49 Notable And Influential People Who Died In 2019
"We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives." —Toni Morrison
Luke Perry, actor (Oct. 11, 1966–March 4, 2019)
Valery Hache / Getty Images
Toni Morrison, Pulitzer Prize–winning author (Feb. 18, 1931–Aug. 5, 2019)
Timothy Fadek / Getty Images
Elijah Cummings, American politician and civil rights advocate (Jan. 18, 1951–Oct. 17, 2019)
Bloomberg / Getty Images
Juanita Abernathy, civil rights activist (Dec. 1, 1931–Sept. 12, 2019)
Carolyn Kaster / AP
Nipsey Hussle, rapper, entrepreneur, and activist (Aug. 15, 1985–March 31, 2019)
Scott Dudelson / Getty Images
Peter Mayhew, actor (May 19, 1944–April 30, 2019)
Jesse Grant / Getty Images
Grumpy Cat, celebrity feline (April 4, 2012–May 14, 2019)
Amy E. Price
Caroll Spinney, puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street (Dec. 26, 1933–Dec. 8, 2019)
Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
Jessi Combs, former MythBusters host, television personality, and professional racer (July 27, 1980–Aug. 27, 2019)
Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images
Cokie Roberts, journalist and author (Dec. 27, 1943–Sept. 17, 2019)
New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images
Karl Lagerfeld, fashion designer and creative director of Chanel (Sept. 10, 1933–Feb. 19, 2019)
Franziska Krug / Getty Images
Rip Torn, actor (Feb. 6, 1931–July 9, 2019.
Gregg Deguire / WireImage
Lil Bub, celebrity feline (June 21, 2011–Dec. 1, 2019)
Michael Stewart / WireImage
Pete Frates, former baseball player and advocate for the Ice Bucket Challenge (Dec. 28, 1984–Dec. 9, 2019)
Boston Globe / Getty Images
Cameron Boyce, actor (May 28, 1999–July 6, 2019)
Young Hollywood
Diahann Carroll, actor (July 17, 1935–Oct. 4, 2019)
Abc Photo Archives / Getty Images
Peter Fonda, actor, director, and screenwriter (Feb. 23, 1940–Aug. 16, 2019)
Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images
Ric Ocasek, singer-songwriter, producer, painter, and founding member of the Cars (March 23, 1944–Sept. 15, 2019)
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images
Sulli, South Korean actor, singer, and model (March 29, 1994–Oct. 14, 2019)
Han Myung-gu / WireImage
Terry O'Neill, photographer (July 30, 1938–Nov. 16, 2019)
Ibl / Shutterstock
Kim Shattuck, singer-songwriter and founding member of the Muffs (July 17, 1963–Oct. 2, 2019)
Mariano Regidor / Redferns
Mark Hollis, singer-songwriter and founding member of Talk Talk (Jan. 4, 1955–Feb. 25, 2019)
Picture Alliance / Getty Images
Ranking Roger, singer-songwriter and founding member of the English Beat (Feb. 21, 1963–March 26, 2019)
Gie Knaeps / Getty Images
Valerie Harper, actor (Aug. 22, 1939–Aug. 30, 2019)
David Livingston / Getty Images
Juice WRLD, rapper (Dec. 2, 1998–Dec. 8, 2019)
David Wolff - Patrick / Redferns
Bushwick Bill, rapper and member of Geto Boys (Dec. 8, 1966–June 9, 2019)
Al Pereira / Getty Images
LaShawn Daniels, Grammy-winning songwriter (Dec. 28, 1977–Sept. 3, 2019)
Leon Bennett / FilmMagic
Roky Erickson, singer-songwriter (July 15, 1947–May 31, 2019)
Ramin Talaie / Getty Images
I. M. Pei, architect (April 26, 1917,–May 16, 2019)
Thierry Orban / Getty Images
Jacques Chirac, former president of France (Nov. 29, 1932–Sept. 26, 2019)
Patrick Kovarik / Getty Images
John Paul Stevens, former justice of the United States Supreme Court (April 20, 1920–July 16, 2019)
Allison Shelley / Getty Images
Richard Williams, animator, voice actor, director, and writer (March 19, 1933–Aug. 16, 2019)
Valerie Macon / Getty Images
Carol Channing, actor (Jan. 31, 1921–Jan. 15, 2019)
John Downing / Getty Images
Robert Frank, photographer and filmmaker (Nov. 9, 1924–Sept. 9, 2019)
Fred Stein Archive / Getty Images
Keith Flint, signer-songwriter and founding member of Prodigy (Sept. 17, 1969–March 4, 2019)
Andy Sheppard / Redferns
Eddie Money, singer-songwriter (March 21, 1949–Sept. 13, 2019)
Ed Perlstein / Redferns
Dr. John, singer-songwriter (Nov. 20, 1941–June 6, 2019)
Andy Sheppard / WireImage
Lorna Doom, musician and founding member of the Germs (Jan. 4, 1958–Jan. 16, 2019)
Trish Tokar / Getty Images
Gary Rhodes, celebrity chef and television personality (April 22, 1960–Nov. 26, 2019)
Photoshot
Rutger Hauer, actor (Jan. 23, 1944–July 19, 2019)
Ladd Company / Ladd Company/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
Peter Tork, musician, actor, and founding member of the Monkees (Feb. 13, 1942–Feb. 21, 2019)
Michael Ochs Archives
Ginger Baker, drummer and founding member of Cream (Aug. 19, 1939–Oct. 6, 2019)
Anwar Hussein / Getty Images
Dick Dale, guitarist (May 4, 1937–March 16, 2019)
Peter Pakvis / Redferns
Jessye Norman, opera singer (Sept. 15, 1945–Sept. 30, 2019)
Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Robert Hawke, former prime minister of Australia (Dec. 9, 1929–May 16, 2019)
Cynthia Johnson / Getty Images
Don Imus, radio and television personality (July 23, 1940–Dec. 27, 2019)
Larry Busacca
Gloria Vanderbilt, heir, artist, and fashion designer (Feb. 20, 1924–June 17, 2019)
/ AP
Doris Day, actor (April 3, 1922–May 13, 2019)
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
John Dingell, American politician and the longest-ever serving member of Congress (July 8, 1926–Feb. 7, 2019)
Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images
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Gabriel H. Sanchez is the photo essay editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York City.
Contact Gabriel H. Sanchez at gabriel.sanchez@buzzfeed.com.
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