Stars Who Tragically Died Of Cancer Before Reaching Age 50

From the average Joes and Janes working 9-to-5 jobs to pay their rent or mortgage, raise their families, or just get through the day to the most successful stars of the entertainment world, there are certain realities of life with which we all are forced to contend on some level or other. Unfortunately, major medical issues are on that list (and they tend not to play favorites). Regardless of age, family history, and the resources at their disposal, many people end up losing their lives to terminal illnesses, including some famous actors, athletes, musicians, and other high-profile individuals. Cancer can be particularly cruel in that sense, leaving those who survive to grapple with their grief and the unfulfilled legacies of the individuals who died.

Over the years, many incredible individuals have been lost to cancer, some of whom have died before celebrating their 50th birthdays. From Chadwick Boseman and the Beastie Boys' MCA to "Saved by the Bell's" Screech, here are 12 such people who fell prey to cancer way too young.

After working as a stage actor, director, and playwright and appearing in television series including ABC Family's "Lincoln Heights" and Fox's "Persons Unknown" during the late 2000s and early 2010s, Chadwick Boseman broke out as a Hollywood star with his portrayal of baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the 2013 feature "42." However, he became an international superstar thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and his role as T'Challa/Black Panther in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War," two "Avengers" films, and a solo "Black Panther" feature (which was nominated for Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards). All the while, he provided myriad inspirational moments, emerging as a champion for social justice, children, and those combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sadly, Boseman died of colon cancer in August 2020 at the age of 43, a disease he had privately faced while continuing his acting career. Boseman's family announced his tragic death via his social media accounts, revealing the diagnosis that he had been living with for years. "It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman," an Instagram post read. "Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV." The post further revealed that Boseman had completed work on films including "Marshall," "Da 5 Bloods," and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" both during and between "countless surgeries and chemotherapy." Boseman received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025.

An Army brat who was born in Germany and later grew up in Roswell, Georgia, Diem Brown first entered the public consciousness in 2006 when she was selected as a contestant on the MTV reality show "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" (later known as "The Challenge"). Her first season saw "Real World" and "Road Rules" veterans team up with newcomers in their bid to compete for the show's cash prize. Brown later competed in other versions of the reality show and began a long-term on-again, off-again relationship with her castmate, Chris "CT" Tamburello. She eventually became a journalist, working as an entertainment reporter for outlets such as the Associated Press, Sky Living, and Fox News.

Brown's experience with cancer began at an early age, as she was diagnosed with an ovarian form of the disease at 24, just before her first "Challenge" stint began. And while she was able to overcome the disease and enter remission initially, her cancer ultimately returned in 2012. As she had done during her fledgling days as a reality TV contestant, Brown shared her latter cancer journey, this time with People. She also founded a nonprofit supporting families experiencing medical hardship. In the end, though, she succumbed to her illness in November 2014 at the age of 34. Following Brown's death, Tamburello posted a heartfelt tribute to her on Instagram. "Our plan to be together forever hasn't changed... it's just going to take a little longer now," the post read (via E! News).

After a childhood spent performing in his native Mexico, actor Adan Canto found success as a singer-songwriter and musician before landing his first film and television roles in 2009 and 2010. He first gained notoriety on the Kevin Bacon-led Fox crime thriller "The Following," which debuted in 2013. Later, he starred on series such as ABC's "Mixology" and as one of the leads on the Kiefer Sutherland vehicle "Designated Survivor," which aired on ABC and, later, Netflix. He also starred as the mutant Sunspot in the 2014 superhero film "X-Men: Days of Future Past." Most recently, he portrayed gangster Arman Morales on the Fox crime drama "The Cleaning Lady."

While Canto served as one of the leads during the first two seasons of the latter project, he was unable to participate in Season 3 as he privately battled appendiceal cancer. He ultimately died from the disease in January 2024 at the age of 42. Following his death, Canto's wife, Stephanie Canto, posted a touching tribute to her late husband on Instagram featuring the text of the bible verses Matthew 6:19-21 and adding, "Forever my treasure Adan, see you soon." A-lister Halle Berry, who worked with Canto in the 2020 film "Bruised," similarly mourned the loss of her co-star with a poignant tribute of her own.

More than five decades after the band was formed in New York City in 1973, KISS has cemented itself in the annals of hard rock and pop culture lore as one of the greatest heavy metal groups of all time. However, back in the 1980s, when frontman/bassist Gene Simmons, guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, and guitarist Ace Frehley were seeking a new lease on life for the band, they found themselves having to replace their original drummer, Peter Criss. The group ultimately settled on New York drummer Eric Carr, who went on to tour and record new albums with KISS throughout the decade. Sadly, he was diagnosed with heart cancer in early 1991, dying later that year at the age of 41 as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by his illness.

