Some celebrities are lucky for their time in the spotlight, while others are lucky just to be alive. Whether it was a terrible disease that almost took their life or a stunt that took a wrong turn, the entertainment industry is lucky to have them still here. A near-death experience can change a person's whole outlook on life. Read on to find out which celebs barely escaped death...
Orlando Bloom
When he attempted to climb a drainpipe, you can probably guess that things didn’t go well for the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. He plummeted down three stories when his hand slipped. The then 21-year-old actor was paralyzed for several days after the accident, but luckily he recovered and went on to film many more sequels to his famous franchise.
Rachel Bilson
This OC actress hasn’t always had such an easy life. In fact, she survived a car accident when she was just fourteen years old. Bilson described it as "I basically died and then came back. The window went into my head. It was really gross." Gross? Sure. Terrifying? Definitely.
Johnny Depp
Bruce Robinson and Johnny Depp were aboard a flight in 2011 when suddenly, the lights went out. The engine had been cut and the plane was on the way down. Luckily, the engines came back on and the flight was saved, but Depp said that he really thought it would be the end of his life. He described it as an “unpleasant descent.” That seems fair.
Martin Lawrence
In 1999, Martin Larence was making an effort to lose weight before the year’s end so he could be a better fit for a movie role. He was jogging in the hot sun when he started overheating. At his home, he took a temperature of 107 degrees. He slipped into a coma while in the hospital, but woke up a short while later.
Harrison Ford
In 2015, Harrison Ford was on his plane when his engines cut out. The lights shuttered, and Harrison screamed as the plane crashed into the ground. Thankfully, he walked away safe and alive, for the most part. He had a few broken bones, but he was thankful just to be alive at that point…
Eminem
In 2005, Eminem suffered from a drug overdose that nearly cost him his life. He was terrified afterward but still didn’t start reconsidering his choices until much later in life. He said: "My doctor told me the amount of methadone I'd taken was equivalent to shooting up four bags of heroin. Even when they told me I almost died, it didn't click." That’s some scary stuff...
Seth MacFarlane
Best known for his work on Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane was almost killed in the fatal 9/11 attacks. He had a ticket for the American Airlines flight that would later hit the World Trade Center. Fortunately for Seth, he showed up ten minutes too late to board. He was angry and hungover, but later realized it was the greatest gift of his life.
Travis Barker
Can you imagine Blink-182 without this iconic drummer? Well, that was almost how it was when Barker was involved in a plane crash in 2008. He was with DJ AM at the time, who sadly died a year later of a drug overdose. Barker suffered from PTSD for several years after the crash, made worse by the fear of flying he had prior to the crash.
Joaquin Phoenix
In 2006, this actor almost died in a fatal car accident. His car skid and flipped upside down, sliding on the road into another car. Director Werner Herzog saw the incident since he lived nearby and saved Phoenix. Luck was on his side that day, and fans of Phoenix are forever grateful.
Drew Barrymore
You might think Drew Barrymore almost died from an overdose since she was very involved with drugs in her youth, but it was actually a house fire in 2001 that nearly killed her. She heard her dog barking and got out of bed in time to save them both. She thought of that as a turning point in her life.
Chevy Chase
In 1981, Chevy Chase just barely escaped death when he was filming Modern Problems. The famously problematic actor was accidentally electrocuted on the set. You read that correctly: he was shocked (literally!) He was unconscious for a short period while all the crew members panicked. Thankfully, he woke up shortly after.
Kanye West
In 2002, Kanye West wrote his song “Through the Wire” about an incident that happened in his life. He suffered a car crash that nearly cost him his life. He said later in an interview that he has God to thank. He could have lost his “mouth, voice, and whole face.” Kanye’s music was forever influenced by the event.
Gary Busey
The actor is known for his eclectic, well, everything, but that could be a result of his head injury from 1988. The actor wasn’t wearing a helmet when he got into a terrible motorcycle accident. He cracked his skull and suffered extreme injuries. Doctors theorize that he likely suffered irreversible brain damage.
Ozzy Osbourne
In 2003, the world almost lost rock legend, Ozzy Osbourne. The singer was involved in an ATV accident that threatened his life. He suffered from a broken collarbone, eight rib fractures, multiple blood vessel pinches, and damaged his neck vertebrae. Yikes! Thankfully, he fully recovered from all his injuries.
