Michelle Trachtenberg, 1985-2025.From Hollywood legends to music icons, 2025 proved to be a year of profound loss for the entertainment world. The year saw the passing of actors, musicians and writers who shaped film, television, and popular culture, leaving fans around the globe reflecting on their enduring legacies. Among the notable figures who died were Gene Hackman, Ozzy Osbourne, Connie Francis, and British novelist Sophie Kinsella, marking a somber farewell to icons across generations.

The year began with the deaths of Gene Hackman, the two-time Academy Award-winning actor known for The French Connection and Unforgiven, who passed at age 95 on 18 February, and Michelle Trachtenberg, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, who died at the age of 39 on 26 February.

Just two days later, David Johansen, the 75-year-old punk and rock singer of the New York Dolls and actor in Scrooged, passed away.

Spring and early summer brought a series of losses in both film and music. Between 26 May and 30 May, actor and stunt performer Ed Gale, guitarist and singer Rick Derringer, Emmy-winning MASH* actress Loretta Swit, and actress Valerie Mahaffey all died, marking a significant period of farewells.

In June, legendary musicians Wayne Lewis of Atlantic Starr, Sly Stone, and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys passed within a week, leaving a lasting void in the music world.