While Carr's death sent shockwaves through the KISS fandom and the rock community at large, its impact was overshadowed in the mainstream press as he had died on the same day as Queen frontman and cultural icon Freddie Mercury. Even Rolling Stone failed to provide the coverage that Carr's bandmates and others expected, prompting Paul Stanley to send an angry letter to the outlet. "We were shocked and disappointed at your obvious choice to ignore the death of our drummer, Eric Carr, who fought a valiant and relentless year-long battle with cancer," the letter read (via Stanley's social media account). Stanley went on to accuse Rolling Stone of actively deciding not to cover the band. 

Born Nathaniel Adams Coles in 1919, Nat King Cole became a legendary singer and jazz pianist during the '40s and '50s, first as the centerpiece of the King Cole Trio and, later, as a solo artist, producing dozens of hit songs along the way. Songs such as 1948's "Nature Boy," 1951's "Unforgettable," and 1962's "Ramblin' Rose" have ascended to the realm of American songbook classics. Meanwhile, Cole's voice has become the backing track for many people's winter holidays, thanks to favorites including "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" — which he recorded and re-recorded in 1946, 1953, and 1961 — as well as 1960's "O Holy Night," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and other Christmas classics. Additionally, Cole appeared in films and television series and played an underreported role in the Civil Rights Movement of the '50s and '60s.

As was the case with many during that time, Cole had been a heavy smoker throughout his life, and in late 1964, the crooner was diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite that diagnosis, he finished recording what would be his final album, "L-O-V-E," that December. He ultimately died in February 1965 at the age of 45, but not before he had experienced an outpouring of support. "My faith, my family, the deluge of mail and prayers from all over the world combined as a source of strength during the moments of pain and suffering I have undergone," Cole said before his death, notes The Cornell Daily.

As a pre-teen in the late 1980s, Dustin Diamond was cast to play an eventual nerd icon in Samuel "Screech" Powers on the Disney Channel sitcom "Good Morning, Miss Bliss." He could continue to play the role on NBC's continuation of the series, "Saved by the Bell," perhaps the vanguard of the cheesy teen-centric sitcom movement of the early '90s. While Diamond continued to work after his "Saved by the Bell" days, mostly in indie, low-budget, and reality TV fare, he never quite shook the Screech-era typecasting. Moreover, he alienated his former "Saved by the Bell" castmates with a tell-all book titled "Behind the Bell." Diamond later claimed that the book had been ghostwritten and disavowed it, saying that much of the content was fabricated by the author.

Diamond died tragically in February 2021 at the age of 44, mere weeks after having been diagnosed with stage IV small cell carcinoma. In the years before his death, Diamond tried to make amends with his "Saved By the Bell" castmates, telling Mario Lopez during a 2016 "Extra" interview, "I would just like to give them a hug and tell them how proud I am of what they've been doing and ask for forgiveness for any kind of misunderstandings that may have come about by the book." While a full reconciliation reportedly never occurred, Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Elizabeth Berkley indicated they held no ill will over the book during a 2021 panel moderated by People's Dory Jackson.

English singer Sarah Harding rose to prominence during the early 2000s when she won a spot in the all-female pop group Girls Aloud on the ITV reality television competition "Popstars: The Rivals." The group went on to release five studio albums and two compilations between 2003 and 2012, two of which topped the charts in the United Kingdom, in addition to multiple top-10 singles. Meanwhile, Harding appeared on the long-running ITV soap "Coronation Street" and was a contestant on multiple reality TV series. She was just 38 years old when she announced her breast cancer diagnosis in an August 2020 Instagram update, further revealing that the cancer had spread to other parts of her body.

Harding died tragically a little over a year later, in September 2021, but not before chronicling her own cancer journey in a memoir that she penned just before her death, titled "Hear Me Out." In the book, which was published earlier that year, she commented on the heartbreaking certainty of her own demise, writing (via The Times), "In December, my doctor told me that the upcoming Christmas would probably be my last. I don't want an exact prognosis. I don't know why anyone would want that. Comfort and being as pain-free as possible is what's important to me now."

Born in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica, in 1945, Bob Marley emerged from humble beginnings to become a pioneer in the Reggae genre and a musical icon on par with the greatest performers of the 20th or any other century. Marley moved people musically and culturally with songs including 1974's "No Woman, No Cry," 1964's "One Love" (which found new life in 1977 and again in the mid-'80s as "One Love/People Get Ready"), 1980's "Redemption Song," and many others. Along the way, he championed worldwide African unity, the Rastafari movement, the legalization of cannabis, and political peace in his native Jamaica. In 1976, mere days before he was set to perform at the "Smile Jamaica" concert against political violence, Marley was the target of an assassination attempt at his Kingston home, which he survived.

