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Overton Joseph Paul (b. 1960-01-04 / d. 2003-06-30)
He was a senior vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He held a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Overton is known for conceiving of the idea now known as the Overton window, the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream at a given time. He died at age 43 from injuries suffered in a crash while piloting an ultralight aircraft, soon after taking off from the Tuscola Area Airport near Caro, Michigan. Overton had just married a few weeks before the accident.
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82
Born 1942-06-20. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
Brian Douglas Wilson was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, vocal layering, and introspective or ingenuous themes. Wilson is also known for his once-high vocal range and lifelong struggles with mental illness. He is considered one of the greatest musicians of all time. In 2024, it was revealed that Wilson was suffering from dementia following the death of Ledbetter. Following this, he was placed in a conservatorship, with his long-time publicist Jean Sievers, and his manager, LeeAnn Hard, as his conservators. His death at the age of 82 was announced on June 11, 2025. His family declined to state a cause of death.
88
Born 1937-01-30. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
Boris Vasilievich Spassky was a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigran Petrosian in 1966; defeated Petrosian in 1969 to become world champion; then lost to Bobby Fischer in a famous match in 1972. Spassky emigrated to France in 1976 and became a French citizen in 1978. He continued to compete in tournaments, but was no longer a major contender for the world title. Spassky lost an unofficial rematch against Fischer in 1992. In 2012, he left France and returned to Russia. On October 1, 2006, Spassky suffered a minor stroke during a chess lecture in San Francisco. In his first major post-stroke play, he drew a six-game rapid match with Hungarian Grandmaster Lajos Portisch in April 2007. On March 27, 2010, at 73 years old, he became the oldest surviving former World Chess Champion following the death of Vasily Smyslov. On September 23, 2010, ChessBase reported that Spassky had suffered a more serious stroke that had left him paralysed on his left side. After that he returned to France for a long rehabilitation programme. On August 16, 2012, Spassky left France to return to Russia under disputed circumstances and took up residence in an apartment in Moscow. On September 25, 2016, he made a public speech at the opening of the Tal Memorial tournament. He said he had "the very brightest memories" of Mikhail Tal and told an anecdote from the 15th Chess Olympiad about Soviet analysis of an adjourned game between Fischer and Botvinnik. He was described by Chess24 as being 'sprightly'. Spassky died in Moscow at the age of 88.
95
Born 1930-01-30. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – c. February 18, 2025) was an American actor. Considered one of the greatest actors of his generation and a paragon of the New Hollywood movement, Hackman's acting career spanned over four decades. He received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Hackman was found dead along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and one of their three dogs, at their home in Santa Fe on February 26, 2025. He is presumed to have died of heart disease complicated by advanced Alzheimer's disease around February 18, about a week after Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. In 1990, Hackman underwent an angioplasty. In 2012, Hackman was struck by a pickup truck while he was cycling in the Florida Keys. It was initially reported that he had suffered serious head trauma; however, his publicist stated that his injury was nothing more than "bumps and bruises". Hackman attended an event in Santa Fe in late 2022. He was last seen in public in March 2024. After his death, autopsy reports revealed Hackman had Alzheimer's disease, which contributed to his death. Hackman's will, created in 1995, lists Arakawa as his sole inheritor; Arakawa's will states that if they die within 90 days of each other, the proceeds go to charity.
78
Born 1946-04-03. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Heart
María Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, known professionally as Marisa Paredes, was a Spanish actress with a long illustrious career. She acted in more than 75 films, 80 tv shows and 15 plays – with some of Europe's most important directors – and was the recipient of numerous awards.
75
Born 1949-02-08. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Niels Arestrup was a French-Danish actor, film director and screenwriter. Arestrup died following a long illness in Ville-d'Avray, France.
72
Born 1952-04-16. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Operation
Michel Blanc was a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs. He is frequently associated with Le Splendid, which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Christian Clavier, Marie-Anne Chazel and Gérard Jugnot. He also appeared in more serious roles, such as the title role in the Patrice Leconte film Monsieur Hire.
87
Born 1936-06-13. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Age
Michel Jazy was a French middle-distance runner and long-distance runner. He won the 1500 metres silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, as well as two golds (in 1962 and 1966) and one silver (in 1966) at the European Championships. He set nine world records in the mile (once), 2000 metres (twice) and 3000 metres (twice), the two miles (twice) and the 4×1500 metres relay (twice).
