So many of our favourite celebs passed in recent years – who can forget the long wake that was 2016? – and most of them did so after only recently updating their Twitter accounts.
Below, we’ve listed 30 of the most haunting final tweets from some of our favourite celebrities who sadly are no longer with us.
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30. George Michael
80s music superstar, one half of Wham! and a bestselling solo musician in his own right.
Michael, born Georgios Panayiotou, sang Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Club Tropicana with Wham!, and was responsible for hits including Faith, Careless Whisper and Freedom!.
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The last tweet
Michael shared a romantic Valentine’s Day playlist with us as his final public statement.
The message arrived a whole ten months before Michael passed. He died on December of 2016, found in bed by his partner
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29. Leonard Nimoy
He directed hit 80s film Three Men and a Baby and starred in the 1978 sci-fi remake Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but let’s not beat around the bush: he was Spock.
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Cementing his legend status with two seasons of Star Trek as well as eight Trek movies, Nimoy passed away in 2015.
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The last tweet
In February 2014, Nimoy was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition he attributed to a smoking habit he had given up about 30 years earlier.
Just five days before he died, he tweeted:
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On February 25, 2015, Nimoy fell into a coma, and died of complications from COPD on February 27, at the age of 83.
28. August Ames
Canadian model-turned-porn star, who died in December 2017 at the age of just 23, a result of asphyxiation by hanging.
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Recently, Ames was made the subject of Jon Ronson’s The Last Days of August, a podcast series on cyberbullying and Ames’ life.
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The last tweet
In the days before she took her own life, Ames had been the victim of online bullying, after tweeting her decision to withdraw from a porn shoot with a man who had shot gay porn.
Just a day after the bullying began, Ames showed she had already had enough, putting out a final tweet that read simply: “f*** y’all”.
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27. Amy Winehouse
British pop singer, who for a brief period was a musical sensation and the favourite celebrity of every newspaper in the world.
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Winehouse’s second album, Back to Black, was the second best-selling album of the 21st century. It spawned the singles Rehab, You Know I’m No Good and Back to Black.
The last tweet
Winehouse’s final tweet of “oinka oikna oinka why you awake”, nonsensical though it is, does perhaps sadly give something of an insight into the troubled mind of the singer.
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Two days after this tweet, Winehouse was found dead on her bed by her in-house bodyguard. She had been up all evening watching YouTube videos of herself and drinking two bottles of vodka.
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26. Reeva Steenkamp
South African model, who appeared in FHM, was the face of Avon in South Africa and starred in TV ads for the likes of Toyota and Clover.
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When she was killed in 2013, Steenkamp had been dating South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius for four months.
The last tweet
On Valentine’s Day 2013, Pistorius shot Steenkamp four times through the locked door of his toilet while she was staying in his home, killing her. Only the day before, she had tweeted this:
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Pistorius claimed he shot Steenkamp thinking she was an intruder. He is currently serving 13 years in jail for murder.
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25. Robin Williams
Comedy legend whose many hit films included Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, Jumanji and Good Will Hunting.
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When he died in 2014, at the age of 63, Williams left behind wife Susan Schneider and three children from two previous marriages.
The last tweet
Williams’ final tweet, captioned “Happy Birthday to Ms. Zelda Rae Williams! Quarter of a century old today but always my baby girl”, directed his followers to an Insta snap of himself and daughter Zelda.
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On August 11, 2014, 11 days after that last social media post, Williams died by suicide at his home. He had been struggling with the onset of dementia.
24. Muhammad Ali
Champion boxer, formerly known as Cassius Clay, who also developed a reputation for his quick-witted gift of the gab.
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Nicknamed ‘The Greatest’, Muhammad Ali passed away in 2016, aged 74, leaving behind an unparalleled sporting legacy.
The last tweet
Diagnosed with the disease in 1984 but having shown symptoms in the years before that, Ali had by the time he died spent almost half his life battling Parkinson’s syndrome.
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The final tweet from Ali’s account, published three days before his death, displayed a photo of Ali in his prime as The Greatest.
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23. Peaches Geldof
Model and TV personality, and daughter of 80s celeb couple Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.
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On 7 April 2014, Geldof was found dead at her home of an apparent heroin overdose, after years spent struggling with addiction.
The last tweet
The last tweet Geldof sent, captioned “Me and my mum”, linked her followers to a photo of herself with her mother as a child.
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The irony of course was that Peaches’ mother, like Peaches, had herself died of a heroin overdose 14 years prior.
22. Paul Walker
A veteran of the Fast and the Furious movies, who had been with the franchise alongside Vin Diesel from the beginning in 2001.
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Like his character in the franchise, Walker was a petrolhead, with a personal collection of 30 cars at home.
The last tweet
With shooting on the seventh Fast and Furious film underway, Walker hyped the project to his followers on Twitter:
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The following day, Walker was killed when the car his friend and financial advisor Roger Rodas was driving smashed into a post at top speed and burst into flames.
