Celebrities Who Died from Drug Overdose

Drug addiction has remained one of the leading causes behind celebrity downfalls and deaths in Hollywood and most parts of the world. The reason is well-known- the easy availability of illegal substances, which is responsible for fueling this habit to no end. Drug overdose is becoming a bit too common now. Drug overdose means someone has taken more than the recommended or standard amount of a substance. Overdosing often results in chronic symptoms or even death.

Many celebrities have died of drug overdoses, either on purpose or accidentally. They became the victims of drug addiction and succumbed to this dependency despite having all the resources and wealth to deal with the issue. It sounds depressing, but we cannot escape the harsh reality that many young and older people are no longer because of a drug overdose. Many of the celebrities, part of this depressing list, were at the prime of their careers at the time of their untimely death. Such is the destructive nature of substance abuse. So, let’s check out which of the celebs made it to this list.

The Foo Fighters’ badass drummer Taylor Hawkins died of an overdose at the Hotel Medina on Friday, March 25, 2022 in Bogota, Colombia. Taylor Hawkins was 50 years old. The band, led by Dave Grohl was on their South American tour when this tragic incident happened. A preliminary urine toxicology test was performed which indicated that Hawkins had ten substances in his system at the time of his death. These substances included  benzodiazepines, opioids, tricyclic antidepressants, and THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana. This sadly was not the first time Taylor Hawkins overdosed. Back in August 2001, Taylor overdosed but he was in an a coma for two weeks. He leaves behind three daughters; Oliver, Annabelle, and Everleigh with his wife, Alison whom he married in 2005.

Michael Williams was an acclaimed actor, model, dancer, and choreographer who rose to fame in the early 2000s. Williams is best known for his role in the HBO drama The Wire, in which he played the role of Omar Little. The American actor received critical acclaim for this role and was believed to have “made every role his own.”

This prominent actor unexpectedly passed away in 2021. He was 54 at the time of his death. Reportedly, Williams consumed a fatal fix of fentanyl-laced heroin and died of an overdose. Four men were arrested in NYC for selling the illicit substance to the late actor, which caused his sudden death. According to the statement from the US Southern District of New York’s Attorney, drug abuse is a “public health crisis that should be stopped.

Miller was a young star who lost his life like many other emerging stars due to a drug overdose. The actor passed away at the age of 26 in 2018. The cause of his death was consuming a higher quantity of alcohol with fentanyl and cocaine. This turned out to be a lethal combination as Miller was found dead sometime later. According to reports, Miller purchased a highly-addictive opioid called oxycodone but was sold a fake version containing deadly fentanyl, a deadly substance.

In 2019, a man was indicted in connection to Miller’s death. The suspect pleaded guilty to one count of fentanyl distribution. As per the plea deal, the accused was sentenced to seventeen years. Later, another man was arrested on the same changers, and he also pleaded guilty for supplying fentanyl, which played a role in Miller’s death. Both the drug dealers confessed to selling fentanyl to the deceased.

Tom Petty was a renowned singer, musician, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist of the Heartbreakers, founded in 1976. Before that, he led the Mudcrutch band. Petty was also a member of a 1980s supergroup known as the Traveling Wilburys. He was also a successful solo artist.

Tom Petty sold over eighty million records across the globe between 1970 and 2010. Some of his hit singles include Don’t Do Me Like That, The Waiting, Refugee, and Learning to Fly with the Heartbreakers. I Won’t Back Down, You Don’t Know How It Feels, and Free Fallin are some of his solo hits. A lethal combination of sedatives, opioids, and antidepressants caused the 66-year-old to die unexpectedly.

Prince Rogers Nelson otherwise known simply as Prince was regarded as one of his era’s greatest musicians. Prince was a renowned singer, songwriter, and played multiple instruments. The late singer gathered a huge fan following due to his flamboyant persona and wide vocal range comprising high-pitched screams and extended falsetto.

The American singer used potent opioids to numb the pain that wreaked havoc in his body after prolonged athletic performances on stage over decades of his career. On April 21, 2016, Prince was 57 when he died due to an accidental overdose of a highly dangerous, synthetic opioid called fentanyl, which is even worse than heroin. Throughout his career, Prince released 39 albums, and it is reported that there is a vast array of projects in his vault that are yet unreleased.

On December 23, 2016, on a return flight from her European book tour, a passenger who sat next to Carrie Fisher reported to the crew that Cariie Fisher had stopped breathing on her flight back to Los Angeles. She was admitted to UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital and was put on a ventilator. Four days later on December 27, 2016 Carrie Fisher was dead. She was 60 years old. Almost a year later, the Los Angeles County Coroner declared that her cause of death was due to “cardiac arrest/deferred” and this was the official ruling on her death certificate. A full toxicology report found that at the time of her death, Carrie Fisher had cocaine, traces of heroin, other opiates, as well as MDMA, also known and “Ecstasy.”

