Skip to content
  • Mental Health Issues
    • Anxiety
    • ADHD
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Depression
    • Grief
    • Narcissism
    • OCD
    • Personality Disorders
    • PTSD
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Marriage
    • Sex & Intimacy
    • Infidelity
    • Relationships 101
    • Best Online Couples Counseling Services
  • Wellness
    • Anger
    • Burnout
    • Stress
    • Sleep
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Yoga
  • Therapy
    • Starting Therapy
    • Types of Therapy
    • Best Online Therapy Providers
    • Online Therapy Reviews & Guides
  • Medication
    • Anxiety Medication
    • Depression Medication
    • ADHD Medication
    • Best Online Psychiatrist Options
  • My Mental Health
    • Men
    • Women
    • BIPOC
    • LGBTQIA+
    • Parents
    • Teens
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Policy
    • Advertising Policy
    • Find a Local Therapist
    • Join Our Free Directory

Join our Newsletter

Get helpful tips and the latest information

Choosing Therapy on Facebook
Choosing Therapy on Instagram
Choosing Therapy on Twitter
Choosing Therapy on Linkedin
Choosing Therapy on Pinterest
Choosing Therapy on Tiktok
Choosing Therapy on Youtube
ChoosingTherapy.com Logo

Newsletter

Search Icon
  • Mental Health Issues
    • Anxiety
    • ADHD
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Depression
    • Grief
    • Narcissism
    • OCD
    • Personality Disorders
    • PTSD
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Marriage
    • Sex & Intimacy
    • Infidelity
    • Relationships 101
    • Best Online Couples Counseling Services
  • Wellness
    • Anger
    • Burnout
    • Stress
    • Sleep
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Yoga
  • Therapy
    • Starting Therapy
    • Types of Therapy
    • Best Online Therapy Providers
    • Online Therapy Reviews & Guides
  • Medication
    • Anxiety Medication
    • Depression Medication
    • ADHD Medication
    • Best Online Psychiatrist Options
  • My Mental Health
    • Men
    • Women
    • BIPOC
    • LGBTQIA+
    • Parents
    • Teens
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Policy
    • Advertising Policy
    • Find a Local Therapist
    • Join Our Free Directory
  • Is Grieving a Celebrity Normal?Is Grieving a Celebrity Normal?
  • Why We Grieve a Celebrity DeathWhy We Grieve a Celebrity Death
  • Tips for CopingTips for Coping
  • Professional HelpProfessional Help
  • ConclusionConclusion
  • InfographicsInfographics
  • Additional ResourcesAdditional Resources
Grief Articles Grief Grief Therapy Types of Grief Best Online Therapy

Grieving Over a Celebrity Death: Why We Do it & 8 Tips to Cope

Adam Koenig, MA, RP, CCC, CT

Author: Adam Koenig, MA, RP, CCC, CT

Adam Koenig, MA, RP, CCC, CT

Adam Koenig MA, RP, CCC, CT

Adam supports clients with grief, life transitions, and anxiety, offering diverse therapeutic approaches for resilience.

See My Bio Editorial Policy
Meera Patel, DO

Medical Reviewer: Meera Patel, DO Licensed medical reviewer

Meera Patel, DO

Meera Patel DO

Dr. Patel has been a family physician for nearly a decade. She treats and evaluates patients of all ages. She has a particular interest in women’s mental health, burnout, anxiety, and depression.

See My Bio Editorial Policy
Published: November 15, 2022
  • Is Grieving a Celebrity Normal?Is Grieving a Celebrity Normal?
  • Why We Grieve a Celebrity DeathWhy We Grieve a Celebrity Death
  • Tips for CopingTips for Coping
  • Professional HelpProfessional Help
  • ConclusionConclusion
  • InfographicsInfographics
  • Additional ResourcesAdditional Resources
Adam Koenig, MA, RP, CCC, CT
Written by:

Adam Koenig

MA, RP, CCC, CT
Headshot of Meera Patel, DO
Reviewed by:

Meera Patel

DO

Although people might minimize or dismiss your grief, grieving the death of a celebrity you admire is normal. Grieving this type of loss makes sense when considering the impact this person might have had on your life. It is vital to acknowledge your loss and how you feel and find ways to express and support your grief.

