And so we’ve reached the final curtain. A host of monumental talents died in 2024, from nonagenarian screen veterans to younger entertainers whose careers were tragically cut short. The list includes more than one comedy legend, a few towering stars of stage and screen, at least one woman whose performances changed film acting forever, a powerhouse producer who shaped decades of American music, and the most famous voice in cinema. Here are 20 actors, musicians, and TV personalities we lost in 2024.
SNOWDON
Maggie Smith
Sure, millennials and members of Gen Z probably know her best from the Harry Potter films—but this two-time Oscar winner was so much more than Professor McGonagall. Smith made her Broadway debut in 1956, launching a storied, nearly 70-year-long career that earned her a Tony, four Primetime Emmys, and the title of “dame.” She died in September at the age of 89.
Bettmann
Quincy Jones
Before he died in November at the age of 91, Jones spent eight decades making hits with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and Michael Jackson. “He was a producer, composer, arranger, instrumentalist, impresario, author, mentor, magazine founder, the celebrity father of celebrity children,” wrote Mark Rozzo in his obituary for VF. “Along the way, Jones might have rarely been center stage, but he imbued a head-spinning variety of musical genres—jazz, pop, R&B, easy listening—with sparkle and sophistication.”
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