Willie Mays
Maggie Smith
James Earl Jones
Aleksei Navalny
Kris Kristofferson
Quincy Jones
Alice Munro
As 2024 winds to a close, we recall some of those who will not be with us as the new year begins, people — some famous, some less so — who died in the last 12 months after forging consequential lives in the arts and sciences, in public affairs and sports, in business and literature, and in much more. Each had an impact. Each left a legacy. Read an essay from our Obituaries editor reflecting on the year.
Fashion’s storied cheerleader
Artist who defied category
Dancer who championed flamenco
Italian fashion designer who celebrated glamour and excess
Artist who recast sculpture on a massive scale through his tilted walls of rusting steel
Honored architect of understated buildings
Art world behemoth
Creator of vibrant photorealistic art
Video artist who played with time
Austerely minimalist sculptor
Star dancer in the Limón Dance Company
Dancer who brought worldwide visibility to Butoh, a hauntingly minimalist Japanese form of dance theater
Audacious and haunted French designer
Pianist of romantic passion
Pioneering Harlem ballerina
Artist who made Babar famous
Artist who was his own canvas
Creator of “Dragon Ball”
Fashion icon whose eclectic closet of clothes formed a hit exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Artist whose pictorial quilts depicting the Black experience gave rise to a second career as a children’s book writer
Creator of the poodle skirt
Doyenne of New York’s avant-garde scene
Pioneer of supergraphics
Feminist painter and sculptor of the female form
Shaped Berkeley’s counterculture aesthetic
Sculptor who evoked ancient feminine imagery
Chef who shaped high-end cooking
Towering artist of cool minimalism
Designer and retail magnate
Model and muse who famously posed in the designer Rudi Gernreich’s topless bathing suit
One of Britain’s pre-eminent postwar painters, known for his unyielding seven-day-a-week work schedule
Rediscovered avant-garde artist
World’s “most famous personal shopper”
Sculptor who animated minimalism
Enigmatic artist with theatrical flair
Celebrated designer of shimmering dresses
Pioneer in computer-generated art
Japanese avant-garde photographer
Alvin Ailey dancer of “power and radiance”
Yoga master and heir to Ashtanga’s founder
Acerbic cultural critic and novelist
Novelist and playwright who inspired young Black women
Literary star who wrote “Bastard Out of Carolina”
Lyrical poet who evoked a troubled world
Mordant novelist of émigré life
One of the greatest modern Arabic novelists
Novelist, memoirist and screenwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s with his postmodern reanimation of the noir novel
“House Made of Dawn” author whose Pulitzer win inspired a wave of Native American literature
Dance critic for The New Yorker
Leading scholar of avant-garde poetry
Unblinking scholar of Holocaust literature
Revolutionary African philosopher
Author of “The Indian in the Cupboard”
Historian of comic books
Albanian novelist and poet who single-handedly wrote his homeland onto the map of world literature
Author who dedicated her career to churning out psychologically dense stories that dazzled the literary world
“Colossus” of poetry criticism
Writer who shirked literary convention
Irish author who gave voice to women’s passions
Irreverent memoirist of Washington society
Cookbook author from a storied family who elevated Italian cooking
First openly gay woman to write a comic book about lesbians
Poet who wrote irresistibly and sensuously about Black joy, pollitics, gender, sex and love
One of the world’s best-selling novelists, whose own rags-to-riches story mirrored those of many of her resilient heroines
Inventive postmodern novelist
Blockbuster author of propulsive thrillers
Holocaust survivor and TikTok star
Writer who explored colonialism’s legacy
Author whose guidebooks opened travel to the masses
Co-author of the feminist classic “The Madwoman in the Attic”
Top romance novelist in Chinese-speaking world
Dance critic with a biting wit
Banker who broke from his fabled family
Longtime host of NPR’s “Morning Edition”
Head of American Express
Time Warner chief during AOL merger debacle
Math genius who conquered Wall Street
Rogue trader in 1980s Wall Street scandal
Home Depot co-founder who came up with the idea of a warehouse-style store that would appeal to the do-it-yourself homeowner
S.E.C. leader and Wall Street lion
Conservative television and radio host at CNN and Fox Business
Founder of Barnes & Noble
One of India’s most powerful business magnates
Founder of JanSport
Former executive editor of The New York Times
Lyrical newscaster on radio and TV
Influential talk radio host
Helped create Pop-Tarts
High-profile advertising pioneer who owned an agency best known for its “I ♥ NY” campaign
Entrepreneur who started Famous Amos, one of the world’s best-known names in baked goods
Firebrand Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter
Nobel winner who plumbed the psychology of economics
Earnest PBS news anchor
Journalist who documented Bay Area counterculture
World’s longest-serving flight attendant
Veteran political journalist and TV pundit
Trendsetting editor of Architectural Digest
Longtime senior editor at The New York Times
Redefined the chocolate chip cookie with David’s Cookies
Scholarly patrician who edited Harper’s Magazine
Travel reporter who visited 102 countries