21. Carrie Fisher
Princess Leia (in at least five Star Wars movies), Hollywood screenwriter, owner of Gary the dog.
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Famously irascible in her later years, Fisher had a distinguished second career as a no-nonsense multimedia personality.
The last tweet
Fisher’s love of dog Gary was so great, it seems in the end that she was trying to make him a movie star in his own right:
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Fisher suffered a massive heart attack two days after this tweet was posted, and died in intensive care four days after that.
Happily, Gary is still going strong.
20. Joan Rivers
Sassy comedian and TV host who became as well known for her many plastic surgery procedures as her scathing one-liners.
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When she passed away in 2014 at the age of 81, Rivers wrapped up almost six decades in the entertainment business.
The last tweet
Just before she passed, Rivers was still spitting zingers – as evidenced by her final tweet, regarding Jay Z’s apparent infidelity:
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The day after she sent this out, Rivers experienced serious brain damage while undergoing what was supposed to be a ‘minor’ throat operation. She died a week later, on September 4th.
19. Whitney Houston
Who?
Singer and actress, who lived fast and died young, leaving a breathtaking musical legacy behind in 2012 aged just 48.
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One of the best-selling musicians of all time, Houston’s greatest hits included I Wanna Dance With Somebody, I Will Always Love You and My Love Is Your Love.
The last tweet
Whitney’s final tweet saw her replying to a fan who doubted whether the real Whitney was behind her Twitter account:
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Struggling with addiction in her final years, the singer passed two years after this last tweet, found submerged in a bathtub, dead from the effects of heart disease and cocaine use.
18. Garry Shandling
Who?
Influential American comedian, whose standup sets and TV shows inspired a generation of comics.
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As actor, writer, director and producer, Shandling masterminded the groundbreaking It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show.
The last tweet
To the end, Shandling was cracking wise, even taking to Twitter to share a final one-liner:
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On March 24, 2016, less than a week after his last tweet, Shandling died in his home in Los Angeles, California, at age 66. The cause of death was pulmonary embolism.
17. Patty Duke
Who?
American actress, whose first big break came with her Academy Award-winning performance at age 16 in 1962’s The Miracle Worker, playing a role she had originated on Broadway.
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From there, Duke acted for stage and screens big and small until her retirement in 2015.
The last tweet
Duke sent out her very last tweet to celebrate her 30th wedding anniversary, with husband Michael Pearce, on 15th March, 2016.
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Duke died 14 days later, of sepsis from a ruptured intestine, at the age of 69.
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16. Mitch Lucker
American musician, best known as the lead singer for American deathcore band Suicide Silence.
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Lucker was seriously injured after crashing his bike on the night of Halloween, 2012. He was taken to hospital but died early next morning.
The last tweet
Little more than two hours before his fatal accident, Lucker tweeted an Insta link with the caption ‘The dead are living…’
The link took followers to a pic of Lucker in Halloween costume as a skeleton.
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15. Mac Miller
American rapper, whose discography included his breakthrough single Donald Trump and the acclaimed 2018 LP Swimming.
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Miller was perhaps best known, however, as the tragic partner of Ariana Grande. They dated from 2016 to 2018.
The last tweet
Apparently eager to get to work in the months after his split from Grande, Miller’s last two tweets expressed his desire to get back on the road.
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Not 12 hours after posting that tweet, Miller was found dead, from a fatal cocktail of alcohol, cocaine and the opioid fentanyl.
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14. Avicii
Swedish EDM pioneer, whose hit singles included I Could Be the One, Levels and Wake Me Up.
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Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, was at his peak one of the most sought-after musicians in the world, earning six figure sums for every performance.
The last tweet
Retired from touring and taking leave from the spotlight due to exhaustion, Avicii was still happy to be winning plaudits for his work at the end:
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Three days later, Bergling, who had struggled with alcoholism and the pressures of fame, was dead of an apparent suicide.
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13. Chester Bennington
Who?
Lead singer of Linkin Park, officially the best-selling band of the 21st century, from 1999 to 2017.
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Bennington’s signature vocals can be heard on Linkin Park tracks including Numb and In the End.
The last tweet
Barring retweets, Bennington’s final message to his fans expressed his gratitude to the fans themselves.
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On 20th July, 2017, Bennington was found dead at his home. It was ruled a suicide by hanging.
12. Stevie Ryan
Who?
Comedian, who rose to prominence as a YouTube personality, and as a star of the VH1 show Stevie TV.
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After Stevie TV was cancelled following its second season, Ryan privately struggled with depression.
The last tweet
With the recent death of her grandfather weighing heavily on her mind, Ryan shared this photo of the ‘man of my dreams’ on 30th June, 2017:
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Having also recently dropped her antidepressants, Ryan committed suicide by hanging herself in her home, the very day after the tweet about her late grandfather.
11. Gene Wilder
You’ll know him best as Willy Wonka, or as the star of such Mel Brooks classics as The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
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Also a regular on-screen partner of Richard Pryor’s, Wilder was a legend of comedy cinema.