81
Born 1942-09-18. Domain:Politics. Cause of death:Age
Wolfgang Schäuble (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈʃɔʏblə]) was a German politician whose political career spanned more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the longest-serving member of any democratic German parliament. Schäuble served as the 13th president of the Bundestag from 2017 to 2021.
60
Born 1963-08-08. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Suicide
Emmanuelle Debever was a French actress. In 1983, she landed the lead role in Un jeu brutal by Jean-Claude Brisseau, in which she starred opposite Bruno Cremer. The same year, she starred in Andrzej Wajda's Danton as Louison Danton, the young wife of revolutionary figure Georges Jacques Danton, played by Gérard Depardieu. She also played a supporting role in the comedy My Other Husband, by George Lautner, with Miou-Miou, followed by the telefilm thriller Quidam alongside Richard Bohringer. Debever died on 6 December 2023, at the age of 60. Her death was first reported by Libération, which initially reported the date as 7 December. The newspaper later issued a correction, citing Debever's sister. Debever died after a week of hospitalization following a suicide attempt in which she jumped off a bridge into the Seine. Debever had been reported missing by her partner on 29 November after disappearing from their home and leaving a concerning note. Her death came the day before the release of France 2's investigative news show Complément d'enquête in which she presented her allegations against Gérard Depardieu. Prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation to determine the causes of her death.
65
Born 1957-12-25. Domain:Music. Cause of death:alcohol, other drugs
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He also produced solo material and collaborated with artists including Joe Strummer, Nick Cave, Steve Earle, Sinéad O'Connor, Ronnie Drew, and Cruachan. Frequently noted for his exceptional songwriting ability as well as his heavy alcohol and drug use, MacGowan was described by The New York Times as "a titanically destructive personality and a master songsmith whose lyrics painted vivid portraits of the underbelly of Irish immigrant life". MacGowan was long known for having very bad teeth. He lost the last of his natural teeth sometime around 2008. In 2015, he had a new set of teeth—including one gold tooth—fitted in a nine-hour procedure. The new set of teeth was secured by eight titanium implants in his jaws. The procedure was the subject of the hour-long television programme Shane MacGowan: A Wreck Reborn. It was reported in July 2023 that MacGowan was hospitalised in an intensive care unit. Following treatment for an infection, he was discharged from St. Vincent's University Hospital in November 2023. On 30 November 2023, after receiving last rites, MacGowan died from pneumonia at his home in Dublin with his wife by his side; he was 65.
82
Born 1940-10-19. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Sir Michael John Gambon CBE (/ˈɡæmbɒn/) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards and four BAFTA TV Awards. In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. He gained wide recognition through his role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series from 2004 to 2011, replacing Richard Harris following his death in 2002. Gambon was a qualified private pilot. His love of cars led to his appearance on the BBC series Top Gear. He raced the Suzuki Liana so aggressively that it went around the last corner of his lap on two wheels. The final corner of the Top Gear test track has been named "Gambon Corner" or simply "Gambon" in his honour.
81
Born 1941-12-12. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Age
Noël Tijou was a French long-distance runner. He competed in the men's 10,000 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Tijou died in Les Sables-d'Olonne at the age of 81.
96
Born 1927-03-24. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
Martin Walser (German: [ˈmaʁ.tiːn ˈvalˌzɐ]) was a German writer, especially known as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for Süddeutscher Rundfunk, where he wrote and directed audio plays, and travelled to England, France, Italy, Czechoslavakia and Poland as part of the job. He was part of Group 47 from 1953. Walser is regarded, along with Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, and Siegfried Lenz, as one of Germany's most influential postwar authors. Walser died in Nussdorf at age 96.
76
Born 1946-12-14. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
Jane Mallory Birkin OBE was a British and French actress and singer. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She also had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. In 2002, she was diagnosed with leukaemia and underwent rounds of treatment. Birkin often spent time with her grandchildren. Her daughter, Kate Barry, died in December 2013 after falling from a fourth floor apartment in Paris. On 6 September 2021, it was reported that Birkin was doing well after having a stroke. On 16 July 2023, Birkin was found dead at home in Paris. She was 76. No cause of death was given. The premier of the documentary Jane by Charlotte, about Birkin's relationship with her daughter Charlotte, on 8 July 2021, was one of her last public appearances.
