01
Olivia Cole
The Emmy Award-winning actress, who helped bring to life The Women of Brewster Place and starred in Roots, passed away on January 19 at the age of 75.
02
Dennis Edwards
The Temptations frontman passed away on February 1. He was 74.
03
Reg E. Cathey
The actor, who delivered sterling performances in HBO’s The Wire and Netflix’s House of Cards, passed away on February 9.
04
Barbara Alston
Alston, who was a member of the soundtrack-defining 60s girl group The Crystals, passed on February 16.
05
Craig Mack
The hip-hop trailblazer, who was one of the original artists on Bad Boy records, passed away on March 12. He was 46 years old.
06
Dushon Monique Brown
The actress, who appeared in Prison Break, Empire, and Shameless passed away on March 23. Chicago Fire, the TV show in which she played the role of Connie, honored her life onscreen when the show resumed.
07
Linda Brown
Long before people were hashtagging about their intention to #resist, there was a little girl whose very existence embodied rebellion. Linda Brown, the child at the center of the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision that changed lives, died on March 25 at the age of 75.
08
Joe Jackson
The Jackson family patriarch, who prepared his children for the stardom, passed away on June 27 at the age of 89. Say what you want about him, his legacy lives on in the limelight.
09
Lyric McHenry
The promising reality television star, writer, and producer was found dead in the Bronx on August 14. Earlier in the evening she had been celebrating her 26th birthday.
10
Aretha Franklin
Our beloved Queen of Soul passed away on August 16 at the age of 76. In true royal fashion, a fleet of pearly pink Cadillacs accompanied her on her journey home to glory after a seven-hour funeral.
11
Kim Porter
We lost the model and mother, who left an unmistakable mark on hip-hop culture, at just 47 years old from cardiac arrest on November 15.
12
Nancy Wilson
The Grammy Award-winning jazz songstress died on December 13.
