Heidi Powell is sharing the last text messages she received from her ex Dave Hollis before his death. Heath Ledger died on January 22, 2008 (aged 28) from combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine. Prescription pills, which were treating her depression, were found all over her bedroom. He also made the allegations that the club owner told him he’d take care of it and swore him to secrecy.

Celebrity Drug Overdoses

With worldwide sales of over 150 million records, he is ranked among the best-selling music artists of all time. After forming in 2010, the band went on to release an album of radio-ready songs each year in time for the holiday shopping season and became one of the highest-grossing live acts in the world. One Direction co-stars said they had been “completely devastated” by his death. Around a dozen fans watched from behind a nearby cordon as guests hugged each other before walking past floral tributes into the 12th century church to pay their final respects to the singer. Tyka’s son, President Nelson, shared news of his mother’s death with the Minnesota Star Tribune on November 5, but did not provide further details. There are clear and deeply rooted biological, psychological and social processes that explain how celebrities influence people’s health behaviours 12.

Dave Hollis’ Ex Heidi Powell Reveals Final Text He Sent Her Before His Overdose Death: ‘There Is Closure’

All celebrities that died of an overdose between 1970 and 2015 were included. The death had to be caused by a drug itself or a combination of drugs. We defined “celebrity” as a person that (i) had a Wikipedia entry and (ii) had a Wikipedia entry devoted to her or him due to their own, substantial achievements. All cases without references, as well as those in which the substance or circumstance of death was unclear, were excluded. The musician had a history of substance abuse and had ingested a lethal dose of alcohol and drugs before his passing. Heath accidentally overdosed on prescription drugs on January 22, 2008, during the editing of The Dark Knight, and midway through shooting his final movie, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus.

Famous people who died of overdoses

Our analysis has direct implications for the care of a very small but influential patient group as celebrities most likely influence the public’s health decisions. A meta-analysis showed that following an entertainment celebrity’s suicide, suicide rates in the public increased significantly in North America, Asia and Europe 13. Consequently, it is reasonable to believe, that successfully treating a celebrity’s addiction might have a positive effect on the drug related behaviour of her or his followers. Celebrity endorsement successfully changed health-related behaviour in other contexts.

Compared to the 20th century, the total number of celebrities who died from a drug-related death in the 21st century increased, possibly due to an increased involvement of prescription opioids. Negative effects on individual health decisions of celebrity’s followers could be the result. We searched public databases for drug-related celebrity deaths between 1970 and 2015. They were categorized for sex, profession, age at death, year of death and substances involved.

• Renfro’s most notable film is “Apt Pupil,” the film that turned director Bryan Singer into a Hollywood darling.
• While many deaths may be due to misuse of illegal substances, these drugs are not always illicit – and an overdose may not always be intentional.
• The longer a person suffers from addiction, the greater the chances are that he or she will suffer harmful consequences from the disease.

He and Powell dated after his split from his ex-wife Rachel Hollis in 2020 after 16 years of marriage. Celebrities deserve excellent healthcare, for their own good as well as for the sake of their followers. Physicians that care for celebrities should consider that celebrities may be at increased risk for substance abuse and addiction. Following an autopsy, the coroner officially ruled the star’s cause of death to be a self-administered accidental overdose on barbiturates, a then-common sleep aid.

On July 31, 2023, Angus Cloud passed away as a result of an accidental overdose. The Alameda County Coroner’s Office confirmed in a statement that the Euphoria actor succumbed due to “acute intoxication due to combined effects of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and benzodiazepines.” Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27 in her London home on July 23, 2011. Aside from dealing with long-term bulimia, she also faced drug and alcohol addiction in the years leading to her death. Canadian actor and musician Cory Monteith, renowned for his portrayal of Finn Hudson on the TV show ‘Glee,’ tragically passed away at the age of 31 due to a lethal mixture of heroin and alcohol. Jim Morrison, the lead singer of The Doors, was discovered deceased in his Paris apartment bathtub.

Lifestyle

The exact cause of death is somewhat of a mystery, although Hank was known to be a binge alcoholic and abused opioid analgesics for chronic back pain. Elvis had visited the dentist the day before for a temporary crown and was given codeine. Later he called his physician, Dr. George Nichopoulas (“Dr. Nick”), for increased pain and was prescribed six hydromorphone tablets. Voice actor Jason Davis, best known for his role on the Disney animated series Recess, died at age 35 from the effects of fentanyl on Feb. 16, 2020. He appeared on the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab when he was 25 to treat an opiate and Xanax addiction. Death due to drugs can also be the result of mixing prescribed medications with other drugs (legal or illegal), alcohol, over-the-counter medications or even herbal supplements.

Angus Cloud — the actor who played drug dealer Fezco “Fez” O’Neill on HBO’s “Euphoria” — was found dead in his family’s home in Oakland, California, in July 2023. “I am very sorry for my actions,” dealer Irvin Cartagena told the court after the sentencing. “When we sold the drugs, we never intended for anyone to lose their life.” Reports said he bought the heroin on a sidewalk in the Williamsburg neighborhood, but it was later determined the drug was laced with fentanyl. The New York City drug dealer who provided The Wire actor with the drug was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2023. The former frontman of the Australian group AC/DC, Bon Scott, who was 33 years old, tragically passed away due to acute alcohol poisoning while alone in a car.

John Belushi

• By March 1982, she was living in Los Angeles and dealing heroin to pay for her own habit.
• On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger’s masseuse and housekeeper found him dead on the floor of his rented apartment in New York City.
• According to reports, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman’s substance abuse was manageable when he tragically passed away at the age of 46 due to acute mixed drug intoxication.
• Look back at their lives, and how they shared their struggles publicly in hopes of helping others.

Reporting bias might be present as historic reporting of cause of death may have changed over the study period. Pain medications and suicides may have been underreported in early years due to social celebrities who died of an overdose acceptability issues, resulting in an apparent increase in those deaths in later years. This effect could have been reinforced by the improvement of toxicological identification methods during the study period. Also we cannot control for the total number of celebrities which is most likely on a continuous rise as the entertainment industry itself is continuously growing 15.