Ryan Reynolds
Before he was a father, Reynolds was a little bit of a risk-taker. He went sky-diving one day when he was seventeen years old. His parachute didn’t work though, and he had to go to the reserve. He later said that he “got down on the ground, removed [his] urine-spackled jumpsuit, threw it at the guy, and got in [his] car and drove extremely slowly home.”
Isla Fisher
While filming Now You See Me, Fisher’s chain got caught on something and she was trapped underwater. The crew didn’t help her for three minutes, because they thought she was just fabulously acting when she was really in danger. Someone pulled the safety lever though, and Isla survived.
Tracy Morgan
Tracy Morgan is definitely, and famously, lucky to be alive. The comedian was involved in a life-altering car accident in July of 2015. He was driving with a friend when his car was hit by an 18-wheeler. Though Tracy lived to tell the tale, his friend died in the collision. Morgan was hospitalized for several months before returning to the stage.
50 Cent
Famously, 50 Cent was almost killed in 2000 when he was shot nine times in close range. He was hit in the arm, hand, hip, legs, chest, and his left cheek. His voice was slurred as a result, as well as a swollen tongue and missing wisdom tooth. He spent thirteen days in the hospital recovering. The attacker was allegedly Mike Tyson’s bodyguard, but he was killed soon after and was never tried.
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron hurt herself badly when filming her movie, Aeon Flux. The shooting was delayed when the crew realized Theron had broken her neck. She recovered over the course of two months, but the road was long and difficult. The movie was delayed until she could return to the screen.
Sharon Stone
It was a brain aneurysm that almost took Sharon Stone’s life in 2010. Even worse, she had been involved in a head-on collision two decades earlier that also threatened her life. It seemed that Sharon just couldn’t catch a break, but she did manage to get pretty lucky twice. She claims to have seen a white light both times...
George Clooney
If you like the movie Syriana, you might be interested to know George Clooney nearly took his own life during it’s filming. The star broke his back while filming and said the pain was almost too much to bear. He told one reporter: "I was lying in a hospital bed with an IV in my arm, unable to move, having these headaches where it feels like you're having a stroke, and for a short three-week period, I started to think, 'I may have to do something drastic about this.'"
Emilia Clarke
The Game of Thrones starlet recently revealed that while filming the famous series she suffered two brain aneurysms. They sent her to the hospital to undergo dangerous surgery. She lived in constant fear, saying "every minute of every day I thought I was going to die.” Thankfully, she hasn’t had a scare since filming season two.
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman actually had a rare lung condition known as epiglottitis. Sufferers experience their windpipe covered by cartilage. Airflow to the lungs is then blocked. Silverman was rushed to the hospital where doctors narrowly saved her life. “I was drugged just enough to not feel the pain and have no idea what was happening or where I was,” she said.
Leonardo DiCaprio
In South Africa, Leo narrowly escaped a real shark attack. He was going cage diving, where he was supposed to be safely locked in a cage while sharks surrounded him. When a wave flipped his cage upside down though, a shark got caught with half his body inside. Though the shark snapped at him about six times, Leo was able to escape.
Jason Statham
When filming Expendables 3, Jason’s brakes went out on his truck. He was immediately propelled into the ocean where he began drowning. Scared but unwilling to go out like that, he managed to free himself from the vehicle and swim out to safety. He’s known for performing his own stunts, but this probably swayed him for a little!
Lamar Odom
Before he was mixed up in the Kardashian family, Lamar was a normal celebrity basketball player. He was in a brothel somewhere in Nevada when he fell off the wagon and started using drugs again. He fell into a deep coma as a result of the drugs, and for a few days, it seemed like he wouldn’t make it. He’s certainly lucky to be alive.
Elizabeth Taylor
Liz Taylor was actually once pronounced dead before her actual death. She was undergoing surgery when things looked like they had gone permanently south. She reported seeing a white light, but came back to Earth and finished out her flourishing career. The world is lucky to have experienced her!
Donald Sutherland
The Hunger Games would not have been the same without President Snow portrayed by Donald Sutherland, but the movies could have been very different if he died. He caught spinal meningitis when filming 1970’s film Kelly’s Heroes. He fell into a coma and reported seeing a white light before he woke up.
Ellie Goulding
While traveling through Norway during her European tour, Ellie almost died by drowning in a frozen lake. She and photographer Conor McDonnell had to climb on top of their car in the -25 degree weather to escape the lake. Even worse? It was pitch black outside. It was a true nightmare for both of them.
Leonardo DiCaprio (again!)