Chief executive of UnitedHealthcare
Fox health commentator
Philosopher who envisioned today’s corporate world
Lead singer of the Shangri-Las
Larger-than-life country music star
Raspberries frontman and “All by Myself” singer
One of the most powerful forces in American popular music, who produced “Thriller,” the best-selling album of all time
R&B hitmaker with a silky voice
Detroit musician whose career was resurrected
Gospel star who guided her daughter, Whitney, to fame
Musician whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions infused country music with candor and depth
Founding member of the Jackson 5 who became a teen idol in the 1970s with a string of hits
One of the most influential drummers in jazz history
Venerable nightclub singer
Polish contralto with sweeping range
Singer who made a splash in a solo act at Woodstock
Composer and gleeful sire of P.D.Q. Bach
Musician and voice of “the doomed, the damned, the weird”
High-spirited leader of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Soprano who starred in the French thriller “Diva”
Country music’s “First Lady of the Banjo”
Charter member of the Grateful Dead and one of the first rock bassists whose instrument regularly took a lead role
Canada’s “First Lady of Jazz”
Guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band
Jazz drum virtuoso
Saxophonist for David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen
“Many Spoonfuls of Sugar” songwriter
The voice of Iron Butterfly
Pianist, composer and arranger who brought bossa nova to a global audience through his ensemble, Brasil ’66
Introspective pop singer who became a hero to French youth in the 1960s with her moody ballads
Musician and humorist with the Texas Jewboys
Shaper of bluegrass and country-rock
Chart-topping Nashville songwriter
Musical voice for civil rights
The last remaining original member of the Four Tops
“The godfather of British blues”
Singer and songwriter for One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time
Self-proclaimed “punk of fado” who modernized the genre
Zodiacs frontman whose single “Stay” shot to No. 1
Lead singer and songwriter of the soul and funk band Maze
Central figure in the formation of the Eagles
Texas beauty queen and wife of Bing Crosby
Saxophonist and composer of jazz standards
Singer who was a star on two continents
Hit-making crooner who sang the theme for “The Love Boat”
Musician who recorded and performed solely for children
Saxophonist who became part of the bedrock of the jazz scene
Restaurant owner made famous by an Arlo Guthrie song
Reigning J-pop star of the 1980s
Great-grandmother who won a Latin Grammy
Europe’s pre-eminent jazz pianist
Tabla virtuoso who fused musical traditions
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest son
Former Florida governor and senator
Pro-democracy leader in Myanmar
The Kremlin’s fiercest critic, whose work brought arrests, attacks and a near-fatal poisoning
Ex-laborer who became a top Israeli leader
Senator and prominent climate change denier
Champion of literacy
First female senator to represent Missouri
Defiant activist for a Democratic Taiwan
Trailblazer in Congress and nursing
Hard-line general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, who presided over economic and geopolitical transformation
Firefighter who stood with Bush after 9/11
Changed the lives of Nepalese women and children
Soviet Union premier who presided over economic chaos
Lobbyist, performer and fierce advocate for transgender people and sex workers
Former President of Tanzania
Negotiated for peace as Irish prime minister
Prime minister who led Canada into NAFTA but was shadowed by scandal
New Jersey’s first Black member of Congress
The first woman on the faculty of Yale Law School
Helped expose the Iran-Contra scandal
Minister who preached radical inclusivity
Arkansas senator and Clinton ally
Leader amid Los Angeles riots
Congressman who rebelled against Nixon
Patron of Puerto Rican culture in New York
Republican strategist turned CNN political commentator
Widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy who devoted herself to working on behalf of the causes he championed
Iran’s president
Michelle Obama’s mother
Founder of Argentina’s Mothers of the Disappeared
Expanded Chabad’s global reach
Disgraced Christian conservative leader
Top strategist for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Advocate for migrants in South Texas
Army intelligence analyst during the Vietnam War
Empowered workers across the globe
Former president of Peru who revived the economy and quelled two deadly insurgencies
Texas Democrat who was a voice for racial justice and progressive causes and led the effort to make Juneteenth a holiday
U.S. ambassador to Israel who sought peace in the Middle East
Army lieutenant convicted in the My Lai Massacre
President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to China
Advocate for Indegenous rights in Canada
Republican who dominated Washington State politics
Lobbyist at the center of two bribery scandals
Connecticut’s four-term senator and Vice President Al Gore’s Democratic running mate in the 2000 presidential election
First Black African to head a major international organization
Last surviving Pearl Harbor bombardier
Reporter whose exposé inspired “Serpico”
South Dakota senator who came back from a brain aneurysm
Helped pave the way for the Fair Pay Act
Logistical middleman in the Iran-contra scandal.