Grief Therapy: How It Works, What It Costs, & What to Expect

Grief Therapy: How It Works, What It Costs, & What to Expect

Grief therapy can be helpful for anyone who is finding their grief is negatively impacting their ability to function in their day-to-day. It also provides a safe, non-judgmental place to explore, unpack, work through, better manage, and potentially find meaning in their grief. If you need help dealing with your loss, a mental health professional is an excellent resource to connect with to recover and heal from your loss.

Read more

Is It Normal to Grieve Over a Celebrity Death?

Grieving the death of a celebrity you connected with is entirely normal. Grief is a uniquely personal response to loss.1 Individuals might come together at a memorial for their star or share their grief online in a collective communal act of grieving, sometimes called mourning sickness.2

When grieving the death of a celebrity, you might feel things like:3.4

  • Sadness
  • Anger
  • Shock
  • Anxiety symptoms
  • Loneliness
  • Find yourself ruminating about the death
  • Feel helpless

Mourning a celebrity’s death can be a disenfranchised loss, where you feel others do not validate your grief or you cannot openly share it with others.5 When grieving, people might feel sad after learning their favorite celebrity died, while others might feel paralyzed by their grief which could lead to complicated grief. The grief you are experiencing is valid and is important to acknowledge.

Why Do We Grieve Over a Celebrity Death?

There are various reasons why we might grieve the death of a celebrity. We may have had a personal connection to them, their work, their life, or with how they died. We might mourn that we will not experience new content they could have created, or their death brings to mind our mortality. The death of a celebrity can be as impactful as losing a close social connection.6

Some reasons people may grieve over a celebrity death include:

We Feel Strongly Connected to Our Favorite Celebrities 

People can form parasocial relationships with celebrities where they become vicariously connected to celebrities’ personal lives and accomplishments, making them feel close to them.7 Some might talk about their favorite star as if they were a friend or good acquaintance.8 The advent of technology and social media has given us further access to feel even more connected to our favorite celebrities, so it makes sense that we grieve when they die.9

Our Identity Associated With The Celebrity

When we are a fan of a celebrity, it can:10

  • Offer us an identity that we can display to the world
  • Allow us to meet others who enjoy the celebrity just as much as us
  • Give us great pleasure by engaging with our favorite celebs (such as through their music, art, movies, social media, etc.).

Our identity can then become attached to our favorite celebrities, so when they die, it leads to us mourning them and our identity as a fan because we must readjust how we view ourselves after their death. We might even feel as if a part of us died when they did, possibly even creating an identity crisis.

We Connect with the Way the Celebrity Died

Health issues like cancer, Parkinson’s, substance abuse, and depression are experienced by celebrities and can lead to their deaths. Learning how they died can make us think of our own lives and how these health issues may have impacted us personally or our friends, family, and colleagues.11,12

When a celebrity dies, it often brings more awareness to these issues. Those mourning can sometimes try to make meaning of the celebrity’s death by sharing public health information via social networking sites. The closer we feel to the celebrity, the more likely we are to share health information online to bring awareness to what caused the celebrity’s death.

The Celebrity Is Connected to Our Friends & Family Who Have Died 

Mourning the death of celebrities can bring to mind the deaths of loved ones. If your loved one was a fan of the now-deceased celebrity, it could make you feel you are losing another part of your loved one.6 It can also highlight the mortality of others in your life who might be around a similar age to the now-deceased celebrity or are a significant support in your life.10

The Celebrity Reminds Us of a Special Time in Our Lives

Grieving the death of a celebrity can also cause us to reflect on our life and make us feel we are losing our past.10 The death of a star can represent a symbolic loss of pleasant memories from parts of our life. It can remind us of happy things like previous birthdays, weddings, celebrations, and meaningful relationships. When a celebrity dies, it can feel like we also lost those happy memories.

