – The Reluctant Superstar
Gene Hackman possessed the unique ability of being able to transform himself into whatever role he was playing, whether crusty police detective Popeye Doyle in The French Connection or suave con artist in The Birdcage.
He had two Oscars and the respect for being capable of making any movie he appeared in a hit on the box office. Hackman retired acting in 2004 to simply exist as a novelist. He and his wife passed away on February 26th at his residence in New Mexico at age 95, closing down a career of humble excellence and unshakeable integrity.
7. Michelle Trachtenberg – Child Star to Cult Icon
Michelle Trachtenberg moved on from Harriet the Spy to cult-stardom on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, gradually making her way up the ranks. Child star to adult woman, she did it begrudgingly and earned a loyal fan following. Died in her New York apartment on 26 February at the ripe old age of 39, cause of death unknown. Her own life is proof of how TV stars are part of popular culture awareness.
8. Giorgio Armani – The Father of Contemporary Chic
Giorgio Armani defined the sensibility of subtle glamour for over 50 years. His streamlined, impeccably cut dresses covered Hollywood stars to heads of state, and his costume work on movies like American Gigolo and The Untouchables set fashion on the big screen. Armani died on September 4 at the age of 91 in his sleep still working until his last breath. His company and his maxim that beauty is simplicity will be the last word in fashion for many decades to come.
While 2025 was a year of mournful farewells, it was also a lesson in how fashion, art, and ideas transcend the hands that made them. Those eight are now gone, but their bodies of work still rile us up, entertain us, and rage us evidence that true cultural authority is never actually transferred.
