Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 2001. This list includes people like George Harrison, Aaliyah, Jennifer Syme, R. K. Narayan, Jack Lemmon and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include novelists, poets, political leaders and journalists who died in 2001. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, India & France and many more countries.
Vote for Your Favourite People Who Died In 2001
Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.
1
Aaliyah(Best Known as 'Princess of R&B' & 'Queen of Urban Pop')
Birthdate: January 16, 1979
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: August 25
Aaliyah was an American singer, actress and model, who became famous when her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number sold three million copies in the US. Her subsequent albums also sold in millions and won her numerous accolades. She also acted in some films. She tragically died in an airplane crash in the Bahamas, at the age of 22.
Birthdate: February 25, 1943
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Liverpool, England
Died: November 29
Gaining fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band, the Beatles, English musician, George Harrison, helped broaden the scope of popular music in the Western world. He was also successful as a solo performer and released many best-selling albums. He was named in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
Birthdate: April 29, 1951
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States
Died: February 18
Dale Earnhardt was an American stock car driver who raced in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1975 to 2001. Considered one of the greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR, Earnhardt won 76 Winston Cup races and seven Winston Cup championships in an illustrious career spanning 40 years. In 2010, he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Birthdate: February 8, 1925
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Newton, Massachusetts, United States
Died: June 27
John Lemmon is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning roles in Mister Roberts and Save the Tiger, and his Emmy-winning performance in Tuesdays with Morrie. His narration in Harry S Truman: A Journey to Independence earned him a Grammy nomination. He collaborated with Walter Matthau in many projects.
5
Sir Donald Bradman(Australian Cricketer Who is Considered the Greatest Batsman of All Time)
Birthdate: August 27, 1908
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cootamundra, Australia
Died: February 25
Australian cricketer, Sir Donald Bradman, is widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. He started playing cricket as a young man and scored numerous records within a few years. In a career spanning around two decades, he retired with a career test batting average of 99.94. He retained a pre-eminent position in the game for decades following his retirement.
6
Anthony Quinn(Best Known for His Roles in the films 'Viva Zapata!' and 'Lust for Life')
Birthdate: April 21, 1915
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chihuahua, Mexico
Died: June 3
Mexican-American actor Anthony Quinn is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning roles in Viva Zapata! and Lust for Life. He also delivered stellar performances in the films Zorba the Greek, Wild Is the Wind, and The Guns of Navarone. He had exhibited his artwork and also written two memoirs.
Birthdate: August 2, 1924
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, United States
Died: June 21
Carroll O'Connor was an American actor, director, and producer. In a TV career that spanned 40 years, O'Connor popularized several fictional characters, including Archie Bunker from the sitcom All in the Family, for which he received four Emmy Awards. In 1996, he was ranked 38th on the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list published by TV Guide.
8
Joey Ramone(Lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Ramones)
Birthdate: May 19, 1951
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Forest Hills, New York, United States
Died: April 15
Joey Ramone revolutionized punk rock with his band the Ramones. He was known for his distinctive hiccups, croons, and snarls, which he incorporated in his songs. He was also part of the activist group Artists United Against Apartheid. He died at 49, after a 7-year struggle with lymphoma.
9
Thuy Trang(Vietnamese-American Actress, Known for Her Role as ‘Trini Kwan’ in the TV Series ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’)
Birthdate: December 14, 1973
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Died: September 3
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.
10
Ahmad Shah Massoud(Afghan Political Leader and Guerilla Commander Who Served as Minister of Defense of Afghanistan from 1992 to 2001)
Birthdate: September 2, 1953
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bazarak, Afghanistan
Died: September 9
Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan military commander and politician. From 1979 to 1989, he played an important role in the Soviet-Afghan War, where he served as a powerful guerrilla commander. He was nicknamed Lion of Panjshir for his role in the war. Massoud was assassinated by Al-Qaeda in 2001. His death anniversary is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan.
11
Douglas Adams(Author of the BBC Radio Comedy Series "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy")
Birthdate: March 11, 1952
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Cambridge, England
Died: May 11
English author, screenwriter, and essayist, Douglas Adams, is most remembered for his comedy science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As a screenwriter, he wrote two stories for the TV series Doctor Who. He advocated for environmentalism and spoke about environmental issues in his non-fiction radio series Last Chance to See.
Birthdate: January 27, 1936
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: September 2
Troy Donahue was an American actor and singer. During the 1950s and 1960s, Donahue became known as a popular sex symbol. He was also one of the most bankable stars during the early-1960s and was ranked the 20th most popular American star in 1963. The creation of Troy McClure, a character from The Simpsons, was inspired by Troy Donahue.
