The death of Pope Francis brought change to the Catholic Church, which counts 1.4 billion adherents and is now led - for the first time - by an American pope. The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he spoke before a crowd horrified many and prompted somber conversations about political violence.

And when trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre died by suicide, it brought additional scrutiny to the investigations of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They were among the noteworthy and influential people who died in 2025 where the deaths themselves had a widespread impact.

The deaths of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife became a source of both sadness and mystery after their bodies were found in their home in February. Authorities ultimately determined that Hackman, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's, died of heart disease, likely unaware that Betsy Arakawa had died from hantavirus a week earlier.

Meanwhile, the death of heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne, which came just weeks after his farewell concert, marked the end of an era in music. The year also saw the death of boxing great George Foreman, who memorably lost a much-watched match to Muhammad Ali but whose career had inspiring second and third acts as a world champion and successful business owner.

And the world said goodbye this year to Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative whose long career in public service included becoming one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history under President George W. Bush.

Here is a roll call of some influential figures who have died this year (cause of death cited, if available):

January

Jean-Marie Le Pen, 96. The founder of France's far-right National Front was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism, earning him staunch support and widespread condemnation. Jan. 7.

Marianne Faithfull, 78. The British pop star, muse, libertine and old soul inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones' greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied. Jan. 30.

February

The Aga Khan, 88. He became the spiritual leader of the world's millions of Ismaili Muslims at age 20 as a Harvard undergraduate and poured billions of dollars in tithes into building homes, hospitals and schools in developing countries. Feb. 4.

Gene Hackman, 95. The Oscar-winning actor whose studied portraits ranged from reluctant heroes to conniving villains and made him one of the industry's most respected and honored performers. Feb. 18. Found dead with his wife Betsy Arakawa.

Boris Spassky, 88. A Soviet-era world chess champion, he lost his title to American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match that became a proxy for Cold War rivalries. Feb. 27.

March

George Foreman, 76. The fearsome heavyweight boxer lost the "Rumble in the Jungle" to Muhammad Ali before his inspiring second and third acts as a 45-year-old world champion and a successful business owner. March 21.

Richard Chamberlain, 90. The handsome hero of the 1960s television series "Dr. Kildare" came out as gay four decades later and was known as the "king of the miniseries" for his roles in "The Thorn Birds" and "Shogun." March 29.

April

Val Kilmer, 65. The brooding, versatile actor who played fan favorite Iceman in "Top Gun," donned a voluminous cape as Batman in "Batman Forever" and portrayed Jim Morrison in "The Doors," died of pneumonia. April 1.

Mario Vargas Llosa, 89. The Peruvian author was a Nobel literature laureate and a giant of Latin American letters. April 13.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, 85. The former Malaysian prime minister was a moderate who extended the country's political freedoms but was criticized for lackluster leadership. April 14.

Pope Francis, 88. History's first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for poor people but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. April 21.

Virginia Giuffre, 41. She accused Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by financier Jeffrey Epstein. An advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein's downfall, she died by suicide according to her publicist. April 25.

May

Charles Rangel, 94. The former New York congressman was an outspoken, gravel-voiced Harlem Democrat spent nearly five decades on Capitol Hill and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. May 26.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, 87. The revered Kenyan man of letters was a voice of dissent who, in dozens of fiction and nonfiction books, traced his country's history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny. May 28.

June

Shigeo Nagashima, 89. He was known in Japan as "Mr. Pro Baseball," one of the most famous people in the country during his playing days. June 3.

Frederick Forsyth, 86. The British author wrote "The Day of the Jackal" and other bestselling thrillers. June 9.

Brian Wilson, 82. The Beach Boys' visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired "Good Vibrations," "California Girls" and other summertime anthems, becoming one of the world's most influential recording artists. June 11.

Ananda Lewis, 52. The former MTV and BET host who became a beloved television personality in the 1990s with her warmth and authenticity died of breast cancer. June 11.

July

Michael Madsen, 67. The actor best known for his coolly menacing, steely-eyed, often sadistic characters in the films of Quentin Tarantino, including "Reservoir Dogs" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2." July 3.

Muhammadu Buhari, 82. He led Nigeria twice, as a military head of state and a democratic president. July 13.

Bradley John Murdoch, 67. Known as the "Outback Killer," he was convicted of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio, who vanished in arid central Australia in 2001. July 15.

Connie Francis, 87. The wholesome pop star's 1950s and '60s hits included "Pretty Little Baby" and "Who's Sorry Now?" - the latter serving as an ironic title for a personal life filled with heartbreak and tragedy. July 16.

Felix Baumgartner, 56. The extreme athlete stunned the world in 2012 by skydiving faster than the speed of sound during a 24-mile (39-kilometer) leap from the stratosphere. He died in a paragliding crash. July 17.

Thomas Anthony Durkin, 78. The criminal defense attorney was a fixture for five decades in Chicago's courthouses, known for his relentless advocacy for a roster of notorious clients. July 21.

Ozzy Osbourne, 76. The gloomy, demon-invoking lead singer of the pioneering band Black Sabbath became the godfather of heavy metal and then a doddering dad on reality TV. July 22.