It Reminds Us of Our Mortality 

Hearing about death can make us think about our mortality.3 In our culture, there is a notion that fame provides at least symbolic immortality.13 When a famous celebrity then dies, it brings home the reality that no one can escape death. Research demonstrates that when the suicide death of a celebrity is sensationalized in the media, it can be associated with increased suicide rates among the public.14

The Celebrity Was There to Comfort Us When We Needed It

We might have relied on our celebrity as a supportive force during our difficult times. Their music, art, writings, and social media posts, might have brought us comfort and peace, which helped soothe us when distressed or provided us with hope during dark times.6 When our celebrity dies, we then know they will not be able to offer this again for us in the future.

We Mourn the Secondary Losses as Well

Secondary losses happen after a primary loss.3 We mourn the primary death loss of a celebrity but also the non-death secondary losses.

Secondary losses could then be knowing they will not:

  • Produce any new music
  • Write another book
  • Star in another film
  • Create another piece of art
  • Share another photo of their life online

mental-health-gifts

59 Mental Health Gift Ideas: Gifts for Anxiety, Stress, Self-Care, & More

Prioritizing mental health is essential year-round, and thoughtful gifts that promote well-being can make a significant impact. Whether your loved one is managing anxiety, stress, or simply needs a reminder to take care of themselves, the right gift can offer both comfort and support. This article features a variety of gifts recommended by licensed therapists that cater to different mental health and self-care needs.

Read more

8 Tips for Coping with a Celebrity Death

There are many ways to cope with grief over a celebrity’s death. One of the best ways is to find safe individuals to connect with and share your grief with them. It is also essential to discover ways to continue your bond with your favorite celebrity, to mourn their death, but also continue investing and living a present life.

Here are 8 tips for coping with a celebrity death:

1. Attend a Public Memorial

Showing respect in person can show how much a celebrity means to us and our connection to them. As a recent example, it was said that at least 250,000 people waited in line to pay their respect to the Queen when she died in 2022.15 Saying goodbye in person is helpful when possible.

2. Express Condolences Online

Sharing how we feel to an online community of other fans or our social network can be a way to express our grief and offer our condolences.12 As an example, after Paul Walker’s death, fans commented on and offered condolences to Vin Diesel, who posted about Walker’s death and grief.16 Sharing our grief in a safe community can be helpful.

3. Watch or Listen to Their Work

Watching or listening to the celebrity’s work can be a way to continue to connect with them. Interestingly, when a star dies, there is more interest in memorabilia related to them, such as DVDs or autographed items which can be viewed as a linking object used to connect with the deceased celebrity.17

4. Connect With Others Who Are Also Grieving the Celebrity

Many find it helpful to engage with others who share a loved for the celebrity and who understand the grief they are experiencing. Many people find their grief validated by posting to social networking sites or memorial pages where other fans can share their grief and recount favorite memories of their celebrity.11,6

5. Find Ways to Maintain Your Connection With Them

Finding a way to continue a bond with your deceased celebrity can help you maintain a sense of connection with them. Some people find they can maintain a relationship with their celebrity by posting to Facebook memorial pages.18 Other examples could be creating fan art for them or donating to charities their celebrity supported.11 Find a way to connect with them that is meaningful for you.

6. Create a Memory Box

Creating a memory box related to your favorite celebrity can be helpful as it allows you to honor and memorialize them while honoring how you are feeling and help contain difficult emotions if present.19 You can decorate an empty shoebox and place in special items or photos of the deceased. You can learn to sit with emotions when looking at objects from the box and then step away from those emotions when closing the box and putting it away.

7. Practice Self-Care

Grief can be overwhelming at times, so it is important to practice self-care, such as:

  • Eat healthy foods
  • Drink water, engage in activities or hobbies you enjoy
  • Exercise,
  • Connect with those you feel support, hear, and understand you.