Philip Seymour Hoffman was an acclaimed actor, producer, and director known for his unusual roles. Hoffman usually chose to do character roles mainly of eccentric lowlifes, misfits, and bullies. Throughout his career, which started in the early 1990s, Hoffman appeared in many hit movies and did leading roles.

The late actor had a long history of drug abuse, but the addiction was under control at the time of his death. Hoffman was just 46 when he died of acute drug intoxication. Hoffman, reportedly, had struggled with drug abuse since his youth but relapsed in 2012. Some of his notable movies include New York, The Savages, Mission Impossible II, Twister, and The Hunger Games series in which he played the role of Plutarch Heavensbee, his final role as an actor.

Amy Winehouse also died of alcohol poisoning. The late singer was 27 when she died, and fatal levels of the drink were found in her body, which led to cutting short her life, and she passed away at such an early age. Her lifeless body was found at her residence in Camden on July 23, 2011.

Winehouse has long battled with substance abuse, bulimia, and alcoholism. The day she died, she had taken a high amount of alcohol after observing a brief period of abstinence. A documentary titled Reclaiming Amy was released to mark her tenth death anniversary in which her friends described Amy as “vulnerable but not fragile. Bold. Outspoken. Funny. Loved and loving. Fascinating… and a little bit scary.

Known as the king of pop music, Michael Joseph Jackson was a wildly famous singer, dancer, and songwriter. Jackson is believed to be one of the most influential cultural figures and a legendary musician of the 20th century. His career spanned four decades, during which the singer managed to churn out countless hits and even created a whole line of fashion, style, and dance moves.

Jackson was popular for his electric stage performances and unusual music. He popularized many complex dance moves, including the moonwalk and robot, which added to his fame. Jackson is the most awarded individual musician in the history of music. The legendary artist died at the age of 50 due to acute benzodiazepine and propofol intoxication on June 25, 2009. Reportedly, he died of a heart attack.

This is another case of a young star’s death due to a drug overdose. Heath Ledger was an Australian music video director, and later he switched his career to become an actor. Ledger appeared in many TV serials and films produced in Australia during the early 1990s and moved to America in 1998 to pursue his acting career.

Ledger worked in 20 movies throughout his career, including blockbusters like The Patriot, 10 Things I Hate About You, Brokeback Mountain, A Knight’s Tale, I’m Not There, Candy, The Dark Knight, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The last two films were posthumous releases. The actor was only 28-years-old when he died from accidentally overdosing on prescription medicines, including anti-anxiety drugs, painkillers, and sleeping pills. This lethal cocktail of drugs caused Ledger to develop a chest infection, and he stopped breathing.

Norma Jeane Mortenson, known by her screen name Marilyn Monroe, was a hugely popular actress, singer, and model. She rose to unprecedented heights of fame through the apt portrayal of funny blonde bombshell roles with extreme finesse. Monroe was also the most famous sex symbol of her time.

During the 1950s and 60s, Marilyn Monroe appeared in many blockbuster movies, and her films grossed more than $200 million, worth around $2 billion in 2020. The stunning actress breathed her last in her home on August 4, 1962. Her housekeeper Eunice Murray was at home with her. Murray claimed that she woke up at 3 a.m. and saw the light of her room turned on from underneath the bedroom door. When she didn’t receive any response from Monroe, she called her psychiatrist Ralph Greenson who broke into the room through a window and found her dead. According to Monroe’s toxicology report, the actress died due to acute barbiturate poisoning. The 36-year-old was suspected of having committed suicide, but there is still no confirmation about what caused her death, and it remains a mystery.

River Phoenix started his career in the field of acting at the tender age of ten. His first few acting gigs were TV commercials. In 1985, Phoenix starred in a sci-fi movie titled Explorers, but the 1986 flick Stand By Me helped the actor receive nationwide fame. By 1988, Phoenix had started appearing in adult roles and appeared in hit movies like Empty, in which he played the character of Danny Pope. He earned an Academy Award nomination for this supporting role.

River Phoenix was only 23 when he overdosed on a speedball, a cocktail of heroin and cocaine, and collapsed outside a Hollywood nightclub called the Viper Room in Los Angeles in late 1993. This nightclub was owned by actor Johnny Depp and his girlfriend Samantha Mathis, and River’s sister Rain and brother Joaquin. River Phoenix had to perform that night with the band P. While performing, Phoenix tapped fellow band member Bob Forrest and told him that he didn’t feel well and suspected he had overdosed.