13
Perry Como(Singer)
Birthdate: May 18, 1912
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: May 13
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
14
William Hanna(Creator of Popular Cartoon Characters Such as 'Tom and Jerry', 'The Flintstones' and 'Scooby-Doo')
Birthdate: July 14, 1910
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Melrose, New Mexico, United States
Died: March 22
William Hanna was an American animator, best known for creating popular cartoon characters such as Tom and Jerry, the Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo. He co-founded the Hanna-Barbera company, along with his longtime partner Joseph Barbera. Their team had produced more than 3,000 half-hour shows for 150 television cartoon series that won seven Academy Awards and eight Emmy Awards.
Birthdate: November 2, 1914
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Laurel, Mississippi, U.S.
Died: January 1
16
Rick Rescorla(British American Private Security Specialist Who Saved Thousands of Lives During 9/11)
Birthdate: May 27, 1939
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hayle, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Died: September 11
Rick Rescorla was a British American police officer, soldier, private security specialist, and educator. He is best remembered for saving thousands of lives by anticipating the 9/11 attacks and implementing evacuation procedures while serving as the director of security for the banking and financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, at the ill-fated WTC on September 11. Rescorla died during the attacks.
17
Chet Atkins(Guitarist, Jazz musician, Record producer, Jazz guitarist, Classical guitarist, Songwriter)
Birthdate: June 20, 1924
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Luttrell
Died: June 30
Birthdate: November 8, 1922
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Beaufort West, South Africa
Died: September 2
Born to a preacher father of modest means, Christiaan Barnard completed his medical school on scholarships. In December 1967, he revolutionized medical science by performing the first human heart transplant by transplanting 25-year-old accident victim Denise Darvall’s heart into 53-year-old chronic heart patient grocer Louis Washkansky.
19
John Lee Hooker(Guitarist, Singer, Singer-songwriter, Musician, Composer)
Birthdate: August 22, 1917
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Coahoma County
Died: June 21
20
Katharine Graham(American Newspaper Publisher and Heiress Who Led 'The Washington Post' (1963 - 1991))
Birthdate: June 16, 1917
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: July 17
The daughter of American publisher and financier Eugene Meyer, Katharine Graham later carried forward her family’s newspaper, The Washington Post. While the newspaper was initially handed over to her husband, Philip Graham, by her father, she took over as the owner, following Philip’s suicide. She later penned a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir.
21
Claude Shannon(Mathematician, Engineer & Cryptographer Known as a 'Father of Information Theory')
Birthdate: April 30, 1916
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Petoskey, Michigan, United States
Died: February 24
Claude Shannon was an electrical engineer, mathematician, and cryptographer. He is credited with publishing the article A Mathematical Theory of Communication which gave rise to the field of information theory. Hence, Shannon is considered the father of information theory. He is also credited with founding digital circuit design theory. During World War II, he contributed to the field of cryptanalysis.
22
Eugene Sledge(Biologist, Soldier, Academic, University teacher, Writer)
Birthdate: November 4, 1923
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Mobile
Died: March 3
Eugene Sledge was a US Marine, author, and university professor. He is remembered for chronicling his Second World War combat experiences in a memoir titled With the Old Breed, which was used as source material for a television documentary miniseries titled The War. The memoir also inspired the 2010 HBO miniseries, The Pacific, where Sledge was played by Joseph Mazzello.
Birthdate: January 30, 1920
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Huntington, West Virginia
Died: December 16
Carwood Lipton was a United States army officer who served during World War II. Lipton, who played a major role in the Battle of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge, was honored with three Purple Hearts and two Bronze Star medals. In the popular TV war drama miniseries Band of Brothers, Carwood Lipton was portrayed by actor Donnie Wahlberg.
24
Maureen Reagan(American Political Activist)
Birthdate: January 4, 1941
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: August 8
Birthdate: June 14, 1916
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Died: September 13
26
Dieter Dengler(Second Captured U.S. Airman to Escape Enemy Captivity During the Vietnam War)
Birthdate: May 22, 1938
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Wildberg, Germany
Died: February 7
Dieter Dengler was a German-born American aviator who served the US Navy during the Vietnam War. He was caught and tortured by the enemies for over six months, after which Dengler escaped from captivity, becoming only the second U.S. airman to escape captivity during the war. The experience was documented by Dieter Dengler in his book, Escape From Laos.
27
David Graf(Best Known for His Role as ‘Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry’ in the ‘Police Academy’ Film Series)
Birthdate: April 16, 1950
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Zanesville, Ohio, United States
Died: April 7
David Graf is best known as Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry from the Police Academy film franchise. He has appeared in series such as Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and The West Wing, too. He has also been part of the Screen Actors Guild national board.
