16 Last Photos of Famous People Ever Taken

Photographs are great for capturing moments in time that we will never forget. Whether that’s that birthday party of your 90-year-old grandmother, your child’s first day of school, or a romantic trip you are embarking on with your partner, taking a photo of any occasion means you will always have a visible reminder of that moment in time.

Sometimes these photos include shots of famous people. Fans and the paparazzi are always snapping away at celebrities, and while most images taken have no real significance, some turn out to be the last photos of famous people ever taken. 

These eerie shots of famous people vary from images of them posing with fans to unsuspecting paparazzi shots. They show movie stars, athletes, musicians, and public figures photographed just days before their deaths. Some were captured by fans getting a selfie while others were taken at public events. What all these photos have in common is that they are the final images of famous people ever taken. Scroll through below and check out the final photos of these great people who were unaware their lives were about to end. 

16 Last Photos of Famous People Ever Taken

1. Tupac Shakur

One of the most famous photos of a dead celebrity captured moments before they were killed is this image of Tupac Shakur. The photo, believed to have been taken by a fan, shows 2Pac sitting in a car next to his label boss Suge Knight. The two had just fled the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas after Pac was involved in an altercation.

At around 11:15 pm on the night of September 7, 1996, Pac and Knight stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up and fired at the two. Pac was hit four times; once in the arm, once in the thigh, and twice in the chest, while Knight managed to stay bullet free. 

Taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Pac fought for his life for almost a week before finally passing from his injuries on September 13. His death came at the height of the East Coast vs. West Coast rap beef, with many conspiracy theories floated regarding who shot Tupac.

Nobody was ever charged with his murder, and just six months later, New York rapper The Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher Wallace, was gunned down in similar circumstances in Los Angeles. Both murders remain unsolved. 

2. James Dean 

Despite his young age, James Dean was considered an acting great before his tragic passing at 24. The next big thing in Hollywood was as cool as they come and oozed charisma and sex appeal, both on and off the camera. A lover of fast cars, one of his favorite vehicles to tear around Hollywood in was his Porsche 550 Spyder he nicknamed “Little Bastard.”

The image above was taken while Dean was fueling up the Porsche hours before he was involved in a fatal accident. Heading to an auto rally in Salinas, California, Dean and his passenger, mechanic and pilot, Rolf Wütherich, were involved in an accident. Dean’s Porsche hit a turning car at high speed. While the driver of that car and Wütherich survived, Dean wasn’t so lucky. He suffered many horrible injuries that proved fatal, including a broken neck. 

The car itself has been the center of many accidents since, with people believing the “Little Bastard” to have been cursed. 

4. Anton Yelchin

The last photo of Anton Yelchin was a self-portrait he posted to his Instagram account three days before his death. On June 19, 2016, Yelchin was involved in a freak accident that claimed his life. Yelchin got out of his Jeep Grand Cherokee to check his mail and for some reason, the handbrake didn’t hold and the jeep rolled back and pinned Yelchin against his security fence. The impact crushed his lungs, with medical examiners saying he would have died within a minute of the incident occurring due to the horrific injuries he suffered. 

5. Robin Williams

Comedy great Robin Williams was found dead at his home in Paradise Cay, California, on August 11, 2014. The stand-up comedian and actor who had appeared in hits Mrs. Doutbfire, Good Will Hunting, and Jumanji had taken his own life due to the impact of depression and anxiety. An autopsy found Williams was suffering from Lewy body dementia, which his family believes was a big reason why he committed suicide. 

The last known photo of Williams was posted on his Instagram account on the day of his 63rd birthday. Looking happy, Williams is pictured with monkey actress Crystal posing on his shoulder. The photo was posted on his account just 20 days before he took his own life. 

6. Amy Winehouse

A tremendous entertainer who started her career as a jazz singer, Amy Winehouse’s life was plagued by substance abuse issues. Drugs and alcohol had a negative impact on the “Back in Black” singer for years, eventually resulting in her death at age 27 on July 23, 2011.

Found unconscious in her apartment, Winehouse was declared dead when paramedics arrived. Her autopsy showed she had a blood alcohol content more than five times the legal drink-drive limit.  

One of the last known photos of Winehouse showed her walking down the street dressed in a Fred Perry top with black boots. She seemed to be in good health, with no signs that just days later she would be dead from acute alcohol poisoning. 

7. Mark Twain

A great American writer, Mark Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, at the age of 74. While there wasn’t much information known about the last photo taken of Twain, there was an eerie story surrounding his death.

Twain was born two weeks after Hailey’s Comet flew past Earth in 1835. When he heard the comet was set to pass by the Earth again in 1910, he remarked, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: “Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.”

Less than a year later and a day after Halley’s Comet passed Earth, Twain dropped dead, fulfilling his wish to pass when the comet approached. 