94
Born 1929-04-01. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
Milan Kundera was a Czech-born French writer. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979 but he was granted Czech citizenship in 2019. He saw himself as a French writer and insisted his work should be studied as French literature and classified as such in book stores. Kundera's best-known work is The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Prior to the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the communist regime in Czechoslovakia banned his books. He led a low-profile life and rarely spoke to the media. He was thought to be a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was also a nominee for other awards. Kundera was awarded the 1985 Jerusalem Prize, in 1987 the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, and the 2000 Herder Prize. In 2021, he received the Golden Order of Merit from the president of Slovenia. Kundera died after a prolonged illness, in Paris, at the age of 94.
61
Born 1962-03-31. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Accident
Richard Stockton Rush III was an American businessman, best known as the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of deep-sea exploration company OceanGate. On June 18, 2023, he was killed along with four others aboard OceanGate's submersible Titan, which imploded during an attempt to visit the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic.
48
Born 1975-02-12. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Accident
Shahzada Dawood was a Pakistani and British businessman, investor, and philanthropist. Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, died alongside three others when the Titan submersible imploded during a tourist expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic on 18 June 2023.
86
Born 1936-11-28. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
Philippe Sollers (French: [sɔˈlɛʁs]; born Philippe Joyaux) was a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the avant garde literary journal Tel Quel (along with writer and art critic Marcelin Pleynet), which was published by Le Seuil and ran until 1982. Sollers then created the journal L'Infini, published first by Denoel, then by Gallimard with Sollers remaining as sole editor. Sollers was at the heart of the period of intellectual fervour in the Paris of the 1960s and 1970s. He contributed to the publication of critics and thinkers such as Jacques Derrida, Jacques Lacan, Louis Althusser, and Roland Barthes. Some of them were later described in his novel Femmes (1983), alongside other figures of French intellectualism active before and after May 1968. His writings and approach to language were examined and praised by French critic Roland Barthes in his book Writer Sollers. In 1990, following a televised disagreement between Canadian novelist Denise Bombardier and the French writer Gabriel Matzneff over Matzneff's "recently published memoir, about his sexual conquests of very young women", a few days later, on the television channel France 3, Sollers referred to Bombardier as "a bitch".
91
Born 1932-01-04. Domain:Directing. Cause of death:Age
Carlos Saura Atarés was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. Along with Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be one of Spain's most renowned filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career that spanned over half a century. His films won many international awards. Saura died of respiratory failure in his residence of Collado Mediano at the age of 91. He was due to receive the life-achievement Goya honorary award the following day during the 37th Goya Awards.
96
Born 1926-07-31. Domain:Directing. Cause of death:Age
Italo Bettiol was an Italian-French film director. Bettiol left Italy in 1947 with his brother, Stefano, and emigrated to France in hopes of becoming a painter. Alongside their friend, Stefano Lonati, the trio began working in film animation, notably creating advertisements with puppets produced by "Les Cinéastes associés" in the 1950s. He became a specialist in stop motion. He gained notoriety through animated television series, working alongside Lonati in the series Pépin la bulle and Chapi Chapo. In 1968, Bettiol founded the animation studio Bélokapi alongside Lonati, Michel Karlof, and Nicole Pichon. After his retirement, he worked on gadgets in his workshop with his wife, Françoise. Italo Bettiol died in Aniane on 28 December 2022, at the age of 96. His death was announced by the Société Magic.
