The 15 most shocking deaths of 2022

Since January, when director Peter Bogdanovich and actor Sidney Poitier died, 2022 had to suffer quite significant name losses.

Influential people have physically said goodbye during the year and the departure of many of them has affected us greatly. The world of politics, the arts and sports, to name a few, have been left without many of their bastions.

So let’s review 15 acquaintances dead in 2022.

Elizabeth II (September 8)

One would have to go back hundreds of years in history to find a monarch who reigned longer than Queen Elizabeth II.

In his 70 years on the throne, he helped modernize the monarchy through decades of massive social change, royal marriages and births, and family scandals. To most British people, he was the only monarch they had ever known.

His death in September was arguably the most high-profile death this year, prompting a large collective outpouring of grief and respect for his stable leadership, as well as some criticism of the monarchy’s role in colonialism. He probably met more people than anyone in history and his image on stamps, coins and banknotes was one of the most reproduced in the world.

Mikhail Gorbachev (August 30)

The former Soviet leader passed away in August. His attempts to revitalize the Soviet Union led to the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War.

He finally resigned after a coup attempt, at a time when the republics were declaring themselves independent from the Soviet government.

Shinzo Abe (July 8)

The year also saw the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead during an election speech in July.

Peter Bogdanovich (January 6)

He was 82 years old. The film buff and filmmaker who directed 1970s black-and-white classics like The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon.

Sidney Poitier (January 6)

Among the performers who died this year was groundbreaking actor Sidney Poitier, who played roles with such dignity that he helped change the way black people are portrayed on the screen.

Poitier, who died in January at 94, became the first black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.

Monica Vitti (February 2)

Versatile actress of Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura and other Italian neorealist films of the 1960s, and later a well-known comic actress.

Taylor Hawkins (March 25)

For 25 years he was the Foo Fighters’ drummer and best friend with frontman Dave Grohl. He died at the age of 50 while touring South America and a few days after playing Argentina.

Ray Liotta (May 26)

He was 67 years old. The actor was known for playing mobster Henry Hill in Goodfellas and shoeless baseball player Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, among other roles.

James Caan (July 6)

He was 82 years old. The curly-haired tough guy was known to movie fans as the temperamental Sonny Corleone from The Godfather and to TV audiences as the dying football player in the classic tragic film Brian’s Song and the boss of the Las Vegas casino.

Ivana Trump (July 14)

A skier turned businesswoman who, as former President Donald Trump’s first wife and mother to his adult children, grew up with her husband in high social circles in the 1980s.

He was 73 years old. He died of injuries sustained in a domestic accident.

Olivia Newton-John (August 8)

Grammy-winning superstar who has reigned the pop, country, adult contemporary and dance charts with hits like “Physical” and “You’re the One That I Want,” winning countless hearts as everyone’s favorite Sandy in the hit movie version of Grease. I was 73 years old.

Anne Heche (August 14)

The Emmy-winning film and television actress had a dramatic rise in Hollywood in the 1990s and a successful career that was plagued by turbulent personal chapters. She died at the age of 53 from injuries sustained in a car accident.

Aaron Carter (November 5)

The singer and rapper who began performing concerts as a child and has been releasing hit albums since he was a teenager was 34 years old when he was found dead by his wife in the bathtub at home.

Gal Costa (November 9)

The singer was an icon of Brazilian popular music and tropicalism movements and enjoyed a career spanning nearly six decades. I was 77 years old.