7 Celebrity Suicides That Still Remains In Public Memory

7 Celebrity Suicides That Still Remains In Public Memory

Statistically, 800 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds. In fact, Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds globally. India’s suicide rate at 16.5 suicides per 100,000 people is the highest suicide rate in the South-East Asian region. India also had the third-highest female suicide rate (14.7) in the world after Lesotho (24.4) and the Republic of Korea (15.4).

Despite being such a major cause of death, discussion about suicide is treated as a taboo by society just like one of its major causes, Depression. Hence it often comes as a shock when news breaks out about any celebrity committing suicide. People are usually unable to fathom how they committed suicide in spite of having money and popularity.

We will be looking at the list of celebrities in no particular order whose suicide came as a shock to the general public and made the subject trend for days.

Heath Ledger’s death in 2008 spread like a wildfire across the world. Though he was a well-known actor and had few hits under him, the death trended instantly as he was rumored to commit suicide due to the effect of method acting for Joker in his then-unreleased Batman movie”The Dark Knight”. His age was 28.

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the rock band NIRVANA. The band is credited for changing the music landscape in the early ’90s. It popularized the grunge rock sound, changed the rock music sound, and have its influence felt till now. Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994 at the age of 27. He put a bullet in his head using his shotgun.

Robin Williams

Williams committed suicide by hanging at his home in August 2014, at age 63. Robin was a veteran comedian who had worked in Hollywood for more than two decades. His most popular and famous movies are Jumanji, Hook, Aladdin (Voice of the Genie), Good Will Hunting, and many more.

Chester Bennington

On July 20, 2017, Bennington aged 41 was found dead at his home as a result of hanging. He was the frontman for the band Linkin Park. Bennington’s death was a shock for fans across the world who grew up in the 2000s where Linkin Park dominated the rock sound and released classic nu-metal albums like Hybrid Theory and Meteora. Chester battled Depression for a long time before succumbing to it.

Evelyn McHale

Not many would have heard anything about Evelyn McHale. Not surprising as she committed suicide on May 1, 1947, even before India got Independence. Her dying wish was no one would see her body, but ironically, it’s her dead body that still keeps her alive in pop culture. Her death is termed is as the “Most Beautiful Suicide” due to the angelic position her body fell into the roof of the car and how it was photographed.

Vincent Van Gogh

Now considered one of the greatest painters ever, Vincent van Gogh lived his life relatively unknown and poor. He was also troubled by mental health issues. His famous “Starry Night” painting was completed while he was in an asylum in Saint-Rémy, France in 1889. He shot himself in the chest and died in his brother’s arms on July 29 at the age of 37.

GuruDutt

Guru Dutt is considered as one of the pioneers of Bollywood who acted and ghost directed Bollywood Classics like Sahab Biwi Aur Gulam, Kagaz Ke Phool, Pyasa through the ’50s and ’60s. Though his movies are revered as classic now, they were not a success during his time. His movies were ahead of his time and his death was also the first high profile celebrity suicide in the country which is still remembered to this day. He is said to have been mixing alcohol and sleeping pills. It was the third suicide attempt that brought his dead.