87
Born 1935-09-29. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Cancer
Mylène Demongeot (born Marie-Hélène Demongeot) was a French film, television and theatre actress and author with a career spanning seven decades and more than 100 credits in French, Italian, English and Japanese speaking productions. Demongeot became a star at age 21 with her portrayal of Abigail Williams in The Crucible (1957) which garnered her a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles nomination and the best actress prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Some other notable film roles include Elsa in Otto Preminger's Bonjour Tristesse (1958) alongside Deborah Kerr and David Niven or Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers (1961). A "veteran of cinema" who started as one of the blond sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s, she managed to avoid typecasting by exploring many film genres including thrillers, westerns, comedies, swashbucklers, period films and even pepla, such as Romulus and the Sabines (1961) opposite Roger Moore or Gold for the Caesars (1963). Demongeot also has a cult following based on the Fantomas trilogy, as Hélène Gurn opposite Louis de Funès and Jean Marais: Fantômas (1964), Fantômas Unleashed (1965) and Fantômas Against Scotland Yard (1967). Thirty years later, she starred again in another one of France's most successful comedy trilogies as Madame Pic in Fabien Onteniente's Camping (2006), Camping 2 (2010) and Camping 3 (2016). She was twice nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the César Awards for 36 Quai des Orfèvres (2004) and French California (2006). In 2017, she was made Knight of the Légion d'Honneur by ethologist and neurologist Boris Cyrulnik and Commander of the Ordre des Arts et de Lettres in 2007 under the French Republic She remained popular until her passing from peritoneal cancer as she was starring in Thomas Gilou's film Maison de retraite (2022) alongside Gérard Depardieu, one of the biggest box office hits of 2022 in France. Through an Élysée Palace official tribune, President Emmanuel Macron paid a long tribute to her which included : "we salute the career of a great figure in the French Seventh Art, who knew how to shine in all its genres to move all French people".
90
Born 1931-11-01. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Age
Birch began sailing later in his life, but gained notoriety following his victory at the inaugural Route du Rhum in 1978. His sailboat, the Olympus Photo, a 12 meter trimaran, caught up with the larger Kriter V of Michel Malinovsky late in the race. Birch's victory at the Route du Rhum would be his only one on a monohull and begin the reign of the multihull, particularly following the death of Alain Colas. Birch continued a long career racing offshore completing his final race at the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2007, where he finished in 16th place. Birch died in Brech, France.
96
Born 1925-10-16. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury DBE was an Irish-British and American actress and singer who played various roles across film, stage, and television. Her career, much of it in the United States, spanned eight decades, and her work received much international attention. At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. She was the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), six Golden Globe Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, and the Academy Honorary Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, eighteen Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. Moving into television in 1984, she achieved worldwide fame as the fictional writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the American whodunit series Murder, She Wrote, which ran for twelve seasons until 1996, becoming one of the longest-running and most popular detective drama series in television history.
75
Born 1947-06-22. Domain:Philosophy. Cause of death:cancer (pancreas)
Bruno Latour was a French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist. He was especially known for his work in the field of science and technology studies (STS). After teaching at the École des Mines de Paris (Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation) from 1982 to 2006, he became Professor at Sciences Po Paris (2006–2017), where he was the scientific director of the Sciences Po Medialab. He retired from several university activities in 2017. He was also a Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics. Latour is best known for his books We Have Never Been Modern (1991; English translation, 1993), Laboratory Life (with Steve Woolgar, 1979) and Science in Action (1987). Although his studies of scientific practice were at one time associated with social constructionist approaches to the philosophy of science, Latour diverged significantly from such approaches. He was best known for withdrawing from the subjective/objective division and re-developing the approach to work in practice. Latour said in 2017 that he is interested in helping to rebuild trust in science and that some of the authority of science needs to be regained. Along with Michel Callon and John Law, Latour is one of the primary developers of actor–network theory (ANT), a constructionist approach influenced by the ethnomethodology of Harold Garfinkel, the generative semiotics of Algirdas Julien Greimas, and (more recently) the sociology of Émile Durkheim's rival Gabriel Tarde.
96
Born 1926-04-21. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and 15 at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch, the longest recorded of any female head of state in history, and the second-longest verified reign of any monarch in history.
67
Born 1954-09-21. Domain:Politics. Cause of death:Murder
Shinzo Abe (安倍 晋三, Abe Shinzō, pronounced [abe ɕindzoː]) was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He was the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history. Abe also served as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2005 to 2006 under Junichiro Koizumi and was briefly leader of the opposition in 2012. Abe was assassinated with a firearm on 8 July 2022 while delivering a campaign speech in Nara.