John Adam Belushi was a famous actor, comedian, and musician. He was one of the 7 original cast members of the widely famous NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live. Throughout his career, Belushi remained in an artistic and personal partnership with SNL star Dan Aykroyd. The two had met while working at the Second City comedy club in Chicago.

The Blues Brothers’ star died of an accidental speedball overdose at 33. The cause of his death was reportedly drug intoxication due to cocaine and heroin combination. This combination is called a speedball. His lifeless body was first discovered by his bodyguard and fitness trainer Bill Wallace, who arrived at the late comedian’s bungalow at Chateau Marmont on March 5, 1982.

Keith John Moon was a British drummer and a member of the Who rock band. Moon was famous for his eccentric, unique, and sometimes self-destructive behavior and his continuous addiction to alcohol and drugs.

After suffering several setbacks in the 1970s, including the accidental death of his chauffeur Neil Boland and his divorce, the talented drummer developed an addiction to brandy and champagne. Due to this, he gained a negative reputation and was nicknamed Moon the Loon. It is ironic that at the time of his death, Moon was observing abstinence from alcohol. He died at the age of 32 due to an overdose of prescription drugs that intensified alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Janis Joplin was a famous singer and songwriter. Joplin sang blues, rock, and soul music and is regarded as one of the most successful rock stars of her time. Janis Joplin developed a massive fan following for her extremely powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her electrifying stage performances. She appeared at Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 as the lead singer of a little-known rock band, Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Regarded as an influential singer of her generation, Joplin died in 1970, and the cause of her death was a heroin overdose. The singer-songwriter was only 27-year-old when she died. Janis had released three albums throughout her career, two with the band and one as a solo artist. A second solo album was released three months after her death and reached the top spot on the Billboard charts of 1971.

The famous American singer and actress Judy Garland is still known for her role of Dorothy Gale in the hit movie The Wizard of Oz. Garland remained active for over four decades, and during this time, she attained global fame and stardom. Garland appeared both in dramatic and musical roles. She was also a recording artist and performed at concerts. Due to her incredible versatility, Garland received a Golden Globe award, an Academy Juvenile Award, and a Special Tony Award.

Garland was the first female artist to receive a Grammy for Album of the Year, which she won for Judy at Carnegie Hall. Sadly, while she enjoyed a successful career, her personal life was full of struggles. She probably couldn’t deal with stardom at an early age, and the pressure to perform well all the time impacted her mental and physical health as a teenager. During he adulthood, Garland developed an addiction to alcohol and substance abuse. She also experienced financial troubles before her death. Garland died at the age of 47 due to an accidental barbiturate overdose.

Johnny Allen Hendrix, aka Jimi Hendrix, was an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and musician. His mainstream career was short-lived as he was active for four years only. Still, he managed to gain worldwide acclaim, and even today, he is regarded as one of the most talented and influential electric guitarists in pop music’s history.

Jimi Hendrix is ranked among 20th century’s most celebrated musicians, described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the “greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.” Hendrix, unfortunately, died young, at the age of 27, and is part of the infamous 27 club. Reportedly, he died from asphyxia due to barbiturates intoxication and suffocation caused by aspirating his vomit.

Jean Dorothy Seberg was a famous actress who achieved fame in America but lived in France for almost half of her life. She is known for her performance in 1960 classic Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard. This movie made her the icon and symbol of France’s New Wave cinema.

Seberg featured in 34 movies in Hollywood and Europe collectively. Her notable work includes Bonjour Tristesse, Saint Joan, The Mouse That Roared, Lilith, Moment to Moment, Breathless, Paint Your Wagon, Gang War in Naples, and A Fine Madness, etc. The actress was among the key targets of the FBI Cointelpro project, and she was targeted for supporting the Black Panther Party. Seberg breathed her last at the age of 40. she was in Paris at the time of her death. She decided to end her life with an overdose of barbiturates.

Truman Streckfus Persons was an acclaimed novelist, actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Most of his short stories, plays, and novels are regarded as literary classics. This includes his bestselling novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s, adapted into a movie, and In Cold Blood, a groundbreaking crime novel. In fact, Capote’s works have been adapted into twenty movies and TV dramas.

Novelist Capote had been addicted to drugs and had gone in and out of rehabilitation throughout the 1970s. He died when he was 59 due to intoxication caused by multiple drugs and in part due to liver disease. However, in his death certificate, the cause of death was noted to be liver disease. Capote died at his friend Joanne Carson’s home, on whose program he had been a guest frequently.

