Celebrities who died at age 41

Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, Bryant played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers. He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships. Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, and the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list. Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons. According to Forbes, Bryant's net worth was estimated at $350 million in 2016.

Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, The Tube and The Big Breakfast. She was the girlfriend of musician Bob Geldof from 1976 to 1986 and was married to him from 1986 to 1996. She was also in a relationship with musician Michael Hutchence from the mid-1990s until Hutchence's death in 1997. Yates died of a heroin overdose in 2000.

Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theater and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big-budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s. She co-starred with Tyrone Power in adventure films, and established a main character career after her role in Forever Amber (1947). She won critical acclaim for her work in Unfaithfully Yours (1948) and A Letter to Three Wives (1949).

Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. He was best known as the lead vocalist of Linkin Park. He was also lead vocalist of the bands Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise and, between 2013 and 2015, Stone Temple Pilots.

Miko Palanca (February 3, 1978 – December 9, 2019) was a Filipino character actor.

Heath Freeman (June 23, 1980 – November 14, 2021) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of Gavin Dillon in the American legal drama television series Raising the Bar, as well as roles on Bones (as the serial killer Howard Epps), NCIS, and Skateland. Freeman died of combined drug intoxication in November 2021, at the age of 41.

Alexi Laiho (born Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho; 8 April 1979 – December 2020 or January 2021) was a Finnish guitarist, composer, and vocalist. He was best known as the lead guitarist, lead vocalist and founding member of the melodic death metal band Children of Bodom, and was also the guitarist for Sinergy, The Local Band and Kylähullut. He had previously played with Thy Serpent and Impaled Nazarene on occasion, as well as Warmen and Hypocrisy.

Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American singer-songwriter and rapper. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals for a multitude of hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning the nickname "King of Hooks".

Diana Hyland (January 25, 1936 – March 27, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actress.