Leo has had quite a few brushes with danger. On a sky-diving trip, he had a chute malfunction. Even worse, his diving companion’s chute did not work either. Can you say a nightmare scenario? They managed to get it open midair, but they both said the experience could have cost them their lives.
Anne Hathaway
In Hawaii in 2014, Anne Hathaway nearly died when she was caught in a dangerous riptide. She was swimming out at sea when she got swept up. Thankfully, a nearby surfer was able to get her out of the water and pull her to shore. She’s gone on to become one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
Hugh Hefner
Get this: Hugh Hefner almost died choking on a sex toy. He was giving an interview when he revealed that the closest he ever came to death was having sex with four of the Playboy Playmates when he swallowed a Ben Wa ball. He died at age 91 from sepsis brought on by an infection from e.coli.
Gerard Butler
In 2011, Gerard was filming the movie Of Men and Mavericks. He started drowning during one scene, and the crew jumped into action. The Scottish actor was thankfully saved in the nick of time. Thankfully, he started his career as a lawyer, so he knew how to sue that studio!
George Lucas
In high school, famed director and filmmaker George Lucas was in a traumatic car accident. The crash was terrible and terrifying, and Lucas nearly died in the process. He spent the two weeks afterward in recovery. Lucas went on to create the Indiana Jones franchise as well as the infamous Star Wars franchise.
Burt Reynolds
Drugs can be seriously detrimental to the mind. Burt Reynolds spent years trying to kick his life-threatening habit. He almost died in one overdose. He fell into a coma and claimed to have heard doctors say the words “We’re losing him.” Reynolds passed away in 2018 from a heart attack. He was 82
Tony Bennett
Did you know Tony Bennett once suffered from a terrible drug addiction? He almost died due to the affliction. He wrote in his autobiography that “A golden light enveloped me in a warm glow. I had the sense that I was about to embark on a very compelling journey,” as he described, “But suddenly I was jolted out of the vision. I knew I had to make major changes.”
Peter Sellers
Sellers was a well known English actor and comedian in the 40s-60s. Later in his life, the actor suffered from eight consecutive heart attacks in 1964. This came following the use of amyl nitrate one night. He had another attack in 1977 but didn’t die again. He died from a final heart attack in 1980 at age 55.
Diane Kruger
Kruger was on the set of Inglorious Bastards when she almost died at the hands of Quentin Tarantino. He was strangling her to show how realistic a scene was supposed to go, but he ended up being a little too realistic. “I'm gonna just strangle you, alright,” he had said, “Full-on, I'm gonna cut off your air, for just a little bit of time.” She lost consciousness.
Larry Hagman
In 1995, this Dallas actor nearly lost his life to liver failure. He was given a transplant just in time to save his life. He died over a decade later in 2012 at the age of 81. He lived just long enough to reprise his role in the 2012 reboot of the hit soap opera as the villainous oil baron J.R. Ewing.
Paris Jackson
Paris Jackson has gone through some serious struggles in her lifetime. In 2013, she tried to take her own life by cutting herself and overdosing on pills. She was found and saved though, and has gone through years of recovery. She recently made her acting debut in 2018 in the film Gringo.
Nikki Six
The founder, bassist, and songwriter of Motley Crue had trouble kicking his heroin addiction. He was legally declared dead for two minutes in 1987 after a particularly bad overdose. Though he survived, he claimed to have had an out of body experience while being saved. Very spooky...
Ed Begley Jr.
Known for his role in St. Elsewhere as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, Begley just barely escaped with his life from one terrible night. In 1971 the actor was walking after dark. He was in Compton, California. A group of teenagers rushed up to him and stabbed him. They beat his body so badly that his lungs collapsed.
Michael J. Fox
Fox was filming Back to the Future II when one stunt didn’t go according to plan. During a scene in which his character was supposed to be hanging, he misplaced his hands and was really being hung by a noose. He was passed out before a crew member realized that he wasn’t just in character and was quickly cut down.
Martin Sheen
During the filming of Apocalypse Now, Martin Sheen nearly passed away due to a heart attack. He was deep in the jungle when shooting, which made it even harder to find help. After crawling to the medical tent, he was rushed to a hospital where he spent the next couple of weeks in recovery.
Jane Seymour
Did you know Jane Seymour was allergic to penicillin? Neither did she. She had a severe reaction that caused her throat to close up. She recalled the events saying “I remember them all trying to resuscitate me. I was above them, in the corner of the room looking down. I saw people putting needles in me, trying to hold me down, doing things. I remember my whole life flashing before my eyes.”
