"Parts Of Me Have Died": 15 Celebrities Who Have Talked Honestly About Living With Grief After The Loss Of A Parent, Child, Friend, And More

In an interview with the New York Times, Austin recalled, "I dreamed that my mom was alive. But she was dying all over again. And when I woke up, I just felt so totally, horribly heartbroken. My grief was overwhelming. And then all of a sudden, it clicked that Elvis, who also lost his mom when he was only 23, might have had moments that were similar to this one. He might have even woken up from the same dream."

Speaking about his mom, Austin told Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist, "When she was in high school, she wanted to be an actor, so I think I’m sort of getting to live this life for both of us in that way. And she was my best friend. So I think she'd be happy."

He continued, saying, "We never get enough time with each other, right? No matter if someone lives to 60, 15, or 99. So I hope this grief stays with me because it's all the unexpressed love that I didn't get to tell her. And I told her every day. We all told her every day. She was the best of us."

Andrew's mom's death coincided with Andrew filming Tick, Tick...Boom!, which was based on the musical created by Jonathan Larson, who died at just 35 years old. Speaking about how getting to honor his mom and Jonathan with the role, Andrew tearfully shared, "I got to sing Jonathan Larson's unfinished song while simultaneously singing for my mother and her unfinished song."

She continued, saying, "It's important to me to honor Ian in the totality of who he is, speak about him in the present, because he is always with me, the joy and happiness that he gave all of us."

Regina said her favorite thing about herself is being "Ian's mom," adding, "I know that I share this grief with everyone, but no one else is Ian’s mom. Only me. And so, it’s mine, and the sadness will never go away. It’ll always be with me."

Recently, while doing an interview for Variety's Actors on Actors alongside Quinta Brunson, Jennifer began to cry when she was asked about rewatching Friends. Visibly emotional, Quinta was praised for telling Jennifer, "You’re already crying. Do you want a minute? We don’t have to talk about [this]."

Jennifer added these were "happy tears."

Carol continued, saying, "And then, the next night [I] had dinner with Hal, and the maître d' brought a bottle of champagne over to give to us, and on the label, it said 'Louise,' that was Carrie's middle name and my mother's name." She added, "So, it's like, yeah, I kind of think she's around."

"The most important thing you can do to help another person when they are in mourning is allow them to live through it and not complicate it with yours," he added. "Let's say you lose someone and at the funeral, you are very sad, then another person approaches you who is feeling more sadder and then doesn't leave enough space for you to mourn. It would be like two boats plummeting to the bottom. That is my experience."

John also said that even though he enjoyed having people around him following Kelly's death, he said that "sometimes it turns into you helping them instead of you working on your loss and grief."

Kelly died in 2020 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. John and Kelly's son Jett, also sadly died in 2009 at just 16 years old.

Recently, Lupita spoke about how filming A Quiet Place: Day One was "therapeutic" after Chadwick's death, considering a theme of the movie is mortality. She told People, "What I came to realize is that it's really important to be reminded of our mortality because then we live life just a little more intentionally. When we think we have all the time in the world, we can really take people for granted and experiences for granted."

In a 2016 interview with Porter Magazine, while promoting Manchester By the Sea, where her character also deals with loss, Michelle explained how Matilda was still helping her cope with the loss of Heath. She said, "In all honesty, for pretty much everything else, I feel like I’m a believer in not fighting circumstances, accepting where you are and where you’ve been. I would be able to go totally down that line of thinking were it not for Matilda not having her dad… I mean, it just won’t ever be right."

She added, "Not only are we OK, she’s happy. Life has brought us to a place that’s not just surviving but thriving."

Queen Latifah also spoke about how her mom was a beloved public school teacher, so her memory lives on in all of the students she helped. 

She explained, "She made such a big impact, not just on my life, but on thousands of students whose lives she changed over her 25 years of teaching — kids who thought they had no future until they met Mrs. O. and she called them by their names and told them that they can be whatever they wanted to be. And they may not have ever heard that message before." Queen Latifah added, "Her memory is everywhere I go."

She continued, saying, "When I’m going through something personal, I’m like, 'I just got to pray.' Because I don’t even know who I can ask. Who can I ask about this situation? And who do I trust?”

He added, "So it makes everything else not feel easier and not less important, but, in the grand scheme of things, you see things for what they are, I suppose."

Speaking about what his experience with loss has taught him about himself, Louis said, "There’s no time for me to be sat feeling sorry for myself. I’ve been to rock bottom, and I feel like whatever my career’s going to throw in front of me, it’s going to be nothing as big or as emotionally heavy as that. So, weirdly, I’ve turned something that's really dark into something that empowers me, makes me stronger."

She continued, saying, "not because i prefer it, or i want to forget, but mostly because it is too painful to look at all the time. i was going to try to spin this into something happy, something about healing and remembering those lost, because that’s what i think we would all prefer, and that’s what i’ve always done. it’s more comfortable, and i would feel less naked. but recently, i don’t have the energy to do that in my life anymore. and hiding the sad parts is doing a disservice to myself, and the quality of my life. it’s not happy. it’s really sad, everyday. and so am i, most days, if i’m honest. and that’s ok, too."

He reflected on how he returned to filming the movie Chloe shortly after Natasha's death, saying it felt like a "no-brainer" to essentially run away back to work. 

Liam said, "I just think I was still in a bit of shock. But it's kind of a no-brainer to go back to that work. It's a wee bit of a blur, but I know the tragedy hadn't just really smacked me yet."