Year-End Wrap-up: Most Heartbreaking Celebrity Deaths in 2020

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Dec 22, 2020 02:09 AM EST

The year 2020 has brought a couple of unwanted events in everybody's lives.

Every day seemed like there's a new surprising headline story to wake up to, including the election, the pandemic, the racial justice fights, and celebrity deaths.

Here is the list of celebrities that were gone too soon but always remembered in our hearts based on We Are Mitu's report.

Kobe Bryant

The world greeted the year with the news of iconic basketball player Kobe Bryant's death, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and eight other people.

The NBA star died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California in January. The pilot was flying Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament.

According to an ESPN report, the helicopter pilot did not have alcohol or drugs in his system. The Los Angeles County coroner's office said broken bones and dismembered body parts were found at the crash site.

The coroner's office added that the smell of fuel still lingered on what remained of clothing that was burned.

Juan Carillo, the senior deputy medical examiner, said in Bryant's report that the injuries are rapid if not instantly fatal.

Naya Rivera

The Glee star made the headlines after she was reported missing after boating with her four-year-old son, Josey Dorsey. Naya Rivera's body was found on July 13. She was 33.

The Ventura County's Medical Examiner said that the actress' cause of death was drowning and the manner of death is an accident.

Rivera's son told police that she pushed him back into the boat before disappearing beneath the lake's surface.

BBC reported that the lake's currents could have made it difficult for Rivera to come aboard the boat.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known to be a women's rights pioneer and was a Supreme Court justice. She was badged as a legal, cultural, and feminist icon.

Ginsburg died in September, and her cause of death was metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87.

She fought for women's rights in the 1970s and served for 27 years on the nation's highest court, making her its most prominent member.

Her death resulted in a tumultuous political battle over who will succeed her. It was a critical moment as it neared the date of the presidential elections.

Right before her death, Ginsburg reportedly dictated to her granddaughter Clara Spera that her most fervent wish is that she will not be replaced until a new president enters the White House, as reported by NPR.

Despite her wishes, President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 26 that Amy Coney Barrett would fill in Ginsberg's position as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.