8. Engage in Meaning-Making Related Projects

Various individuals have found engaging in meaning-making to be a helpful way to deal with a celebrity’s death. If a star died from a specific cause, some have found it beneficial to spread health information online around that cause to bring awareness to this manner of death. This can include ways to help prevent it or resources people can turn to for help with health conditions such as cancer or substance use disorders.11,12

When to Seek Professional Help

Grief counseling or grief therapy can be a valuable support if you notice being overwhelmed by your grief and there are negative impacts on your normal day-to-day functioning. It is also essential to reach out for help if you think you might be experiencing prolonged grief disorder or if you are experiencing suicidal ideation.

When grieving the death of a celebrity, you might feel your grief is dismissed or minimized by others. Therapy can be a safe place not to feel alone or judged in your grief. Finding a therapist who is right for you is essential and can be done on an online therapist directory where therapists are willing to help you in your grief.

Final Thoughts

Experiencing grief when someone famous dies is a normal reaction when you have created a parasocial relationship with them. We can grieve celebrities for various reasons, such as how they played a role in how we view ourselves or offered us support during trying times. Mental health professionals are an excellent resource to turn to validate and help you process and learn how to cope with your grief.

Grieving Over a Celebrity Death: Why We Do it & Tips to Cope Infographics

Is It Normal to Grieve Over a Celebrity Death?Why Do We Grieve Over a Celebrity Death?Tips for Coping with a Celebrity Death

Additional Resources

To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.

Online Therapy 

BetterHelp – Get support and guidance from a licensed therapist. BetterHelp has over 30,000 therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $65 per week and is FSA/HSA eligible by most providers. Take a free online assessment and get matched with the right therapist for you. Free Assessment

Ketamine Therapy from Better U

Better U – Better U’s psychedelic-assisted therapy paves the way for profound healing and significant breakthroughs in well-being. Complete a free assessment so Better U can better understand your needs and ensure you receive a personalized treatment plan. Get Started

Grief & Loss Newsletter

A free newsletter from the experts at ChoosingTherapy.com for those impacted by the loss of a loved one. Get encouragement, helpful tips, and the latest information. Sign Up

For Further Reading

  • Mental Health America
  • National Alliance on Mental Health
  • MentalHealth.gov

Best Online Therapy Services of 2025: Our Firsthand Experiences & Recommendations

Best Online Therapy Services

There are a number of factors to consider when trying to determine which online therapy platform is going to be the best fit for you. It’s important to be mindful of what each platform costs, the services they provide you with, their providers’ training and level of expertise, and several other important criteria.

Read more

Best Online Psychiatry Services

Best Online Psychiatry Services

Online psychiatry, sometimes called telepsychiatry, platforms offer medication management by phone, video, or secure messaging for a variety of mental health conditions. In some cases, online psychiatry may be more affordable than seeing an in-person provider. Mental health treatment has expanded to include many online psychiatry and therapy services. With so many choices, it can feel overwhelming to find the one that is right for you.

Read more

Find a therapist in your state

Get the help you need from a therapist near you

City or zip Search

Alabama
California
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Maryland
Michigan
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
Wisconsin

Are you a Therapist? Get Listed Today

Grief Newsletter

A free newsletter for those impacted by grief. Get helpful tips and the latest information.

Sources

ChoosingTherapy.com strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.

  • Harris, D. L., & Winokuer, H. R. (2021).The principles and practices of grief counselling (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

  • Jackson, D., & Usher, K. (2015). Understanding expression of public grief: ‘Mourning sickness’, ‘grief-lite’, or something more? International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 24, 93-94. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/inm.12127

  • Corr, C, A., Corr, D. M., & Doka, K. J. (2018). Death & dying, life & living (8th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.

  • Kϋbler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. (2005). On grief and grieving: Finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss. New York: NY: Scriber.

  • Doka, K. J. (2002). How we die: Stigmatized death and disenfranchised grief. In K. J. Doka (Ed.), Disenfranchised grief: New directions, challenges, and strategies for practice (pp. 323-350).Research Press.

