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Drowning is a relatively uncommon cause of death, but a few high-profile celebrity deaths have raised awareness of the risks in recent years. Matthew Perry and Naya Rivera, for instance, sadly joined a long list of unfortunate souls who went the same way in the past. From rock stars to authors, there are a surprising number of celebrities who fell victim to drowning. Click through the following gallery to remember those who tragically passed away after slipping under the surface.
35-year-old former NFL player Ryan Mallet died in an apparent drowning accident at a beach in Destin, Florida on June 27, 2023. First responders were called to the beach in the afternoon after a group of swimmers ran into trouble in the water. They had been swimming out to a sandbank in the Gulf of Mexico and were struggling to make their way back to shore.
One of the swimmers wasn't breathing when he was rescued from the water and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. He was confirmed to be Ryan Mallet.
"It is with great sadness that we share the loss of Coach Ryan Mallett," wrote the White Hall School District, where Mallet coached high school football, on their website.
Whitney Houston was one of the most talented singers of her generation, but was doubtlessly also one of the most troubled. Her struggles with drug addiction impacted her career over the years and eventually led to her accidental death.
Houston drowned in a bathtub at a Beverly Hills hotel on February 11, 2012. An autopsy determined that cocaine and heart disease contributed to her death.
Tragically, her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown died in a similar manner a few years later. Brown was found face down in a bathtub in her home in 2015. She remained in a coma for six months before passing away at the age of 22. Medical examinations found a mixture of strong prescription drugs in her system but were unable to determine if her death was accidental or intended.
Actress Mary Mara was found dead in the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York on June 26, 2022. Mara was best known for playing the role of Loretta Sweet in 'ER' in the 1990s. She also appeared in shows like 'Law & Order,' 'Hope & Gloria,' and 'Dexter.'
The 61-year-old is believed to have drowned while swimming. Police say there were no signs of foul play. Early reports suggest she hit her head and was knocked unconscious.
'Glee' star Naya Rivera famously disappeared on July 8, 2020, after taking her son out for a boat ride on Lake Piru in California. Four-year-old Josey was found alone in the boat later that day, with no sign of Rivera. It took five days for search teams to find her body.
It's believed that Rivera and her son had been swimming near the boat when they got caught in a rip current. Rivera managed to get her son back into the boat safely, but didn't have the strength left to save herself.
Her two companions say that they went to bed before her and awoke to find that she was missing from the yacht. Her body was found a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from the yacht. She was severely bruised and authorities initially concluded that she had sustained these injuries after accidentally falling from the yacht in the middle of the night. However, theories have circulated for decades that Wood's death was not accidental, and that her husband was involved. In 2011, her cause of death was changed from "accidental drowning" to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” In 2018, her husband was named as a person of interest in the reopened investigation into her death.
Jeff Buckley, best known for his 1994 rendition of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah,' was killed in a bizarre swimming accident in 1997. He was just 30 years old when the incident occurred. Buckley reportedly made a spontaneous decision to wade into the Mississippi River, fully clothed, and go for a swim.
A nervous companion was keeping an eye on him, but when he looked away for a minute, Buckley disappeared. A large boat had passed and it's believed that Buckley was overcome by its wake. His body was found miles down the river six days later. Rumors about Buckley's state of mind and erratic behavior leading up to the tragedy raised suspicion as to the nature of his death.
Brian Jones was the original leader of the Rolling Stones, and an even wilder rockstar than Keith Richards or Mick Jagger. Unfortunately, by 1969, his overwhelming drug habit rendered him incapable of contributing to the band. He was fired from the Rolling Stones, and three weeks later he was dead.
The 27-year-old was found dead in his own swimming pool on July 3, 1969. It was ruled a "death by misadventure" as Jones had high levels of drugs and alcohol in his system. There are theories that Jones purposefully took his own life after being fired from the band. More outlandish theories suggest that he was murdered by a building contractor over an unpaid debt.
Dennis Wilson was one of the founding members of the Beach Boys. Sadly, his lifelong struggles with drugs and alcohol led to his early demise in 1983. Wilson was on a bender during the holiday season and ended up partying on his friend's boat.
He decided to start diving into the freezing water to bring up random objects he had found at the bottom of the river. It turned out he was searching for items he'd thrown into that same river when he was on a boat with his ex-wife, Karen Lamm (pictured), three years earlier. Incredibly, he managed to find a silver frame containing their wedding photo. He continued to search the waters, but after one fateful dive, he never came back up. His body was found after a thirty-minute search and he was pronounced dead. He was 39 years old.
Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries, was found dead in a London hotel room on January 15, 2018. She was 46 years old at the time and her sudden death was investigated by the British coroner's office.
O'Riordan had drowned in the bathtub and was found to have a high blood alcohol level. There were several empty alcohol bottles in her room and she had also taken some prescription medication. It's believed that she simply drank too much and passed out in the water.
Carol Wayne was a TV and film actress who made frequent appearances on 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.' (She's pictured here in the 1968 movie 'The Party'). She died suddenly at the age of 42 under suspicious circumstances.
Wayne and her boyfriend, a car salesman called Edward Durston, were on vacation at the Las Hadas Resort in Mexico when she disappeared. The two had allegedly been having an argument when she decided to take a walk on the beach. Her body was found in the water by a local fisherman three days later. It was ruled an accidental drowning, although many other theories have arisen.
The famed author Virginia Woolf was known to suffer periods of severe depression throughout her life. Her mental health took a dive in 1941 after her London home had been destroyed by bombs, and World War II continued to devastate Europe. She found herself unable to write and became obsessed with death.
On March 28, 1941, Woolf filled the pockets of her coat with stones and walked into the river by her countryside home. She left a note for her husband explaining that she was "doing what seems the best thing to do." Her body wasn't found for three weeks.
Matthew Perry, who found fame playing Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom ‘Friends,’ died at the age of 54 as a result of the acute effects of ketamine and subsequent drowning. On October 28, 2023, he was found in the same hot tub where he had posted his last Instagram photo just five days before.
Josef Mengele was one of Hitler's most infamous henchmen. He was known to have performed horrifying experiments on the prisoners at Auschwitz, but managed to avoid capture when the war ended and never faced trial at Nuremberg. He escaped to Brazil where he lived until 1979.
In 1979, Mengele was visiting some friends by the sea and suffered a stroke while swimming, causing him to drown. He was buried under the name "Wolfgang Gerhard," and all the while, he was still believed to be alive by the rest of the world. It wasn't until 1985 when the West German and Israeli governments renewed their search efforts that his death was confirmed.
In 1917, an attempt to kill Rasputin by poisoning him with cyanide was made, but he managed to survive. His assailants then shot him and left him for dead, but once again, he survived. The next time they found him they shot him several more times, tied him up, and threw him into the freezing Neva River to drown.
Percy Bysshe Shelley was a famous and influential British poet, although his genius was not fully recognized during his lifetime. He was a controversial figure and chose to exile himself to Italy in 1818.
In 1822, Shelley and two companions were sailing up the coast when they got caught in a storm. They were all inexperienced sailors and the boat sank, killing them all. Shelley's body washed up on the shore 10 days later and he was cremated on the beach.
Sources: (E Online) (The Famous People) (Ranker)
Celebrities who died by drowning
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CELEBRITY Deaths
Drowning is a relatively uncommon cause of death, but a few high-profile celebrity deaths have raised awareness of the risks in recent years. Matthew Perry and Naya Rivera, for instance, sadly joined a long list of unfortunate souls who went the same way in the past. From rock stars to authors, there are a surprising number of celebrities who fell victim to drowning. Click through the following gallery to remember those who tragically passed away after slipping under the surface.