However, Marley's time was nonetheless limited as he was diagnosed with skin cancer the following year. Although he was advised to amputate the toe where his cancer was discovered, Marley opted instead for a surgery removing his nail and tissue surrounding the affected area. In late 1980, he collapsed in New York City, which led to the revelation that his cancer had spread to multiple organs. Marley died in May 1981 at the age of 36 as a result of his illness. The tragic details of his life and death are still actively discussed today.

Four-plus decades after she last appeared on the show as one of its original cast members, "Saturday Night Live" alum Gilda Radner continues to hold down a spot among the most gifted comedians to appear on the show. A master improviser and character actor who emerged from the Second City crowd, Radner's "SNL" creations include all-time favorites like the consumer affairs reporter Roseanne Roseannadanna and hyperactive grade-schooler/soap reenactor Judy Miller. She also lampooned famed newscaster Barbara Walters' hair and unique speech cadence as "Baba Wawa." After departing the show, along with most of the original cast, in 1980, Radner starred in a one-woman show and appeared in several films, including 1982's "Hanky Panky," on which she met her future husband, Gene Wilder. 

Radner went on to appear in two more films with Wilder — 1984's "The Woman in Red" and 1986's "Haunted Honeymoon." Along the way, they struggled in their attempts to start a family together. In the end, Radner's life was cut tragically short. After a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer, which she appeared to have beaten at one point, Radner died of the disease in May 1989 at the age of 42. Similar to Bob Marley's skin cancer saga, Wilder and others wondered whether she might have lived under different circumstances or with different care following her untimely death.

During a time when ESPN started to fire on all cylinders, cementing itself as the go-to place for sports on cable television in the United States, Stuart Scott arguably became the face of the network. Initially, Scott shared the spotlight with the likes of Rich Eisen, Kenny Mayne, and Dan Patrick on shows like "SportsNight" and "SportsCenter." Before long, though, he was the voice bringing the sports news of the day to the masses, popularizing his "Boo-yah!" catchphrase along the way. Scott later became an important part of ESPN's coverage of the NBA and, eventually, the NFL, when the network started broadcasting "Monday Night Football" games in 2006. He also participated in ESPN's coverage of other sports and wrote a column for "ESPN the Magazine."

After having his appendix removed in 2007, Scott discovered that he had cancer; part of his colon and some lymph nodes were surgically removed shortly thereafter, and he began treatment. Over the years that ensued, he battled the illness with varying success, achieving remission for a time. However, Scott ultimately died in January 2015 at the age of 49. Fast-forward to 2025 and ESPN revealed that it was honoring Scott with his own episode of the network's acclaimed "30 for 30" documentary series, titled "Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott."

After playing bit parts on television series of the "Star Trek: Enterprise," "Angel," and "Frasier" ilk, as well as the Jim Carrey comedy "Bruce Almighty," during the 2000s, Annie Wersching first found fame with a recurring role on the ABC soap "General Hospital" in 2007, and then reached an even higher level while portraying FBI Special Agent Renee Walker during Seasons 7 and 8 of the hit Fox drama "24." Later, she served as the voice and motion-capture actor for Tess on the iconic 2013 PlayStation 3 video game "The Last of Us." More recently, she starred on the Amazon Prime series "Bosch," CBS All Access/Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Picard" (as the Borg Queen), and the Hulu/Marvel series "Runaways," in addition to other high-profile projects.

Wersching received her cancer diagnosis in 2020 but kept the news private and continued working in spite of it. She ultimately succumbed to her illness in January 2023 at the age of 45. "The world lost a light today," wrote "24" star Kiefer Sutherland on Twitter/X following news of her passing. "[Wersching] was one of the greatest actors I've ever had the pleasure of working with, and my friend. My heart breaks for her young family. May she be remembered for the beautiful person that she was."

Better known to some under his stage name, MCA Adam Yauch rapped and played bass guitar for the Beastie Boys, the iconic hip-hop/rap-rock band. The trio, which consisted of Yauch, Mike D (Mike Diamond), and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz), emerged from New York City to become one of hip-hop's first commercially successful groups in the 1980s, joining the likes of Run-DMC and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, among others. The group went on to release eight studio albums from 1986 to 2011, four of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Along the way, Yauch directed and shot many of the group's now legendary music videos.

In 2009, Yauch was diagnosed with a rare type of salivary gland cancer found in his right parotid gland. After a three-year battle with the disease, he died in May 2012 at the age of 47. Following Yauch's passing, the remaining Beastie Boys have opted not to perform or make new music under their old band's name. They have been fiercely protective of their music, too, successfully suing Monster for including song excerpts in a promotional video on the energy drink brand's website. Yauch's will explicitly states that his music cannot be used for the purpose of advertising.