Chuck Mangione, 84. The two-time Grammy Award-winning musician achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-flavored single "Feels So Good" and later became a voice actor on the animated TV comedy "King of the Hill." July 22.

Hulk Hogan, 71. The mustachioed, headscarf-wearing, bicep-busting icon of professional wrestling turned the sport into a massive business and stretched his influence into TV, pop culture and conservative politics during a long and scandal-plagued second act. July 24.

August

Jeannie Seely, 85. She was the soulful country music singer behind such standards as "Don't Touch Me." Aug. 1.

Loni Anderson, 79. She played a struggling radio station's empowered receptionist on the hit TV comedy "WKRP in Cincinnati." Aug. 3.

Ion Iliescu, 95. Romania's first freely elected president after the fall of communism in 1989 later faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the bloody revolution. Aug. 5

Tristan Rogers, 79. He played super spy Robert Scorpio on ABC's "General Hospital." Aug. 15.

Terence Stamp, 87. The British actor often played the role of a complex villain, including that of General Zod in the early Superman films. Aug. 17.

September

Graham Greene, 73. A trailblazing Indigenous actor, his long career included an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Kicking Bird in "Dances with Wolves." Sept. 1.

Giorgio Armani, 91. The iconic Italian designer turned the concept of understated elegance into a multibillion-dollar fashion empire. Sept. 4.

The Duchess of Kent, 92. Born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, she famously broke royal protocol to hug a Wimbledon runner-up and stepped away from family duties to teach music in a public school. Sept. 4.

Polly Holliday, 88. The Tony Award-nominated screen and stage actor turned the catchphrase "Kiss my grits!" into a national retort as the gum-chewing, beehive-wearing server on the long-running CBS sitcom "Alice." Sept. 9.

Charlie Kirk, 31. Rising from a teenage conservative campus activist to a top podcaster and ally of President Donald Trump, he was fatally shot during an appearance at a college in Utah. Sept. 10.

Ricky Hatton, 46. The former boxing world champion who rose to become one of the most popular fighters in the sport had mental health struggles and was found dead due to hanging. Sept. 14.

Robert Redford, 89. The Hollywood golden boy became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters. Sept. 16.

Sonny Curtis, 88. A vintage rock 'n' roller, he wrote the raw classic "I Fought the Law" and posed the enduring question "Who can turn the world on with her smile?" as the writer-crooner of the theme song to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Sept. 19.

Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, in his 80s. Saudi Arabia's grand mufti served as the kingdom's top religious figure for a quarter of a century as the ultraconservative Muslim nation socially liberalized. Sept. 23.

Sara Jane Moore, 95. She was imprisoned for more than 30 years after she made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975. Sept. 24.

October

Jane Goodall, 91. The conservationist was renowned for her groundbreaking chimpanzee field research and globe-spanning environmental advocacy. Oct. 1.

Diane Keaton, 79. The Oscar-winning star's quirky manner and emotional depth enthralled fans in movies including "Annie Hall," "The Godfather" films and "Father of the Bride." Oct. 11.

Raila Odinga, 80. The populist campaigns of the former prime minister and perennial presidential candidate challenged one-party rule, rattled authorities and gave him outsized influence in Kenya. Oct. 15.

Ace Frehley, 74. The original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam-rock band Kiss captivated audiences with his elaborate galactic makeup and smoking guitar. Oct. 16.

Tomiichi Murayama, 101. Japan's former prime minister was known for his 1995 "Murayama statement" apologizing to Asian victims of his country's aggression. Oct. 17.

Chen Ning Yang, 103. The Chinese Nobel Prize-winning physicist was one of the most influential scientists in modern physics. Oct. 18.

June Lockhart, 100. She became a mother figure for a generation of television viewers, whether at home in "Lassie" or "Lost in Space." Oct. 23.

Queen Mother Sirikit, 93. She supervised royal projects in Thailand to help the rural poor, preserve traditional craft-making and protect the environment. Oct. 24.

November

Dick Cheney, 84. The hard-charging conservative was a leading advocate for invading Iraq as one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history. Years later, he became a critic and target of President Donald Trump. Nov. 3.

James D. Watson, 97. His co-discovery of the twisted-ladder structure of DNA in 1953 helped light the long fuse on a revolution in medicine, crimefighting, genealogy and ethics. Nov. 6.

Juan Ponce Enrile, 101. He was the Philippines' defense chief during the martial-law era notorious for human rights atrocities, democratic setbacks and plunder, then broke from Ferdinand Marcos, leading to the dictator's overthrow in a 1986 "people power" uprising. Nov. 13.

Dharmendra, 89. A defining screen presence of 1970s and 1980s Bollywood films, he was one of Indian cinema's most popular stars. Nov. 24.

Fuzzy Zoeller, 74. One of golf's most gregarious characters, the two-time major champion's career was tainted by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods. Nov. 27.

Tom Stoppard, 88. The British playwright was a playful, probing dramatist who won an Academy Award for his screenplay for 1998's "Shakespeare In Love." Nov. 29.

December

Frank Gehry, 96. He designed some of the most imaginative buildings ever constructed and achieved a level of worldwide acclaim seldom afforded any architect. Dec. 5.

Sophie Kinsella, 55. Her effervescent rom-com "Confessions of a Shopaholic" sparked a millions-selling series. She died after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Dec. 10.