  • Wong, D. T. L., & Patlamazoglou, L. (2022). Bereavement and coping following the death of a personally significant popular musician. Death Studies, 46(5), 1234-1242. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32820706/

  • Radford, S. K., & Bloch, P. H. (2012). Grief, commiseration, and consumption following the death of a celebrity. Journal of Consumer Culture, 12(2), 137-155. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469540512446879

  • Stever, G. S. (2017). Evolutionary theory and reactions to mass media: Understanding parasocial attachment. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(2), 95-102. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298332178_Evolutionary_Theory_and_Reactions_to_Mass_Media_Understanding_Parasocial_Attachment

  • Radford, S. K., & Bloch, P. H. (2016). Ritual, mythology, and consumption after a celebrity death. In S. Dobscha (Ed.), Death in a consumer culture (pp. 108-122). Routledge.

  • Courbet, D., & Fourquet-Courbet, M. (2014). When a celebrity dies… Social identity, uses of social media, and the mourning process among fans: The case of Michael Jackson. Celebrity Studies, 5(3), 275-290. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2013.872361?journalCode=rcel20

  • Cohen, E. L., & Hoffner, C. (2016). Finding meaning in a celebrity’s death: The relationship between parasocial attachment, grief, and sharing educational health information related to Robin Williams on social network sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 643-650. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563216304708

  • Myrick, J. G. (2017). Identification and emotions experienced after a celebrity cancer death shape information sharing and prosocial behavior. Journal of Health Communication, 22(6), 515-522. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28481154/

  • Greenberg, J., Kosloff, S., Solomon, S., Cohen, F., & Landau, M. (2012). Toward understanding the fame game: The effect of mortality salience on the appeal of fame. Self and Identity, 9, 1-18. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298860802391546/a

  • Niederkrotenthaler, T., Fu, K., Yip, P. S., Fong, D. Y. T., Stack, S., Cheng, Q., & Pirkis, J. (2012). Changes in suicide rates following media reports on celebrity suicide: A meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiol Community Health, 66(11), 1037-1042. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22523342/

  • Hu, S. (2022, September 20). At least 250,000 people lined up to see queen’s coffin. AP News. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/queen-elizabeth-ii-world-news-london-02d46942aed4734261b40f48571103f5

  • Klastrup, L. (2018). Death and communal mass-mourning: Vin Diesel and the remembrance of Paul Walker. Social Media + Society, 4(1), 1-11. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2056305117751383

  • Radford, S. K., & Bloch, P. H. (2013). Consumers’ online responses to the death of a celebrity. Marking Letters, 24(1), 43-55. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23356915

  • Gil-Egui, G., Kern-Stone, R., Forman, A. E. (2016). Till death do us part? Conversation with deceased celebrities through memorial pages on Facebook. Celebrity Studies, 8(2), 262-277. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2016.1259076

  • Potash, J. S., & Handel, S. (2012). Memory boxes. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed., 1st ed.), Techniques of grief therapy: Creative practices for counselling the bereaved (pp. 243-246). New York, NY: Routledge.

Show more Click here to open the article sources container.

Your Voice Matters

Can't find what you're looking for?

Request an article! Tell ChoosingTherapy.com’s editorial team what questions you have about mental health, emotional wellness, relationships, and parenting. Our licensed therapists are just waiting to cover new topics you care about!

Request an Article

Leave your feedback for our editors.

Share your feedback on this article with our editors. If there’s something we missed or something we could improve on, we’d love to hear it.

Our writers and editors love compliments, too. :)

Leave Feedback
ChoosingTherapy.com Logo White
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Write for Us
  • Careers
  • Editorial Policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

FOR IMMEDIATE HELP CALL:

Medical Emergency: 911

Suicide Hotline: 988

View More Crisis Hotlines
Choosing Therapy on Facebook
Choosing Therapy on Instagram
Choosing Therapy on X
Choosing Therapy on Linkedin
Choosing Therapy on Pinterest
Choosing Therapy on Tiktok
Choosing Therapy on Youtube

© 2025 Choosing Therapy, Inc. All rights reserved.

X