Palestinian militant leader who helmed Hamas
The father of Latin American liberation theology
Conservative lawyer who took up liberal causes
First to break many racial barriers
Oklahoma senator who ran for president
Plaintiff in landmark sterilization case
Creator of a personal computer prototype
Pharmacologist who discovered a key breast cancer drug
Dermatologist who pioneered the cosmetic use of botox
Nobel-winning physicist who overturned what had been considered a law of nature — that particles are always symmetrical
Neurosurgeon who protested sexism
One of the first quadriplegic Harvard graduates
Nobel-Winning scientist stirred by rivalries
Pediatrician whose research on lung disease in newborns led to lifesaving treatments and to the creation of one of the first neonatal intensive care units
Astronaut who flew on the Apollo 8 “Genesis flight,” the first manned orbit of the moon
French “angel” of Dien Bien Phu
Scholar of statins that reduce heart disease
Influential ecologist on climate change
Computer pioneer and transgender advocate who made significant contributions at IBM
Nobelist whose research led to medical advances
Pathologist who proved that bacteria cause ulcers
Doctor whose pulmonary research saved thousands of infants
Nobel physicist whose astronomical probes confirmed the Big Bang theory
Nobelist who predicted the Higgs boson and sparked a half-century, worldwide, billion-dollar search for it
Scientist who shared Nobel glory with his rival
Saved millions from dehydration
Announcer who voiced the AOL alert “You’ve got mail!”
Biochemist and federal health official who protected the then-nascent field of biotechnology
Olympian in a Cold War romance
Hall of Fame Raiders center
N.B.A. Hall of Famer and broadcasting star
Hall of Fame basketball coach at the University of Maryland
Pitcher who helped Boston break the curse
Winner of two PGA Tour titles
Giants center fielder whose brilliance led many to call him the greatest all-around player in baseball history
One of basketball’s greatest players, a signature figure in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers and a literal icon of the sport
St. John’s basketball coach with 526 wins
Quarterback who led Browns to ’64 title
Shortstop for the “Miracle Mets” of 1969
Baseball star known as Baby Bull
Skating’s first female national champion
One of NASCAR’s greatest drivers
Football star who was acquitted of killing his former wife and her friend in a 1995 trial that mesmerized the nation
Sportswriter who pioneered the role of the N.F.L. insider
Pitched two no-hitters for the Cubs
Star quarterback of the Rams and the Eagles
Top pitcher during the Dodgers’ glory days
Hall of Fame Cardinals manager
Stalwart Mets catcher on ’69 championship team
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who enthralled baseball fans with his signature screwball
Record-holding badminton champion
Only American to win Olympic gold in the 5,000-meter race
N.B.A. champion and movie producer
Won 15 Grand Slam tennis tournaments in the 1950s
“Skier of the impossible”
Baseball outfielder who championed gay causes
N.B.A. star with the second-most blocked shots in history and humanitarian in his native Congo
Three-time champion of the United States Women’s Open golf tournament
Enigmatic running back for the Cowboys
“The emperor of African soccer”
Basketball Hall of Fame guard for the Golden State Warriors
Teenage Met player who lasted 18 seasons
Redefined the middle linebacker
Runner who overcame racism to win Olympic gold
Rusher who helped lead the Miami Dolphins to two Super Bowls
First Dominican-born major leaguer
One of baseball’s most charismatic pitchers
Baseball star who earned glory as the game’s hit king and shame as a gambler and dissembler
Forerunner of the modern dual-threat quarterback
Offensive guard for the Buffalo Bills
Inspiring coach of U.S.C. and L.A. Rams
Gymnastics coach who was revered then repudiated
High-scoring all-star for the Chicago Bulls
Motorcycle racing pioneer
All-star slugger for Cleveland
Star of the show-jumping circuit
One of the first identical twins in the N.B.A.
