--- description: In 2017, the world lost entertainers, leaders and activists, including Edith Windsor, Tom Petty, and Mary Tyler Moore. Here's a look back title: These Were the Celebrities, Leaders and Icons We Lost in 2017 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e904c64b60e423/6988f5e7bc6cfc41cb3e46ed/celebrities-leaders-lost-2017-fb.jpg?branch=production ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Were the Celebrities, Leaders and Icons We Lost in 2017 by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/) and [Lauren Bogholtz](/author/lauren-bogholtz/) Dec 21, 2017 3:20 PM CUT  Getty Images (6) by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/) and [Lauren Bogholtz](/author/lauren-bogholtz/) Dec 21, 2017 3:20 PM CUT In 2017, the world lost entertainers and leaders, activists and icons. Two were women behind landmark Supreme Court decisions. [Edith Windsor](http://time.com/4938601/edith-windsor-death-obituary/ "undefined"), the LGBT activist whose case led to federal recognition of same-sex marriage, died in September at the age of 88\. [Norma McCorvey](http://time.com/4675858/norma-mccorvey-dead-roe-v-wade/ "undefined"), who was the plaintiff in [_Roe v. Wade_](http://nation.time.com/2013/01/22/winning-roe-v-wade-qa-with-sarah-weddington/ "undefined")_,_ died in February at the age of 69\. The world mourned [David Cassidy](http://time.com/5034550/david-cassidy-partiridge-family-obituary/ "undefined"), the teen idol known for his role in _The Partridge Family;_ [Mary Tyler Moore](http://time.com/4649136/mary-tyler-moore-dead-80/ "undefined"), the beloved star of her eponymous 1970s sitcom; and [Tom Petty](http://time.com/4968182/tom-petty-tribute/ "undefined"), the iconic singer-songwriter who forever changed American music. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, the city’s first Asian-American mayor, [died unexpectedly this month](http://time.com/5061169/ed-lee-london-breed-san-francisco-mayor/ "undefined") after collapsing at a supermarket. He was 65. Others who passed away include [Zbigniew Brzezinski](http://time.com/4800816/zbigniew-brzezinski/ "undefined"), who served as President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser, retired baseball pitcher Roy Halladay, playwright Sam Shepard, rock ‘n’ roll legend [Chuck Berry](http://time.com/4707769/chuck-berry-johnny-b-goode/ "undefined"), and comedians Don Rickles and Jerry Lewis. Above, take a look back at the lives of some of the people we lost in 2017. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5066833/celebrity-deaths-2017/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5066833/celebrity-deaths-2017/"},"headline":"These Were the Celebrities, Leaders and Icons We Lost in 2017","datePublished":"2017-12-21T15:20:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:30:46.529Z","description":"The world lost Mary Tyler Moore, Tom Petty, Chuck Berry and others this year","url":"https://time.com/5066833/celebrity-deaths-2017/","keywords":["remembrance","obituary","obituaries","In Memoriam","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e904c64b60e423/6988f5e7bc6cfc41cb3e46ed/celebrities-leaders-lost-2017-fb.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Lauren Bogholtz","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lauren-bogholtz/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e904c64b60e423/6988f5e7bc6cfc41cb3e46ed/celebrities-leaders-lost-2017-fb.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Celebrities-Leaders-lost-2017-fb","caption":"","creditText":"Getty Images (6)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5066833/celebrity-deaths-2017/","name":"These Were the Celebrities, Leaders and Icons We Lost in 2017"}}]}] ```