Ozzy Osbourne (centre), seen here with his Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi (left) and Geezer Butler at the 56th Grammy Awards in January 2014, died in July (2025) of a heart attack. Could he have lived longer if he wasn’t famous? — AFP
Fame itself may be a critical factor in shortening singers’ lives – at least those in Europe and North America – suggests research published Nov 25 (2025) online in the Journal Of Epidemiology & Community Health.
These stars seem to die around four years earlier, on average, than their peers who haven’t achieved celebrity status.
In fact, the effects of fame are on a par with certain other health risks, suggest the researchers from Witten/Herdecke University’s Faculty of Health in Germany.
Previously-published research indicates that famous singers tend to die earlier than the general public.
But it’s far from clear whether it’s fame itself, the demands of the music industry, or the lifestyle associated with being a musician, which contribute to this heightened risk, explain the researchers.
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To shed more light on this conundrum, they retrospectively compared the risk of death in 648 singers, half of whom had achieved celebrity status and half of whom hadn’t.
Each of the 324 stars was matched for birth year, gender, nationality, ethnicity, music genre and position as solo/lead singer in a band, with their lesser known peers.
Most (83.5%) were male, and the average year of birth was 1949, but ranged from 1910 to 1975.
Over half (61%) were from North America, with the remainder from Europe.
And most were White (77%), with only 19% being of Black and 4% of other or mixed ethnicities.
Most singers were in the rock genre (65%), followed by R&B (14%), pop (9%), new wave (6%), rap (4%) and electronica (2%).
Over half (59%) were in a band, 29% were solo artists, and 12% performed both solo and in a band.
The sample of famous singers was drawn from the Top 2,000 Artists of All Time on acclaimedmusic.net, a database that aggregates global rankings based on published lists from music critics, journalists and industry professionals, but not audience polls or sales data.
Analysis of the data showed that, on average, famous singers survived until they were 75; less famous singers survived until they were 79.
While band membership was associated with a 26% lower risk of death compared with going it alone, the inclusion of this variable didn’t influence the overall effect of fame, as famous singers in a band were still 33% more likely to die earlier than their less well known counterparts.
The heightened risk of death started only once fame had been achieved and remained significantly associated throughout the period of fame.
“Together, the analyses indicate that an elevated risk emerges specifically after achieving fame, which highlights fame as a potential temporal turning point for health risks, including mortality.
“Beyond occupational explanations, our findings suggest that fame adds further vulnerability within an already at-risk group,” the researchers explain.
The heightened risk associated with fame is comparable to other known health risks, such as occasional smoking, which confers a heightened risk of death of 34%, they add.
A possible explanation for the findings, the researchers suggest, may lie in “the unique psychosocial stress that accompanies fame, such as intense public scrutiny, performance pressure and loss of privacy”.
“These stressors may fuel psychological distress and harmful coping behaviours, making fame a chronic burden that amplifies existing occupational risk,” they add.
Fame brings with it significant financial security, a factor that is frequently associated with healthy ageing, while wealth is usually associated with a lower risk of premature death, they point out.
But they conclude: “Being famous appears so detrimental that it overrides any potential benefits associated with high socioeconomic status.
“Again, this highlights the increased vulnerability of famous individuals, suggesting a need for targeted protection and support for this population.”