Brian Epstein was an English music manager. He managed the Beatles from 1962 and remained the band’s manager until he died in 1967. Despite that Epstein didn’t have any experience managing artists, he did the job reasonably well. In fact, Epstein was the one who insisted the Beatles members that they get rid of their scruff-image and go for identical haircuts and suits and clean-cut style. He was also responsible for discovering Tommy Quickly, Billy J. Kramer, Gerry, and Cilla Black.

Due to Brian Epstein’s relentless efforts, the Beatles became an internationally acclaimed band. He accompanied the band to America, where he received many merchandising offers. Epstein signed away around 90% of the rights in advance in a now-criticized career move. Epstein died of a barbiturates overdose. He was just 32-years-old when he died. John Lennon later claimed that his death was the beginning of the group’s end.

James Douglas Morrison was a poet, singer, and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of a well-known rock band- the Doors. Morrison was known for his distinctive voice, wild personality, poetic lyrics, erratic performances, and unpredictable nature. Dramatic circumstances surrounded Morrison’s life.

Music critics regarded the singer as one of rock history’s most influential and iconic leads. The singer developed an alcohol addiction, which continued until his death. His alcohol dependency also impacted his singing and performances. He died unexpectedly when he was 27. At the time of his death, Morrison was in Paris. The cause of his death remains a mystery because an autopsy wasn’t performed. Morrison was found dead in his apartment’s bathtub, and authorities claimed that he died because of a heart attack caused by a heroin overdose.

Jean-Michel Basquiat was one of the key figures of the Neo-expressionism movement of the 1980s and was known for unusual artwork. The primary focus was on dichotomies like inner vs. outer experience, wealth vs. poverty and integration vs. segregation. Basquiat frequently turned to social commentary in his art. He used his paintings as a tool for narrating the issues faced by the Black community.

The deceased artist was a good friend of Andy Warhol. He died at the age of 27, and the cause of his death was a heroin overdose. The art scene’s most promising individual’s life was cut short because of substance abuse. Ironically, his work was more valued after his demise. At an auction at Sotheby’s in 2017, a 1982 painting by him was sold for $110.5 million.

Simon John Ritchie, also known as John Beverley and Sid Vicious, was a British musician. Ritchie is best known for being the bassist for a punk rock band known as Sex Pistols. Though his career was short-lived, as he died at the age of 21, Sid Vicious is regarded as an icon of the Punk subculture. One of his friends commented that Sid Vicious personified “everything in punk that was dark, decadent and nihilistic.”

Simon John Ritchie died because of a heroin overdose. The drug was supplied to Sid by his photographer friend while he was on bail from Rikers Island. Sid was arrested on suspicion of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen’s murder. However, according to their common friend Anne Beverley, Spungen and Vicious had signed a suicide pact and even produced a handwritten note, which said she found in the leather jacket’s pocket worn by Sid. The note read:

Canadian musician and actor Cory Allan Michael Monteith is best known for his role in Fox television’s famous series Glee. Monteith played the character of Finn Hudson in Glee. He was based in British Columbia and started his career with minor roles prior to being cast in the hit series. After gaining fame through the show, he ventured into movies and worked in Monte Carlo and Sisters & Brothers.

Cory Monteith’s adolescence was troubled as he got involved in substance abuse when he was 13. He even left school at 16. When his family and friends intervened, he enrolled himself in a rehabilitation center at 19. He remained sober from 2011 to 2013 but again got involved in drug abuse that led to his death. On July 13, 2013, Monteith died due to a fatal combination of alcohol and heroin. His dead body was found in a hotel room in Vancouver.

Sigismund Schlomo Freud, whom we know as Sigmund Freud, was a neurologist from Austria. He was also the founder of psychoanalysis- a method to assess and treat pathologies in the human psyche via dialogue between a psychoanalyst and a patient.

Freud was responsible for developing therapeutic techniques, including free association. Moreover, he discovered transference and established its role in the analytic process. Freud’s understanding of sexuality included its infantile forms, which encouraged him to formulate the Oedipus complex and made it the critical tenet of psychoanalytical theory. He died at the age of 83 due to a morphine overdose, which his physician gave him upon his request after learning that his cancer was inoperable.

R. W. Fassbinder was an actor, filmmaker, playwright, composer, theatre director, essayist, and editor from Germany. He emerged as a significant catalyst for the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder’s first feature-length movie, Love is Colder Than Death, was released in 1969, but domestically, his first commercial success came with The Merchant of Four Seasons. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, released in 1974, was Fassbinder’s first international success.