Baseball’s flamboyant “man of steal”
Former pro linebacker who played Apollo Creed in “Rocky”
Award-winning “Roots” actor
America’s best-known sex counselor as “Dr. Ruth”
One of America’s most versatile actors who gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King”
America’s most popular fitness instructor
“Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed” actress
Soft-spoken everyman turned comedy star
Smoldering French film star
Reinvented the television talk show with a democratic flourish
Oscar-nominated comic actress for her role in “Tootsie”
Intense, elegant dramatic actress who often collaborated with her husband, John Cassavetes
Acerbic comedian and character actor who initially rose to prominence for his stand-up act
Director of “In the Heat of the Night” and “Moonstruck”
Star in the 1950s classic “The Honeymooners”
Tony-winning actress from “A Little Night Music”
Grande dame of stage and screen who was the breakout star of “Downton Abbey”
Actor and singer known for “Starsky and Hutch”
Actress known for “Devil in the Flesh”
Golden Globe-winning film and TV actress
Prolific master of low-budget cinema
Prolific child actor of the 1940s
Comic actor known for “Mary Hartman”
Broadway actress who played Anita in the original production of “West Side Story”
Played a villain in “The French Connection”
French film actress and international sex symbol
Screenwriter for Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown”
Cosmopolitan “La Dolce Vita” actress
“Black Panther” actress who bridged South African eras
Longtime host of “The Hollywood Squares”
Heartthrob of the “Gidget” movies
Tony-winning musical theater actor
Star of “Good Times” and “Roots”
Chameleon of a movie star who took on wide-ranging roles in “M*A*S*H,” “Ordinary People” and “The Hunger Games”
One of the biggest film stars of the 1970s who collaborated with Robert Altman and played Wendy in “The Shining”
Host of the hit antiques show “American Pickers”
Leading lady of movie musicals
Television actor best known for the 1960s show “Tarzan”
Actor who played histrionic middle-aged men
Host of “Love Connection” and “Wheel of Fortune”
Woody Allen’s co-writer on “Annie Hall” and others
Star of “The Mod Squad”
Mentalist and 1970s TV star
Acclaimed actress in Pedro Almodóvar’s films
Produced by Aliza Aufrichtig, Rebecca Lieberman, Anna Ruch, Ash Wu and Bernard Mokam.
Photographs credited in linked obituaries, except the following that appear only on this page: Maki: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press. de Brunhoff: Patrick Andrade for The New York Times. McFadden: Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times. Jois: Tom Daly. Munro: Ian Willms for The New York Times. O’Brien: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times. de’Medici: Fulvio Zanettini, via Badia a Coltibuono. Ebert: Andrew Testa for The New York Times. Croce: Elizabeth Kendall. Robinson: Todd Heisler/The New York Times. Donaldson: John Sotomayor/The New York Times. Dobbs: Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times. Lawrence: Bettmann/Getty Images. Weiss: Roberta Bayley/Getty Images. Rodriguez: Chad Batka for The New York Times. Payne: Chad Batka for The New York Times. Hussain: Ed Perlstein/Redferns, via Getty Images. U Tin Oo: Guillaume Payen/Anadolu Agency, via Getty Images. Nguyen Phu Trong: Luong Thai Linh/EPA, via Shutterstock. Raisi, Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times. Samuelsson: Ira Wyman/Sygma, via Getty Images. Simpson: Ted Soqui/Sygma, via Getty Images. Hayatou: Brendan Moran/Getty Images. Gossett: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images. Lewis: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
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