Robert Johnson

After he died at age 27, rumors flew about him making deals with devils in order to obtain his talent and become so well-known so quickly. This is just the beginning of an interesting, if short life. While he wasn’t well-known during his lifetime and couldn’t sell much, after his death, he became a commercial success. He was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! He has achieved posthumous recognition as a great blues figure.


Lea De Mae

An unusual career preceded De Mae’s death at age 27; she started as a Czech high diver and trained for the 1996 Olympics, but was sidelined by a spinal injury. Since she couldn’t recover from her problems and qualify for the 2000 Olympics, she retired from professional sports. She was then convinced to become a nude model and later an adult film star. A tremendous amount of support came from fans and fellow actors when she was diagnosed with brain cancer, but she died within the year.


Heath Ledger

An actor who exploded into fame with his roles in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, Ledger died at age 28 from an accidental overdose. He received numerous awards for both roles and was the ninth-youngest nominee ever for a Best Actor Oscar award. After his death, three other actors played fantasy transformations of his character in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus so that his final performance could be released to the viewing public, and his legacy lives on in these movies among other roles.



Aaliyah - At the age of 22


At the age of 22, this famous singer had accomplished a lot. She also acted and modeled, and was a protege of R. Kelly. She released a double platinum album, a single that reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on airplay alone (becoming the first artist to accomplish this), and filmed a part in a movie based on an Anne Rice novel, The Queen of the Damned. With these accomplishments under her belt, she was killed after a plane crash on her way back from recording a music video.



Lou Gehrig

At age 37, this baseball great died from a disease that was later nicknamed after him, officially called ALS. He set a record for playing in 2,130 consecutive games that took 56 years to beat, and won several MVP awards. He tied with Alex Rodriguez for most career grand slams, at an amazing 23, and played for the Yankees alone for 17 seasons before his career was cut tragically short. After his retirement, he declared himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” for the outpouring of support and appreciation from fans of the team and of baseball.



Kurt Cobain

Another celebrity who died when he was only 27 years old, he was the lead singer of Nirvana and an iconic alternative rock and grunge star. Despite numerous personal problems, some of which related to the fame he found in life, he produced influential music and found success with an entire generation of fans before committing suicide in his home. After his death, the fascination with Cobain’s life has continued to this day.

Sharon Lopatka (September 20, 1961 – October 16, 1996)

Sharon Lopatka was an internet entrepreneur and one sick puppy. Living in Hampstead, Maryland, USA, Sharon was killed by Robert Frederick Glass in a case of consensual homicide.

While advertising unusual fetishist pornography on her web site, Sharon began her hunt for a partner willing to torture and kill her for their mutual sexual gratification. After many false starts, of course most replies were