The last tweet
Wilder died at the age of 83 on August 29, 2016, at home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Just three years prior, he started a Twitter account:
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These were two of the just four tweets Wilder sent out to his fans before his account went mysteriously inactive, around the time he was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and made the decision to keep his condition private.
10. Roy Halladay
Who?
Professional baseball player and, later – posthumously – a National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
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Retired at the time of his death, Halladay had played for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies in his vaunted career.
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The last tweet
In retirement, Halladay tweeted about two things more than anything else: his passion for flying, and youth baseball.
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Tragically, it was the former that ended Halladay’s life. Two days after his final tweet, Halladay – flying alone – crashed his ICON A5 plane into the Gulf of Mexico.
9. Misty Upham
Who?
Native American actress, who was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in 2008 crime drama Frozen River.
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After Frozen River, Upham went on to star in such high profile films as Django Unchained, August: Osage County and Cake.
The last tweet
On 1st October, 2014, Upham was visiting her sister on the Muckleshoot reservation in Washington state when she tweeted this:
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Upham disappeared on the Muckleshoot reservation four days later. Her body was eventually found on 16th October, at the bottom of a cliff; it was never determined how she died.
8. Maya Angelou
Who?
Renowned American writer, poet, singer and civil rights activist who worked alongside both Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X.
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In her lifetime, Angelou was best known for her series of seven autobiographies, most prominent of which was the first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
The last tweet
Five days before she passed, at the age of 86, Angelou had one last message for her followers:
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Angelou died on the morning of May 28, 2014. At her memorial, Angelou’s son said: “She left this mortal plane with no loss of acuity and no loss in comprehension”.
7. Cory Monteith
Canadian actor and musician, known best for his role as Finn Hudson on the Fox television series Glee.
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Monteith died of a drug overdose in 2013, aged just 31, after struggling with addiction since the age of 12.
The last tweet
Going by Monteith’s lighthearted final tweets, we can guess the actor’s death was probably accidental:
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The morning after he spent the night watching Sharknado, Monteith was found dead of a toxic combination of heroin and alcohol in his Vancouver hotel room.
6. Dolores O’Riordan
Irish singer-songwriter, who was vocalist for Irish rock band The Cranberries from 1990 to 2003.
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Having reformed the Linger and Zombie outfit in 2009, O’Riordan was still touring with the band up until her death in 2018.
The last tweet
12 days before she died, O’Riordan shared a lighthearted photo of herself and her cat with her Twitter followers:
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O’Riordan, who had struggled with alcoholism in her final years, died aged 46 after accidentally drowning in her bathtub while intoxicated.
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5. Jo Cox
Who?
British Member of Parliament, who served for little more than a year before she was assassinated while touring her constituency in 2016.
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A staunch proponent of Remain in the Brexit campaign, Cox was attacked and killed by a far-right Leave supporter in the days before the vote.
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The last tweet
For her last tweet, Cox, a married mother-of-two, shared a photo of herself with her family sailing on the Thames:
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This was the last time the public heard from Cox before she was killed. Her murderer was sentenced to life in prison.
4. Roger Ebert
Probably the most famous film critic who ever lived, and whose opinions could make or break a movie.
Cancer surgery had left him unable to speak in his later years, though he continued to write up until his death in 2013 aged 70.
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The last tweet
Before he passed, following years spent battling cancer, Ebert shared one last piece of writing with his followers:
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The link led to a message from Ebert about reducing his workload due to illness. He died two days later.
3. Harris Wittels
Who?
Up-and-coming comedy writer and producer, who wrote for shows including The Sarah Silverman Program and Parks and Recreation. Inventor of the word ‘humblebrag’.
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Wittels’ last project, Master of None, written and produced with star Aziz Ansari, was dedicated to him.
The last tweet
Having become a head writer and producer on Parks and Rec in his mid-20s and creator of what would become a Golden Globe-winning show, Wittels was clearly going places.
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His last tweet showed he was hungry for more work:
The day after he sent out this message, Wittels was found dead of a heroin overdose in his LA home.
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2. Mindy McCready
Country music singer, whose albums included her 2x platinum debut Ten Thousand Angels.
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McCready’s subsequent records didn’t prove as popular. When she died in 2013, aged 37, she hadn’t had a single make the charts since 2002.
The last tweet
McCready’s final years were coloured by multiple suicide attempts and a publicly hectic private life.
She addressed fan concerns with her final tweet:
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Things didn’t improve for McCready after that. She gave birth to second child Zayne in April 2012, but the boy’s father committed suicide the following January. McCready shot herself a month later.
1. Sean Edwards
Who?
British racing driver, probably best known for being part of 2013’s winning 24 Hours Nurburgring team.
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Edwards in addition worked as a stunt driver on the 2012 film Rush. He also portrayed his own father, racing driver Guy Edwards, in the film.
The last tweet
The last time Twitter heard from Edwards, he was about to take a test drive around Australia’s Queensland Raceway track:
Edwards would die the same day, killed on the Queensland track he was eager to try out just moments before.
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