A year like no other began with the shock death of basketball star and Oscar-winner Kobe Bryant before a pandemic upended life as we knew it.
Here are some of the high-profile figures who said their final goodbyes over the last 12 months:
5. Kirk Douglas
One of the last stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age died at the age of 103, bringing the curtain down on one of the industry’s great careers.
The patriarch of an acting dynasty and star of films Spartacus, Ace In The Hole and Champion, Douglas’ son Michael said he leaves a cinematic legacy that “will endure for generations to come”.
6. Pop Smoke
The US rapper, 20, was shot and killed in Los Angeles in an alleged home invasion. Tributes from across the music industry flooded in and his posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, topped charts around the world, including in the UK.
7. Caroline Flack
The Love Island host, 40, took her own life at her home in Stoke Newington, north-east London. An inquest into her death heard she was concerned about a forthcoming trial for assaulting her boyfriend, former tennis player and model Lewis Burton.
8. Kenny Rogers
The venerated country music star, known for his husky singing voice and hits such as Coward Of The County and The Gambler, died aged 81 from natural causes. His collaborator and long-time friend Dolly Parton paid an emotional tribute and said: “I loved Kenny with all my heart. And my heart’s broken. A big old chunk of it has gone with him today.”