10 Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths (3 of 6)

Heath Ledger

Fresh off the success of Brokeback Mountain, which won three Oscars and was nominated for a fourth, it appeared the sky was the limit for Heath Ledger. Add to this the huge buildup to Batman Returns, in which Ledger brilliantly played the Joker, and it was clear the actor was on the verge of becoming a Hollywood A-Lister. But this all came to a tragic end on January 22nd, 2008, when his housekeeper found him unresponsive on his bed. He was pronounced dead, with accidental poisoning from prescription medications being the cause. He left behind a daughter, Matilda, who was 2 at the time of his death.

Paul Walker

Although Paul Walker had gotten his start as a child actor in the 1980s, playing a role on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, as well as in 1990s comedy movies such as She’s All That and Varsity Blues, he rose to international stardom following his success in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. But it was poor driving decisions along with faulty tires that prematurely ended his life at 40 years old on November 30th, 2013. Riding as a passenger in a Porsche Carrera GT being driven by his financial advisor Roger Rodas, the car was reaching speeds as high as 150 km/h (93 mph) in a 72km/h (45mph) zone when Rodas lost control and crashed into a concrete lamp post and two trees. Both men were knocked out and died seconds later, with Walker succumbing to blunt trauma and burns.