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In Memoriam: Who We Lost in 2025

A look back at the actors, musicians, artists, politicians and other noteworthy figures who died this year

Trey Barrineau,

AARP

Published December 29, 2025

a collage with photos of diane keaton, pope francis, roberta flack and robert redford

(From left) Diane Keaton, Pope Francis, Roberta Flack and Robert Redford were among the notable people who passed away in 2025.

AARP (FROM LEFT: Rachel Luna/Getty Images; Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images; Henry Diltz/Corbis via Getty Images; Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)

The end of the year always brings about a time for reflection, and as 2025 concludes, AARP is remembering notable figures we lost.

In the realms of global affairs and politics, the passing of Pope Francis in April was a major loss. Meanwhile, American politics saw the deaths of Dick Cheney, perhaps the most powerful vice president in the nation’s history, and former Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

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It was an especially sad year for Hollywood, which lost several notable figures, including David Lynch, Gene Hackman, Val Kilmer, Diane Keaton, Diane Ladd and Rob Reiner.

The music industry also grieved significant losses in 2025, including giants such as Roberta Flack, Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, Connie Francis and Ozzy Osbourne.

The worlds of science and the arts experienced notable deaths as well, including Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, architect Frank Gehry, primatologist Jane Goodall, journalists John Feinstein, Bill Moyers, Susan Stamberg and Peter Arnett, fashion designer Giorgio Armani, and DNA pioneer James Watson.

In sports, boxing great George Foreman died, as did ice skating legend Dick Button. Baseball lost beloved funnyman Bob Uecker and all-around great Ryne Sandberg. Iconic wrestler Hulk Hogan passed away as well.

Here’s a month-by-month listing of all the obituaries AARP published in 2025.

January

Wayne Osmond, 73, singer and guitarist for The Osmonds

Peter Yarrow, 86, part of the folk-music trio Peter, Paul and Mary

Anita Bryant, 84, singer and vocal opponent of gay rights

Bob Uecker, 90, longtime Brewers announcer dubbed ‘Mr. Baseball’

David Lynch, 78, visionary filmmaker behind ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’

Marianne Faithfull, 78, British singer-actress

Dick Button, 95, Olympic great and TV voice of figure skating

February

Gene Hackman, 95, Academy Award-winning actor

Clint Hill, 93, Secret Service agent who leapt onto JFK’s car after the president was shot

Roberta Flack, 88, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter

Al Trautwig, 68, iconic New York Sports broadcaster

Boris Spassky, 88, Soviet chess champion who lost famed match to Bobby Fischer

March

Carl Dean, 82, Dolly Parton’s husband for nearly 60 years

Pamela Bach, 62, ‘Baywatch’ actress and the ex-wife of David Hasselhoff

John Feinstein, 69, one of the country’s top sportswriters

George Foreman, 76, boxing legend and TV pitchman

Richard Chamberlain, 90, TV actor who starred in ‘Dr. Kildare’

April

Val Kilmer, 65, ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Batman Forever’ star

Jay North, 73, ‘Dennis the Menace’ star

Wink Martindale, 91, legendary game show host

Pope Francis, 88, first Latin American leader of the Catholic church

Steve McMichael, 67, NFL Hall of Famer and wrestling legend

May

Jill Sobule, 66, rocker known for 1990s hit ‘I Kissed a Girl’

Ruth Buzzi, 88, comedic actor who gained fame on ‘Laugh-In’

Most Popular

George Wendt, 76, actor best known as Norm from ‘Cheers’

David Souter, 85, former Supreme Court justice

Loretta Swit, 87, actor who played Maj. Margaret Houlihan on TV’s ‘M*A*S*H’

Musician Sly Stone, who revolutionized American pop music, died in June 2025. He was 82.

1974 photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

June

Sly Stone, 82, a pioneer who revolutionized American popular music

Brian Wilson, 82, visionary genius behind the Beach Boys

Anne Burrell, 55, Food Network star

Bobby Sherman, 81, former teen idol

Bill Moyers, 91, acclaimed TV journalist

Rick Hurst, 79, Cletus from ‘Dukes of Hazzard’

July

Jimmy Swaggart, 90, televangelist who fell from grace

Michael Madsen, 67, ‘Kill Bill’ actor

Julian McMahon, 56, ‘Fantastic Four’ star

Connie Francis, 87, iconic pop singer of the ’50s and ’60s

Felix Baumgartner, 56, daredevil who skydived from the edge of space

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 54, ‘Cosby Show’ star

‘Papa Jake’ Larson, 102, D-Day veteran and TikTok star

Ozzy Osbourne, 76, legendary rocker

Chuck Mangione, 84, beloved horn player

Hulk Hogan, 71, wrestling legend

Tom Lehrer, 87, musical satirist of midcentury America

Ryne Sandberg, 65, Hall of Fame baseball star

August

Loni Anderson, 79, star of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’

Jim Lovell, 97, astronaut and Apollo 13 commander

Danielle Spencer, 60, Dee from TV's ‘What’s Happening!!’

Terence Stamp, 87, British actor who specialized in villains

Frank Caprio, 88, compassionate judge who drew a huge online audience

Brent Hinds, 51, former Mastodon singer-guitarist

September

Graham Greene, 73, Oscar nominee for ‘Dances With Wolves’

Giorgio Armani, 91, fashion icon

Patrick Hemingway, 97, Ernest Hemingway’s last surviving child

The Duchess of Kent, 92, a Wimbledon fixture

Mark Volman, 78, cofounder of '60s pop group the Turtles

Polly Holliday, 88, Flo on the sitcom ‘Alice’

Robert Redford, 89, legendary Hollywood actor, director and independent-film champion

October

Jane Goodall, 91, groundbreaking primatologist

Joan Kennedy, 89, Ted Kennedy’s first wife

John Lodge, 82, singer and bassist for psychedelic rockers the Moody Blues

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 106, chaplain for Loyola University’s men’s basketball team

Diane Keaton, 79, beloved Oscar-winning star of ‘Annie Hall’

D’Angelo, 51, R&B superstar who pioneered the neo-soul movement

Ace Frehley, 74, Kiss guitarist

Susan Stamberg, 87, trailblazing NPR journalist

June Lockhart, 100, beloved TV mom from ‘Lost in Space'

November

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, 78, Grateful Dead vocalist

Diane Ladd, 89, a three-time Oscar nominee

Dick Cheney, 84, former vice president

James Watson, 97, DNA pioneer

Sally Kirkland, 84, Oscar-nominated actor

Cleto Escobedo III, 59, Jimmy Kimmel’s bandleader

Jimmy Cliff, 81, reggae pioneer

December

Isiah Whitlock Jr., 71, star of acclaimed TV series ‘The Wire’

Brigitte Bardot, 91, film legend and sex symbol

Chris Rea, 74, British singer-songwriter behind ‘Driving Home for Christmas’

Betty Reid Soskin, 104, America’s oldest Park Ranger

Greg Biffle, 55, NASCAR driver who flew rescue missions in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene

Peter Arnett, 91, a daring journalist who reported from the world’s war zones

Gil Gerard, 82, starred on TV as Buck Rogers

Joe Ely, 78, legendary Texas singer-songwriter

Anthony Geary, 78, best known as Luke from ‘General Hospital’

Rob Reiner, 78, one of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers

Raul Malo, 60, frontman for the Mavericks

Sophie Kinsella, 55, ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ author

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, 75, star of the ‘Mortal Combat' films

Frank Gehry, 96, famed architect and designer

Trey Barrineau is an editor with AARP's Members Edition. He previously worked at USA Today.

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