The Marriage of Maria Braun was Fassbinder’s most successful movie that focused on a German female’s coming-of-age tale during World War II. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, Satan’s Brew, and Fox and His Friends were notable works. Eventually, Fassbinder became a highly influential figure in German cinema. However, unfortunately, the talented filmmaker was addicted to drugs to fight with fatigue and stress. He died young, at the age of 37, due to barbiturates and cocaine overdose.

Born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Houston, Anna Nicole Smith worked in several low-paying jobs, including Red Lobster, Walmart, and a fried chicken restaurant, before finding fame. Eventually, Smith started working as a stripper in a Houston club to support her son. She was often compared to Marilyn Monroe.

Smith appeared on Playboy magazine cover in 1992 and received the Playmate of the Year title in 1993. Afterward, she scored many lucrative modeling contracts such as with Guess Jeans and H&M and also appeared in Naked Gun 33, and A Third. Smith allegedly was addicted to prescription medications. Due to this habit, she died from drug intoxication at 39. However, her autopsy report revealed that there weren’t any illegal substances found in her system.

Leonard Alfred Schneider, aka Lenny Bruce, was a famous stand-up comedian, satirist, and social critic of his time. He was recognized for his freestyle, open, and satirical form of comedy. His work revolved around religion, politics, vulgarity, and sex. Lenny Bruce promoted counterculture-era comedies.

Bruce was convicted in an obscenity trial in 1964 but received a posthumous pardon by Governor Pataki later in 2003, which was the first-of-its-kind pardon in New York state’s history. The satirist had a substance abuse habit, and he continued with it throughout his adult life. The acclaimed comedian died when he was 40. Bruce’s dead body was found in his home’s bathroom at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd in August 1966. A syringe and burned bottlecap were found near his body, as well as narcotics paraphernalia.

John ‍Alec ‍Entwistle was a British musician, bassist, and songwriter part of a rock band called The Who. In the music industry and among his fans, he was famous as Thunderfingers and the Who. Entwistle was the only member of the band who had received formal training in music and served as the lead vocalist for the band. The ace musician was inducted as a member of The Who in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Entwistle was known for his outstanding musical abilities. He was also voted as the all-time greatest bassist in a readers’ poll by Rolling Stone magazine in 2011. He was also included in the magazine’s 100 Greatest Bass Players in its 2017 issue. John Entwistle died from a cardiac arrest prompted by consuming large amounts of cocaine. He was 57-years-old at the time of his death.

Philip Lynott was a musician, singer, and songwriter from Ireland. He was part of the successful group Thin Lizzy, which he founded and served as its lead vocalist, principal songwriter, and bassist. Lynott was known for his unique plectrum-based style and incredibly imaginative lyrical contributions, such as representing the plight of the working class, Celtic culture, and characters and influences from his personal life.

Thin Lizzy’s bassist struggled with drug addiction during the 1980s and died at 36 due to cardiac arrest and pneumonia caused by septicemia and prolonged heroin dependency. His final chart successes were Out in the Fields with Moore and Nineteen, released in 1985. Philip Lynott continues to be a prominent figure in the rock world, and a statue in his memory was erected in Dublin in 2005.

Ronald Scott was a singer and songwriter from Australia, most famous as the lead lyricist and vocalist of the hard rock band AC/DC. He remained the part of this Australian band from 1974 to 1980, the year Scott died. Scott was rated number one in the 100 Greatest Frontmen of All Times list in Classic Rock’s July 2004 issue. Moreover, Hit Parader ranked him at number 5 on their list of 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists of all times in 2006.

Early morning on February 19, Ronald Scott passed away at the age of 33. He had visited a London club known as the Music Machine, now known as KOKO. He slept in a Renault 5, which his friend Alistair Kinnear owned. Scott was 67 when he breathed his last at Overhill Road in East Dulwich.

Kenneth Williams was a household name in the UK and widely known for his superb comic timing. Williams appeared in the hit British film series Carry On as part of 26 out of the 31 movies. Later in life, Williams became a noted diarist and raconteur. Williams appeared in numerous TV shows and radio comedies in Britain, including Kenneth Horne and Tony Hancock.

Moreover, Kenneth Williams was a regular panellist on the comedy panel show Just A Minute aired on BBC Radio 4 from 1968 to the time of his death. Williams lived alone most of his adult life and had very few friends apart from his mother. He never had any significant relationships as well. His diaries eventually revealed a lot about his personal life. As per his account, he had barely unconsummated homosexual encounters, which he referred to as tradiola or traditional matters. Ultimately, he chose to commit suicide and consumed barbiturates in large quantities as he had grown lonely and discouraged. His final words were, “Oh, what’s the bloody point?” as per his diary.