Owen Wilson
Though he’s now known for his signature phrase a.k.a the Own Wilson Wow, the actor came from a dark place. In 2007, he attempted to take his own life. He was treated for depression and withdrew from his role in the film Tropic Thunder. Wilson has tried to avoid interviews ever since the event.
Sylvester Stalone
When he was filming the Expendables, the world almost lost Sylvester Stallone for good. He broke his neck performing a dangerous stunt. He said in a later interview that the fight with Stone Cold Steve Austin was “so vicious that [he] ended up getting a hairline fracture in his neck.” The injury resulted in surgery and a long recovery.
Mark Wahlberg
On September 11th, 2001, Mark Wahlberg had a ticket for the American Airlines flight headed for the Twin Towers. He changed his flight last minute so he could stop in Toronto for a film festival before heading back to Los Angeles. Wahlberg had nightmares for months afterward about being in the crash.
Jackie Chan
When filming Armour of God, the king of stunts, Jackie Chan made a mistake. When jumping out of a tree, he missed the landing he was supposed to make. When he smashed into the ground, he also smashed his head. Though he survived, doctors said the crash could have been fatal. He received a plastic plate inserted into his head.
Lou Gossett Jr.
Known for his roles in movies like AN Officer and a Gentleman and Roots, Lou Gossett, Jr. almost missed out on his career entirely. At age twelve, the star nearly fell to his death. He fell into a deep hole when he was outside playing baseball and hurt himself badly. He recalls a tunnel of light calling out to him.
Kathy Griffin
Comedian Kathy Griffin is known for her reality show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List as well as her multiple comedy specials. Unfortunately, she almost passed away after undergoing elective liposuction surgery. This was only one of her multiple plastic surgery procedures.
Tom Green
In 2001, Tom Green was in the house when his house caught on fire. He was sleeping in bed with his then-wife Drew Barrymore. The dog, thankfully, barked until they woke up. Though they all escaped (dog included!) the house was ruined. It cost over $700,000 to repair. The couple later divorced.
Rebecca De Mornay
When she was a young girl, De Mornay almost died from a peptic ulcer. She later recalled the experience saying, “the doctors told my mother that there was only a 50/50 chance that I'd make it. I remember that I was tied to three IVs, but I recall getting out of bed and looking out of the window...”
Jamie Alexander
Jamie Alexander might be known for her role in Thor, but she has some traumatic memories associated with the film. She had slipped on a metal staircase in the middle of filming a stunt. During the fall, she slipped a spinal disc, chipped 11 vertebrae, tore a rhomboid on her left side, and dislocated her left shoulder.
Sean Kingston
Kingston famously got into a jet-skiing accident back in 2011. The injuries were extremely painful and nearly fatal to the singer. He was on his way out of the hospital post-recovery when he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Doctors did surgery and found he had a torn aorta in his heart. Yeah, Kingston has been taking it easy ever since…
John Abraham
This Bollywood actor was accidentally shot by a co-star while filming back in 2012. The gun was loaded with blank bullets, so everyone thought he would be safe. Unfortunately, the shot was fired too close to Abraham. "Everything happened in the heat of the moment,” he said, “Nobody expected the intensity and the velocity of those blank bullets. I should have checked the gun."
Bethany Hamilton
Surfer Bethany Hamilton was out at sea when she was attacked by a shark. Though she managed to escape with her life, she lost her arm in the attack. She became an amputee advocate and remained successful in her surfing career. The movie Soul Surfer was based on her life experiences.
2 Chainz
Rapper 2 Chainz was robbed at gunpoint in 2013 and almost lost his life. He found bullet fragments in his hair. “I saw the gun before I saw him,” he said, “It was so heavy, he couldn't really hold it. The gun was so big; that's what made me take off running." It was a terrifying experience for him...
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry was the frontman for the band Roxy Music. He was on a British Airways flight when a passenger stood up and made his way to the cockpit. The passenger attacked the pilot and the plane was on its way down. The nosedive didn’t last long though, as the passenger was detained shortly after and the pilot regained control
Margaret Hamilton
On the set of the Wizard of Oz, Margaret Hamilton almost died when a trapdoor mistake threatened her life. The door caught aflame and she was quickly on fire. Though she survived, she received second and third-degree burns. She recovered over the course of 6 weeks before returning to the set of the film. She refused to shoot ever again with fire.