Famous People Who Died At 27

Gaining fame as a member of the rock band Nirvana, singer-songwriter and musician Kurt Cobain was often heralded as a spokesman of Generation X. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in the history of alternative rock. He enjoyed tremendous professional success, but his personal life was troubled. He died of suicide at just 27.

One of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century, Jimi Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15. As his career progressed, he became the first musician to use stereophonic phasing effects in recordings. Rolling Stone ranked him as the greatest guitarist and the sixth greatest artist of all time. He died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 27.

Best known for her powerful mezzo-soprano voice, Janis Joplin was one of the most successful rock stars of her era. Before dying at the age of 27, she achieved so much that Rolling Stone magazine included her in its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list in 2004 and 100 Greatest Singers of All Time list in 2008.

Considered the prototypical rock star, Jim Morrison remains one of the most influential singer-songwriters, almost five decades after his death. Jim influenced the counterculture of the 1960s as he embodied the hippie counterculture rebellion. Due to his erratic performances and wild personality, he is regarded as one of the most iconic frontmen in rock history.

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist whose legacy has had an influence upon fashion, film, music, and literature. He serves as an inspiration to street artists as he started off as one, painting graffiti on buildings. After his death, at the age of 27, the value of his work has increased; in 2017, one of his paintings sold for a record $110.5 million.

Pat Tillman was an American football player who represented the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. Tillman's decision to join the US Army after the September 11, 2001 attacks proved to be costly as he died in Afghanistan as a result of friendly fire. He became the first football player since Bob Kalsu to be killed in combat.

Singer and guitarist Robert Johnson is remembered as a Delta blues legend. Lack of proper documentation of his early life led to various legends surrounding him, such as one that claimed he had made a deal with the Devil to excel in music. He also inspired an award-winning biography. 

Brian Jones was an English musician credited with founding the world-renowned rock band, The Rolling Stones. He was also considered the original leader of the band before his fellow band members, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, took over the musical direction of the band. Jones became the first member of the infamous 27 Club, when he died at age 27.

As an actor, who was also interested in photography and playing the guitar, Anton Yelchin was a man of many talents. Unfortunately, he was involved in a freak accident that killed him when he was 27. Such was his impact in Hollywood that a bronze statue of his was erected at his grave and many celebrities attended the unveiling ceremony.

Kim Jong-hyun was a South Korean record producer, singer-songwriter, author, and radio host. Kim was the principal vocalist of the popular boy band Shinee before he committed suicide at the age of 27. In 2018, his family members established the Shiny Foundation in an attempt to help struggling young artists.

Thuy Trang was a Vietnamese-American actress who is remembered for her portrayal of the first Yellow Ranger on the popular TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Unfortunately, she joined the infamous 27 Club when she passed away after suffering internal injuries caused by a car accident on September 3, 2001, in San Francisco, California, USA.

Robert Gerard Sands, better known as Bobby Sands, was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) member, who died during a 1981 hunger strike, along with nine other strikers, protesting against the removal of Special Category Status from IRA prisoners. He had helped plot the 1976 Balmoral Furniture Company bombing.

Welsh musician Pete Ham soared to fame as the lead singer and composer of the rock band Badfinger. Known for iconic hits such as No Matter What, he also co-wrote the classic Without You. After the band’s manager defrauded and vanished, Ham committed suicide by hanging himself in his garage.

The only son of comedian Bill Cosby, Ennis Cosby made headlines when he was shot dead at 27, in an attempted robbery on a deserted Southern California road. He was dyslexic and discussed his disability with the children he taught as a student-teacher at the Alfred E. Smith Elementary School.

Henry Moseley was an English physicist best known for his development of Moseley's law in X-ray spectra. He made major contributions to the fields of atomic physics, nuclear physics, and quantum physics. He was working at the University of Oxford when World War I broke out, following which he went to volunteer for the Royal Engineers of the British Army. 

Fredo Santana was an American rapper whose debut studio album peaked at number 45 on Billboard 200 chart. Santana suffered from drug addiction throughout his life and attributed his addiction to trauma experienced in his childhood. Eventually, his addiction took a toll on his health and he died in 2018 at the age of 27, joining the dreaded 27 Club.

Navid Afkari Sangari was an Iranian professional wrestler who was executed in Shiraz for killing a security guard as part of the 2018 Iranian protests. The execution took place despite opposition from the USA and IOC President Thomas Bach. Interestingly, an audiotape recording later indicated that Navid Afkari had no connection with the murder. 

Camilo Cienfuegos was a Cuban revolutionary who was part of the 1956 Granma expedition alongside Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. He went on to become one of Fidel Castro's top guerrilla commanders and played an important role in winning the Battle of Yaguajay, which earned him the nickname Hero of Yaguajay. Camilo Cienfuegos is revered as a hero in Cuba.

Masako Natsume was a Japanese actress who achieved worldwide fame after playing Tripitaka in the popular Japanese television series Monkey. Throughout her brief career, Natsume won several awards like the Elan d'or Awards. Masako Natsume remains a household name in Japan; calendars and picture books featuring pictures of Masako Natsume are still popular today.

Australian special operations soldier Leonard Siffleet was an avid sports lover in his youth. Although rejected from the police force due to poor vision, he made it to the army. He went down in history for being brutally beheaded by the Japanese army, a photograph of which was later retrieved by American soldiers.

A leader of the Expressionist group The Blue Rider, German artist August Macke had initially drawn inspiration from his amateur artist father’s paintings. His works, such as Three Girls in a Barque, focused on human subjects and mingled German and French traditions. He was killed while fighting in World War I.

Lothar von Richthofen was a German flying ace who served during the First World War. He was the younger brother of another aviator Manfred von Richthofen, whose life inspired the 2008 German-British biopic The Red Baron where Lothar von Richthofen was played by German actor Volker Bruch. Richthofen died in a flying accident when he was just 27 years old.

John Birch was an American missionary and Baptist minister. A US Army Air Forces military intelligence captain, Birch also played a key role during the Second World War, serving as an OSS agent in China. Killed during a confrontation with Communist soldiers in China, John Birch was posthumously honored with the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

Andre Spitzer was a fencing master who served as the coach of Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics team. He served in the Israeli Air Force before studying fencing at Israel's National Sport Academy. He became Israel’s top fencing instructor at the age of 27. He was killed in the terrorist attack known as the Munich massacre.