8. Freddie Mercury

The lead singer of Queen was just 45 when he died from AIDs in 1991. He had been battling the disease for over ten years at that point, but never admitted it in public until he ordered his manager to release a short statement about his diagnosis to clear up rumors circulating in the press. He died 24 hours later in his home in Kensington, London.

The final photo of Mercury was taken in the garden of his Kensington home. The singer looks notably thin as he poses with his pet cat in a bright shirt and waist-high jeans. 

9. Garry Shandling

Garry Shandling was a comic genius and the man responsible for the hilarious sitcom The Larry Sanders Show. Diagnosed with hyperparathyroidism, a serious disease that often leads to other complications that can include kidney failure and heart issues, Shandling suffered a pulmonary embolism and collapsed at his home on March 24, 2016. He died sometime later in hospital at age 66.

The photo above was taken four days before Shandling’s passing and shows him with fellow comedians Bob Odenkirk and Kathy Griffin, who took the picture. 

10. Heath Ledger 

There are several images said to be the last shot of Aussie actor Heath Ledger, but most agree this is the final photo of him in public. There aren’t a lot of details surrounding the photo, but it was believed to have been taken when Ledger was on his way to the set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which was the movie he was starring in at the time of his death. 

Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription medication at 28. He was awarded a posthumous Academy Award for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight, cementing his legacy as an acting great. 

11. Paul Walker

A fan of fast cars ever since he starred in The Fast and the Furious, Paul Walker tragically died doing what he loved; experiencing the thrill of a fast car. On November 30, 2013, Walker was leaving a charity fundraiser event in Santa Clarita when someone took a snap of him getting ready to leave. 

Accompanied by his friend Roger Rodas, the two left the event in Walker’s Porsche Carrera GT, but just minutes later they were dead. Rodas, who was driving the vehicle, was believed to have hit speeds of 90 mph when he lost control of the car and crashed into a concert lamp post and two trees. Exploding in a ball of flames, both Walker and Rodas perished inside the car before help could arrive. 

The crash sent shock waves through Hollywood and nearly put an end to the Fast and Furious franchise, with Walker’s death coming during the filming of Furious 7. The movie was postponed for several months, with Walker’s brothers eventually acting as body doubles in the film so it could be completed as a fitting tribute to the actor. 

12. Princess Diana

The death of Princess Diana was a major event that made headlines around the world. It remains a shocking celebrity death that nobody saw coming. After divorcing King Charles (then still a prince), Diana moved on with Dodi Fayed and appeared to be happy and in love once again before her untimely passing.

On August 31, 1997, Diana, Fayed, driver Henri Paul, and bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones were trying to escape the paparazzi who were following them on the streets of Paris. Driving through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, the car crashed, killing all on board besides Rees-Jones. 

While Fayed’s father claimed the crash was orchestrated by MI6 and the Duke of Edinburgh, driver Paul was found to be intoxicated and speeding, with the blame laid squarely at his feet. 

13. John F Kennedy 

November 22, 1963, is a day that will live on in infamy in American history. An unknown assailant assassinated President John F. Kennedy as he drove through Dallas in an open-top convertible with his wife Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy.

Two bullets hit Kennedy, one entered through his back and out through his throat, while the other hit him square in the head. Rushed to the closest hospital, Kennedy was pronounced dead within 30 minutes, sending shockwaves across America. 

While Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the murder, conspiracy theories about the government’s involvement in JFK’s death continue to be a talking point even today. 

14. Abraham Lincoln

Two months before his death, Abraham Lincoln posed for this picture in February 1865. Looking spritely at age 56, nobody knew the events that would unfold on April 14, 1865, changing the course of American history forever. 

While watching the play Our American Cousin, Confederate spy John Wilkes Booth walked up behind Lincoln and shot him in the head. Booth escaped but was eventually tracked down and mortally wounded. Eight hours after the shooting Lincoln was pronounced dead, bringing to an end one of the greatest presidencies in American history. 

15. Jim Morrison

The last images of Jim Morrison were shot by his friend Alain Ronay a week before his death. On June 28, 1971, Morrison, his partner Pamela Courson, and Ronay spent a day at Saint-Leu-d’Esserent in the north of Paris where Ronay captured many candidate snaps of the couple. In the photos, Morrison is looking healthy and happy. He has his trademark long hair (although his beard is gone) and is wearing a long sleeve pink shirt, black jeans, and a blue pullover wrapped around his neck. 

Less than a week later Morrison was found dead in his bathtub on July 3 at age 27. He was believed to have died due to heart failure, but as no autopsy was performed, the cause of death has always remained suspicious, with many believing Morrison died of a heroin overdose or was even murdered. 

16. Jimi Hendrix

The greatest guitar player the world has ever seen was another famous face to join the 27 Club. He died on September 18, 1970, after choking on his own vomit while sleeping. The final photo of Hendrix was taken just 24 hours earlier by his girlfriend Monika Danneman in the garden behind her apartment.