Died before 30
by sieteuve | created - 26 Feb 2017 | updated - 13 Mar 2017 | PublicActors and actresses who died before turning 30
1. Aaliyah
Soundtrack | Romeo Must Die
Talented. Beautiful. Modest. These three words described R&B singer-turned-actress Aaliyah perfectly.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane (Hankerson) and Michael Haughton. Her uncle was music manager Barry Hankerson and her brother is director Rashad Haughton. Aaliyah was ...
(22) Plane crash
2. Anissa Jones
Actress | To Rome with Love
Anissa Jones was an American child actress of Lebanese descent. She is primarily remembered for the role of the orphan girl Buffy Davis in the hit sitcom "Family Affair" (1966-1971). The series lasted for 5 seasons and 138 episodes. Jones' career rapidly declined following the end of the sitcom. ...
(18) Drug overdose
3. Anton Yelchin
Actor | Star Trek
Anton Yelchin was an American actor, known for playing Bobby in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Chekov in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, Charlie Brewster in the Fright Night (2011) remake, and Jacob in Like Crazy (2011).
He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, USSR, to a Jewish family. His ...
(27) Hit by a car
4. Brad Renfro
Actor | The Client
Brad Renfro was born on July 25, 1982 in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Angela Denise McCrory and Mark Renfro, a factory worker. He was discovered at age 10 by director Joel Schumacher and was cast in the motion picture The Client (1994), which starred Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. Although this ...
(25) Heroin overdose
5. Brandon Lee
Actor | The Crow
Born on February 1, 1965 to Bruce Lee (Martial Arts idol) and Linda Lee Cadwell. Brother to Shannon Lee. In 1970-71, they moved to Hong Kong, where Brandon lived until age eight, becoming fluent in Cantonese. By the time he was able to walk, he was already involved in learning about martial arts ...
(28) Shooting accident
6. Bridgette Andersen
Actress | Savannah Smiles
Bridgette Andersen was born on July 11, 1975 to Frank Glass and Teresa Andersen in Inglewood, California and grew up in Malibu. She always considered it good luck to have her birthday read as 7-11 rather than as July 11th. She would always kiss the first two fingers on her right hand and then touch...
(21) Overdose of alcohol and drugs
7. Dominique Dunne
Actress | Poltergeist
Dominique Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Ellen Beatriz Griffin Dunne and Dominick Dunne, a producer, actor, and writer. Actor Griffin Dunne is her brother. After her parents' divorce, she moved first to New York, and then to Beverly Hills. Upon graduation from high ...
(22) Murdered by her boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney
8. Dorothy Stratten
Actress | Galaxina
Dorothy Stratten's story was brief, glorious and tragic. She was born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten on February 28, 1960 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She grew up in a rough neighborhood in Vancouver, but kept out of trouble and went through the motions of school. While not a beauty as a child...
(20) Murdered by her husband Paul Snider
9. Françoise Dorléac
Actress | L'homme de Rio
The radiant Françoise Dorléac is better remembered today as the elder, ill-fated sister of French film star Catherine Deneuve. The Paris-born actress, however, was actually the first to become a star and had quite a formidable career of her own in the 1960s until it was cut short. Born into a ...
(25) Car accideent
10. Gia Allemand
Actress | Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report
Gia Allemand was born on December 20, 1983 in Howard Beach, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report (2011), Ghost Trek: Goomba Body Snatchers Mortuary Lockdown (2013) and Bachelor Pad (2010). She died on August 14, 2013 in New Orleans, ...
(29) Suicide par pendaison
11. Heath Ledger
Actor | Brokeback Mountain
When hunky, twenty-year-old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of little depth. He spent several years trying desperately to sway this image, but this was a double-edged sword. His work comprised ...
(28) Overdose of barbiturates
12. Heather O'Rourke
Actress | Poltergeist
Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975 in Santee, San Diego, California, to Kathleen, a seamstress, and Michael O'Rourke, a construction worker. She had German, Danish, English, and Irish ancestry.
Heather entered American cinematic pop-culture before first grade. She was sitting ...
(12) Heart failure after surgery
13. James Dean
Actor | East of Eden
James Byron Dean was born February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana, to Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton A. Dean, a farmer turned dental technician. His mother died when Dean was nine, and he was subsequently raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. After grade school, he moved to ...