Birthdate: April 14, 1948
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Murray Hill, New York, United States
Died: September 11
Berry Berenson was an American actress, photographer, and model. Apart from appearing on films alongside actors like Jeff Bridges and Anthony Perkins, Berenson also contributed as a photographer; her works were featured in popular magazines like Newsweek, Glamour, Vogue, and Life. Berry Berenson died aboard American Airlines Flight 11 during the September 11 attacks.
Birthdate: December 28, 1945
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kathmandu, Nepal
Died: June 1
Nepalese king Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, true to his royal lineage, had received an elite education at institutes such as Eton and Harvard. His murder, by his own son, Dipendra, during a dinner party massacre in 2001, that killed almost the entire Nepalese royal family, shocked the world.
30
Dale Evans(Actress)
Birthdate: October 31, 1912
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Uvalde, Texas, United States
Died: February 7
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
31
Emilie Schindler(Oskar Schindler's Wife)
Birthdate: October 22, 1907
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Moravia, Czechia
Died: October 5
Emilie Schindler is best remembered as the wife of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved over a thousand Jews from the Nazis by employing them at his factory and later inspired the iconic Steven Spielberg movie Schindler's List. She later fled to Argentina with Oskar but was abandoned by him.
Birthdate: February 17, 1919
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: August 23
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
33
R. K. Narayan(Indian Author Known for His known for His Work Set in the Fictional South Indian Town of Malgudi)
Birthdate: October 10, 1906
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Died: May 13
Remembered as one of the greatest authors of Indian literature in English, R. K. Narayan created the iconic character Swami and related his experiences set in the fictional town of Malgudi. The Sahitya Akademi and Padma Vibhushan winner was also the brother of cartoonist R.K. Laxman.
34
Arlene Francis(Actress & Radio Talk Show Host)
Birthdate: October 20, 1907
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: May 31
Birthdate: March 4, 1934
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Died: May 26
Birthdate: May 12, 1918
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Hot Wells, Cypress, Texas, United States
Died: November 22
37
Robert Ludlum(Author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series.)
Birthdate: May 25, 1927
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: New York City, United States
Died: March 12
Birthdate: December 14, 1935
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: February 10
39
Michael Williams(Actor)
Birthdate: July 9, 1935
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Liverpool, England
Died: January 11
Birthdate: November 18, 1908
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: June 2
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
Birthdate: December 7, 1972
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Pico Rivera, California
Died: April 2
In her short career, American actress Jennifer Syme acted in few films like Lost Highway and also worked as musician DaveNavarro's personal assistant. She briefly dated Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves. The couple broke up after the death of their daughter who was stillborn. Tragically, the actress died at the young age of 28, when her vehicle crashed into a row of parked cars.
42
Ann Sothern(Former actress in the 1949 film, A Letter to Three Wives)
Birthdate: January 22, 1909
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Valley City, North Dakota, United States
Died: March 15
Height: 5'1" (155 cm)
43
Foster Brooks(Actor)
Birthdate: May 11, 1912
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Died: December 20
44
Nigel Hawthorne(Actor)
Birthdate: April 5, 1929
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Coventry, England
Died: December 26
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
45
Anne Morrow Lindbergh(American Aviator and Writer Who Became the First Woman to Receive a U.S. Glider Pilot License)
Birthdate: June 22, 1906
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Englewood, New Jersey
Died: February 7
Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an American aviator and writer. She is best remembered for her exploratory flights along with her husband and pioneer aviator, Charles Lindbergh. Anne was the first woman to earn a US glider pilot license in 1930. In 1996, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
46
Tove Jansson(Finnish Penwoman and the Author of the Children’s Book Series 'Moomin')
Birthdate: August 9, 1914
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland
Died: June 27
Finnish author Tove Jansson was the woman behind the phenomenally successful children’s books and comics on the fictional white hippo-like creatures she called Moomins. While the Moomins books have been translated into more than 50 languages, Jansson’s literary works also include several other novels and short stories.
47
Ken Kesey(Novelist & Essayist Known for His Novels: ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest’ & ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’)
Birthdate: September 17, 1935
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: La Junta, Colorado, United States
Died: November 10
Ken Kesey was a prolific American essayist, novelist, and counterculture figure who defined the Psychedelic Era. Renonwed as the hero of the hippie movement in the 1960s, he garnered critical and commercial success for his novels One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion. He was imprisoned for five months for marijuana possession.
48
Jason Miller(Playwright, Actor)
Birthdate: April 22, 1939
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Queens, New York, United States
Died: May 13
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
49
Peter Griffith(Actor)
Birthdate: October 23, 1933
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Died: May 14
50
Whitman Mayo(Actor)
Birthdate: November 15, 1930
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: May 22
