Gone Before 30

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

28 Jan 2008 08:41 AM

As the world still tries to recover from Heath Ledger's untimely death, some are remembering others who died young. ABC News did a segment on stars that died before they reached age 30. I have already blogged about many of the people on the list. Some died because of violence such as the Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur. Some took their own lives like Kurt Cobain.

Still others succumbed to drug use like Brad Renfro, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and River Phoenix. When I first heard of Heath's death, I immediately thought of River. Talented yet troubled, both gave us great performances then left us far too early. River was a shining, rising star in the late 80's/early 90's, but apparently, he had his demons. He had what some would call a tumultuous childhood, with his parents being a part of the Children of God cult. I've also read that like Heath, River really threw himself into a role, almost living the part. On Halloween night 1993, River died of drug overdose outside Johnny Depp's Viper Room on the Sunset Strip in LA. He was 23 years old.

Then, there were some stars simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Aaliyah was performing with R&B legend Gladys Knight when she was only 11 years old. Her first album, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number," went platinum within a few months. Her next album, "One in a Million" went double platinum when she was just 17. She had also ventured into acting, appearing in 2000's Romeo Must Die and The Queen of the Damned, released after her death. Aaliyah died on August 25, 2001 while in the Bahamas. She had been there filming a video and was headed back to the U.S. on a Cessna 402B when it crashed right after take off. Also killed in the crash were Aaliya's make-up artist, security guard, stylist, a director of video production for Virgin Records, and two employees of the Blackground label as well as the pilot.

James Dean was another rising star who burned out too quickly. He is like Marilyn Monroe, will live in our memories as young and sexy forever. Dean had only starred in three movies - East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant - before his life was taken at the age of 24. He loved racing fast cars and he and mechanic Rolf Wutherich were in his Porsche 550 Spider on the afternoon of September 30, 1955. They were driving U.S. Route 466 when he collided head on with another car. Dean was pronounced dead at the hospital at 5:59 p.m.

She hadn't made the big crossover to the U.S. yet, but Latin sensation Selena Quintanilla-Perez was on her way. She had been performing since she was 6 years old and landed her first record deal at age 12. She also had started her own fashion line and made a cameo appearance in 1995's Don Juan DeMarco. However, she was cruelly gunned down on March 31, 1995. She died, but not before naming Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club and manager of her boutiques, as her killer. Selena was 23.

That summer, her album "Dreaming of You" debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. In October 1995, Saldivar was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a work-at-home mom located in Jacksonville, NC. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

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