(24) Car accident
14. Jean Harlow
Actress | China Seas
Harlean Carpenter, who later became Jean Harlow, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1911. She was the daughter of a successful dentist and his wife. In 1927, at the age of 16, she ran away from home to marry a young businessman named Charles McGrew, who was 23. The couple pulled up ...
(26) Cerebral edema
15. Jiah Khan
Actress | Ghajini
Jiah Khan was born on February 20, 1988 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Ghajini (2008), Nishabd (2007) and Housefull (2010). She died on June 3, 2013 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
(25) Suicide par pendaison
16. Jonathan Brandis
Actor | The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter
Born in Danbury, Connecticut, USA, to Greg and Mary, Jonathan Brandis began his career at age 5, acting in several television commercials. He also appeared in small parts in several films and TV shows before his first starring role in the 1990 film The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990). ...
(27) Suicide
17. Lee Thompson Young
Actor | Friday Night Lights
Lee Thompson Young was born as the son of Velma Love and Tommy Scott Young. When he was in second grade his parents split up and he went to live with his mother. At age ten, he portrayed Dr. Martin Luther King in a play called "A Night of Stars and Dreams". That's when Lee decided he wanted to be ...
(29) Suicide par balle
18. Matthew Garber
Actor | Mary Poppins
Matthew Garber was a British child actor. Both of his parents were theatrical actors, but neither was particularly famous.
In 1963, Garber came to the attention of actor Roy Dotrice (father of Karen Dotrice) who was seeking potential child actors. Roy recommended Garber to the casting department of ...
(21) Pancreatitis
19. Mónica Spear
Actress | La mujer perfecta
Miss Spear was crowned Miss Venezuela in 2004 and was 4th runner-up in the 2005 Miss Universe Pageant. Prior to competing in beauty pageants, Miss Spear bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Central Florida. Miss Spear went on to become one of the most popular and successful soap ...
(29) Killed in an attempted robbery
20. Pauline Lafont
Actress | Jing du qiu xia
Pauline Lafont was born on April 6, 1963 in Nîmes, Gard, France. She was an actress, known for Soccer Heroes (1987), Le petit docteur (1986) and Cop Au Vin (1985). She died on August 11, 1988 in Gabriac, Lozère, France.
(25) Fall of a ravine during an excursion
21. River Phoenix
Actor | My Own Private Idaho
River Phoenix was born River Jude Bottom in Madras, Oregon. His mother, Arlyn (Dunetz), a Bronx-born secretary, and his father, John Bottom, a carpenter, met in California in 1968. They worked as itinerant fruit pickers, and later joined the Children of God religious group (John was originally ...
(23) Heroin overdose
22. Sandra Mozarowsky
Actress | Ángel negro
Sandra Mozarowsky was born on October 17, 1958 in Tangier, Morocco. She was an actress, known for Ángel negro (1978), Curro Jiménez (1976) and School of Death (1975). She died on September 14, 1977 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
(18) Fall from balcony
23. Sawyer Sweeten
Actor | Everybody Loves Raymond
Sawyer Sweeten was born on May 12, 1995 in Brownwood, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002) and Even Stevens (2000). He died on April 23, 2015 in Austin, Texas, USA.
(19) Suicide by head shot
24. Sharon Tate
Actress | Valley of the Dolls
Sharon's early life was one of constant moving as her father served in the military. When she lived in Italy, she was voted "Homecoming Queen" of her high school. After being an extra in a few Italian films, Sharon headed to Hollywood where she would again start as an extra. Her first big break ...
(26) Murdered by Charles Manson
25. Soledad Miranda
Actress | Eugénie
Soledad Miranda was a Spanish actress who appeared in many films in the 1960s. Her remarkable beauty and her tragic untimely death make her story the stuff of legend. She was born on July 9, 1943 in Seville, Spain. She started her career when only eight years old as a flamenco dancer and singer. ...
(27) Car accident
26. Viridiana Alatriste
Actress | La seducción
Viridiana Alatriste was born on January 17, 1963 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico. She was an actress, known for Seduction (1981), La combi asesina (1982) and Mañana es primavera (1982). She died on October 25, 1982 in Mexico City, Mexico.
(19) Car accident
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