61
Born 1960-04-07. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Murder
Yvan Colonna is a Corsican nationalist convicted for assassination. He is the son of Jean-Hugues Colonna, a former member of the National Assembly for the Socialist Party elected in the Alpes-Maritimes and a recipient of the French Légion d'honneur. On the 6th of February 1998 at 9:05 pm, the prefect of Corsica, Claude Érignac, was assassinated as he exited a theatre onto rue Colonna-d'Ornano in Ajaccio. He was shot receiving three 9 mm bullets in the neck, and died shortly thereafter. The weapon was shown to be one of the weapons stolen in the attack on the Gendarmerie Nationale station in Pietrosella on 6 September 1997. An enquiry followed, which resulted in the arrest of several militants. Interrogation pointed towards Yvan Colonna as the culprit. Police went to question him, but he had already fled. This sparked the biggest manhunt in French history, and Colonna was thought to have left the country, possibly for South America. However, an infrared camera set in the mountains of Corsica, near Vico as surveillance of a bergerie, a traditional Corsican stone hut, yielded evidence that Colonna was hiding here. He was arrested on the 4th of June 2003. Charged with assassination and being a member of a terrorist organisation, he was arraigned before the court of special cases in Paris from 12 November 2007. The court was in session until 12 December 2007. During his internment awaiting trial, he has repeatedly claimed innocence, and that he is the victim of unfair press coverage, convicting him before trial. On 13 December 2007, Colonna was pronounced guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. He has since appealed. On 20 June 2011, Colonna's conviction was upheld on appeal. He was serving his life sentence in the Toulon-La Farlède detention centre where he was assassinated by an other inmate. On 2 March 2022, Colonna was attacked in prison by Franck Elong Abé, an Islamist 36-year-old Cameroonian inmate, reportedly for "disrespecting Muhammad". In response, violent unrest broke out across Corsica. After spending three weeks in a coma at a hospital, he died of his wounds on 21 March 2022, at the age of 61.
73
Born 1948-12-21. Domain:Art. Cause of death:COVID
Manfred Thierry Mugler was a French fashion designer, creative director, and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the following decades for his avant-garde, architectural, hyperfeminine, and theatrical approach to haute couture. In 2002, he retired from the brand, and returned in 2013 as the creative adviser. Mugler was openly gay and a longtime bodybuilder. Following his departure from fashion he became reclusive, went by his first name (Manfred), and began extensive bodybuilding. In 2019, he said "Thierry Mugler" was a label and a brand, and as such he wanted to move on to other things.
83
Born 1938-09-23. Domain:Art. Cause of death:Age
Jean-Claude Mézières was a French bandes dessinées artist and illustrator. Born in Paris and raised in Saint-Mandé, he was introduced to drawing by his older brother and influenced by comics artists such as Hergé, Andre Franquin and Morris and later by Jijé and Jack Davis. Educated at the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art, he worked upon graduation as an illustrator for books and magazines as well as in advertising. A lifelong interest in the Wild West led him to travel to the United States in 1965 in search of adventure as a cowboy, an experience that would prove influential on his later work. Returning to France, Mézières teamed up with his childhood friend, Pierre Christin, to create Valérian and Laureline, the popular, long-running science fiction comics series for which he is best known and which has proved to be influential to many science fiction and fantasy films, including Star Wars. Mézières contributed as a conceptual designer on several motion picture projects, most notably the 1997 Luc Besson film, The Fifth Element, as well as continuing to work as an illustrator for newspapers, magazines and in advertising. He also taught courses on the production of comics at the University of Paris VIII: Vincennes—Saint-Denis. Mézières received international recognition through a number of prestigious awards, most notably the 1984 Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême.
37
Born 1984-11-25. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Accident
Gaspard Ulliel was a French actor. He is known for having portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal Rising (2007) and fashion mogul Yves Saint Laurent in the biopic Saint Laurent (2014), and for being the face of the Chanel men's fragrance Bleu de Chanel. He was cast as Anton Mogart / Midnight Man in the upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight (2022). Ulliel was nominated for a César Award for the category of Most Promising Actor in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, he won that award for his role in A Very Long Engagement.[1] In 2017, he won the César Award for Best Actor for his role in It's Only the End of the World. Ulliel died on 19 January 2022, following a skiing accident at La Rosière resort in Savoie, France.