From Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch to Mikhaïl Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, read to know all the notable deaths this year.
Notable deaths in January 2022:
Sidney Poitier: In 1964, the American movie star was the first Bahamian and black man to win an Oscar.
Jean-Jaques Beinex: The French director of the iconic 1980s film “Betty Blue” died at the age of 75. His work is the best example of cinéma du look, a film movement in France.
Nino Cerruti: The iconic Italian fashion designer died at the age of 91. The Italian businessman also founded Cerruti, his own haute couture house.
Marvin Lee Aday: Also known as Meat Loaf, Aday died at the age of 74 and is best known as the US rocker of “Bat out of Hell” fame.
Thich Nhat Hanh: The Buddhist monk credited for introducing the West to mindfulness died at the age of 95.
Thierry Mugler: The French fashion designer died at the age of 73. He was also Mugler’s creative director and advisor and rose to fame for his avant-garde, hyper-feminine, and theatrical approach.
February 2022:
Monica Vitti: the Italian leading lady and muse of director Michelangelo Antonioni died at the age of 90. The actress starred in several award-winning works in the 1960s.
Lata Mangeshkar: The legendary Bollywood singer bid farewell to the world at the age of 92. The playback singer and music composer is widely accepted as one of the greatest singers in the country.
Luc Montagnier: The French scientist died at the age of 89. He is credited and celebrated for winning the Nobel medicine prize for his co-discovery of the HIV virus.
Ivan Reitman: the director of the pop culture classic, “Ghostbusters” died at the age of 75. The Canadian producer and director created several popular and successful movies.
March 2022:
Shane Warne: Australian cricketer who was one of the game’s best-ever players
William Hurt: Hurt was an American actor who won an Oscar for his performance as a gay prisoner in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”.
Madeleine Albright: The 84-year-old was the first female US secretary of state. She took on the role from 1997 to 2001.
Taylor Hawkins; The 50-year-old drummer of the alternative Foo Fighters, a popular US rock group also died this year.
April:
Vladimir Zhirinovsky: Zhirinovsky, the Russian ultra-nationalist politician died at the age of 75.
The right-wing politician was the leader of the Democratic Party of Russia from its creation in 1992 up until his death.
Michel Bouquet: The death of this celebrated French screen and stage and actor was another sad page. During his career between 1947 to 2020. He appeared in over 100 films.
May:
Shireen Abu Akleh: The 51-year-old American-Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist lost her life during an Israeli army raid in the West Bank. She worked for 25 years in the Arabic channel.
Evangelos Papathanassiou: Professionally known as Vangelis, was a Greek composer of award-winning works such as “Chariots of Fire” and “Blade Runner”.
Ray Liotta: The 67-year-old was an American actor, best known for his role as henry in Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic “Goodfellas”.
Andy Fletcher: The 60 was one of the founding members of Depeche Mode, a popular British electronic band.
Boris Pahor: Pahor, a Slovenian author who chronicled the horrors of Italian fascism and Nazi concentration camps died at the age of 108.
June:
Avraham Yehoshua: The revered Israeli novelist who fought for Palestinian rights also died this year.
Jean-Louis Trintignant:: The 91-year-old French star of New Wave films such as “A Man and a Woman” died in June.
Yves Coppes: This revered French paleontologist co-discovered the “Lucy” in Ethiopia. Lucy is a collection of bones of an Australopithecine that lived about 3.9 to 2.9 years ago. The discovery helped in shaping a better understanding of human evolution.
Leonardo Del Vecchio: The 87-year-old is the second-richest man in Italy in addition to being an eyewear magnate.
Notable deaths in July
Peter Brook: This influential British theatre director famed for his radical stagings of Shakespeare died at the old age of 97.
James Caan renowned for his roles in “The Godfather” and “Misery” also died this year.
Shinzo Abe: The former Japan premier died after being shot dead by a gunman at a campaign.
Jose Eduardo Dos Santos: Dos Santos was Angola’s long-time ruler.
David Trimble: The politician and Nobel laureate died at the age of 77. He won the Peace prize for won for helping to broker the 1998 peace deal in Northern Ireland.
James Lovelock died this year at the age of 103. The UK scientist was famous for proposing the Gaia theory and predicting climate change.
Nichelle Nichols: Nichols, a groundbreaking black actress from the cult sci-fi series “Star Trek” died this year, saddening Trekkies worldwide.
Bill Russel: The 88-year-old was an American NBA basketball player in addition to his work as a civil rights activist.
August:
Issey Miyake: The famous Japanese fashion designer and iconic high-tech and comfortable fashion bid adieu at the age of 84.
Olivia Newton-John: The star of the hit musical “Grease” alongside John Travolta died at the age of 73.
Jean-Jaques Sempe: The 89-year-old French cartoonist will forever be remembered as the illustrator of “Le petit Nicolas”.
Anne Heche: The American actress who starred in “Donnie Brasco” died at the age of 53.
Mikhail Gorbachev: Gorbachev died at the age of 91 due to illness. The eighth and last Soviet leader played at the end of the system in an effort to reform.
September:
Queen Elizabeth II: The longest-serving monarch who reigned for 70 long years died at the age of 96.
William Klein: The 96-year-old French-American fashion and street-life photographer will be remembered for his iconic approach to media using abstracts.
Jean-Luc Godard: The Director who pioneered the French New Wave died at the age of 90 by assisted suicide.
Irene Papas: the Greek star of “Zorba the Greek” died at the age of 93.
Hilary Mantel: The British novelist died at the age of 70. She is a two-time winner of the Booker Prize for her historical fiction best-sellers.
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi: Al-Qaradawi, a well-known Sunni spiritual leader and scholar of Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement died in August 2022.
Artis Leon Ivey Jr.: Famously known as Coolio, the 59-year-old was known worldwide for his hit rap “Gangsta’s Paradise”.
October:
Loretta Lynn: Lynn was an American country music titan who died at the age of 90.
Angela Lansbury: This 98-year-old cinema and television personality had a stellar eight decades-long career.
Robbie Coltrane: This Scottish actor was claimed for his role as everyone’s beloved Hagrid in the Harry Potter series.
Dietrich Mateschitz: The 78-year-old Austrian billionaire and founder of energy drinks company Red Bull died earlier this year.
Pierre Soulages: Soulages, a French abstract artist who painted exclusively in black, died at the age of 102. He was renowned for his canvases and monochrome paintings.
Jerry Lee Lewis: Nicknamed “The Killer”, the 87-year-old was an American rock and roll star in the 1950s.
November:
Gal Costa: The 77-year-old Brazilian singer and a key figure of the 1960s Tropicalia scene died in November 2022.
Hebe de Bonafini: Bonaifni was one of the founders of Argentina’s Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. The anti-dictatorship protest group helped defy the dictatorship in Argentina during the 1980s.
Jiang Zemin: The 96-year-old was a Chinese leader who took power after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He oversaw a decade of breakneck growth
Christine McVie: McVie, the keyboard player and singer-songwriter with Fleetwood Mac died at the age of 79.
December:
Angelo Badalamenti: The creator of haunting theme music for David Lynch’s TV series “Twin Peaks,” died at the age of 85.