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17 actors who transformed into real-life tech company CEOs and founders

elizabeth holmes and amanda seyfried
Elizabeth Holmes (and Amanda Seyfried's portrayal of her) is back in the news.

A24; Hulu

  • Amanda Seyfried is making headlines for again playing Elizabeth Holmes in "You Can See Everything."
  • Seyfried first played the Theranos founder in the Hulu series "The Dropout."
  • She's part of a growing class of actors who've taken part in the latest trend: playing tech moguls.

We've all heard of musician and actor biopics — now, it's all about the stories of tech CEOs.

These days, startup founders can be just as famous (or infamous) as any other celebrity, and the dramatic lives they've lived in business or at home make great fodder for TV and film.

To play these figures, some of the best-known actors had to ditch their signature looks to take on Steve Jobs' turtleneck and wire-frame glasses, Elizabeth Holmes' red lipstick and frizzy blowout, or SBF's signature curls.

Here are 17 celebrities who transformed to play some of Silicon Valley's most prominent figures.

Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes in 'The Dropout' and 'You Can See Everything'
amanda seyfried and elizabeth holmes

Hulu; David Orrell/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/ Getty Images

In the 2022 Hulu limited series "The Dropout, Seyfried played Holmes from her time at Stanford in 2003 (when she did the titular dropping out) through the fall of her company, Theranos, after The Wall Street Journal's 2015 exposé.

Theranos purported to manufacture a device that could do a litany of blood tests from a single finger prick, but, infamously, it did not work as promised. In 2022, Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of defrauding investors.

Four years after the Hulu series, comedian and documentarian Nathan Fielder asked Seyfried to once again play Holmes in some reenactments he wanted to do in his doc about her final days before prison, "You Can See Everything." We won't say much else besides that you need to see it to believe everything that goes down.

Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman in 'Artificial'
andrew garfield as sam altman; sam altman

Neon; Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TIME

"After the Hunt" wasn't enough for Garfield and director Luca Guadagnino — the two have since teamed up to tell the story of OpenAI CEO and cofounder Altman.

"Artificial," which is set for release in select theaters on Christmas Day, will focus on Altman's 2023 firing by cofounder Ilya Sutskever (Yura Borisov) and subsequent rehiring one week later.

Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Reckoning'
jeremy strong and mark zuckerberg

Sony Pictures Releasing; David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

"Succession" star Jeremy Strong played the Facebook founder in "The Social Reckoning," a film about the release of Facebook Files, a staggering number of internal documents leaked by whistleblower and employee Frances Haugen and published by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, and the subsequent congressional scrutiny that followed.

The film, released in October 2026, was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter of "The Social Network," making this something of a sequel to the 2010 classic.

Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network'
jesse eisenberg and mark zuckerberg

Sony Pictures Releasing; Adam Berry/Bloomberg/Getty Images

"The Social Reckoning" wasn't the first time Zuckerberg has been portrayed on screen — most famously, Eisenberg played the founder in "The Social Network," which chronicled the earliest days of Facebook, back when it still had a "the" in front of it.

It juxtaposes the wild, early days of the website with two lawsuits Zuckerberg settled a few years later: one from cofounder Eduardo Saverin and another from his Harvard classmates, the Winklevoss twins.

Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker in 'The Social Network'
justin timberlake and sean parker

Sony Pictures Releasing; Ramin Talaie/Corbis/Getty Images

The other famous "disruptor" portrayed in "The Social Network" is Parker, one of the cofounders of Napster, the original music streaming platform. He's played by Timberlake in a career-best performance.

Parker comes in as an early believer and executive at Facebook, which ruffles the feathers of cofounder Eduardo Saverin.

Anthony Boyle as Sam Bankman-Fried in 'The Altruists'
anthony boyle and sam bankman fried

Netflix; Craig Barritt/Getty Images for CARE For Special Children

Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, will get the biopic-miniseries treatment this November on Netflix in a series titled "The Altruists."

Bankman-Fried co-founded the crypto trading firm Alameda Research in 2017 and later co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2019.

After making millions, FTX collapsed in 2022, and Bankman-Fried was eventually convicted of several crimes, including fraud and money laundering, in 2024. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

SBF's onetime girlfriend and former CEO of the FTX-affiliated trading firm Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, will also be in the show, portrayed by Julia Garner.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Travis Kalanick in 'Super Pumped'
joseph gordon levitt and travis kalanick

Showtime; D Dipasupil/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Gordon-Levitt played Uber cofounder and former CEO Kalanick in "Super Pumped," a 2022 Showtime limited series. It focuses on the rise of Kalanick and his eventual fall from power, culminating in his 2017 resignation from the company.

Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs in 'Jobs'
ashton kutcher and steve jobs

Open Road Films; Tom Munnecke/Getty Images

The first mention of Jobs on this list goes to Kutcher, who played the Apple founder in the 2013 biopic "Jobs." It traces his career from Apple's founding in 1976 to the introduction of the first iPod in 2001.

Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs in 'Steve Jobs'
michael fassbender and steve jobs

Universal Pictures; William STEVENS/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Two years after "Jobs," the late founder was portrayed again on screen, this time by Michael Fassbender in "Steve Jobs."

Instead of a standard cradle-to-grave biopic, "Steve Jobs" checks in with the enigmatic figure at three different points in his career: first in 1984, before the introduction of the first Apple Macintosh computer; second, in 1988, when Jobs is the head of a new company, NeXT, and is preparing to launch its first computer; and finally, in 1998, as Jobs gears up to release the iMac.

Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs in 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'
noah wyle and steve jobs

TNT; Matthew NAYTHONS/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

In 1999, the TV movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley" aired, starring Wyle as the Apple founder. It chronicles Jobs' career from the '70s to the '90s, from the founding of Apple to his return as CEO.

Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates in 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'
anthony michael hall and bill gates

TNT; Doug Wilson/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images

The other half of the "Pirates of Silicon Valley" narrative focuses on Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft. He's played by "Breakfast Club" star Anthony Michael Hall.

The film's climax is based on the real-life falling out Gates and Jobs had in 1985, when Jobs felt that Gates had ripped off Apple.

Jared Leto as Adam Neumann in 'WeCrashed'
jared leto and adam neumann

Apple TV+; Cindy Ord/Getty Images for WeWork

Leto physically transformed to play the WeWork CEO and cofounder in the 2022 Apple TV+ miniseries "WeCrashed." The show chronicled the immense success the coworking startup experienced in its early days in 2010, all the way through its disastrous attempted IPO in 2019.

Anne Hathaway as Rebekah Paltrow Neumann in 'WeCrashed'
anne hathaway and Rebekah Neumann

Apple TV+; Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Time

Hathaway costarred in "WeCrashed" as Neumann's wife, Rebekah Paltrow Neumann, who was heavily involved in WeWork. She was, however, "an unpredictable and unmistakable presence" at the company, per Business Insider's reporting.

Jay Baruchel as Mike Lazaridis in 'BlackBerry'
Jay Baruchel and Mike Lazaridis

Elevation Pictures; Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

The creation of the BlackBerry, one of the earliest smartphones, was dramatized in "BlackBerry," which starred Baruchel as one of the cofounders of RIM (the brand behind the phone) and one of the cocreators of the BlackBerry itself, Lazaridis.

The film begins with Lazaridis and his partner teaming up with Jim Balsillie (more on him later) to make BlackBerry the most popular smartphone in the world — only for its reign to end with the iPhone.

Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie in 'BlackBerry'
Glenn Howerton and Jim Balsillie

Elevation Pictures; Xabier Mikel Laburu/Bloomberg/Getty Images

RIM really got off the ground when Mike Lazaridis and his cofounder Doug Fregin were approached by Balsillie. According to the movie's telling, Balsillie offered to invest $20,000 for a 50% stake in the company, and was eventually sold a 33% stake for $125,000 and the title of co-CEO.

The less we say about Howerton's performance, the better — it really must be seen to be believed.

Lily James as Whitney Wolfe Herd in 'Swiped'
Lily James and Whitney Wolfe Herd

Hulu; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

2025's "Swiped" is the story of the creation of Bumble through the eyes of its founder, Herd. Originally, she was a cofounder of Tinder, but resigned in 2014, and eventually received an out-of-court settlement after suing Tinder for sexual discrimination and sexual harassment, without either Tinder or its parent company, IAC, admitting to wrongdoing.

After leaving Tinder, Herd wanted to create an app that focused on female empowerment, and thus, Bumble, a dating app where women have to make the first move, was born.

Sebastian Stan as Vlad Tenev in 'Dumb Money'
Sebastian Stan and Vlad Tenev

Columbia Pictures; Kimberly White/Getty Images for Robinhood

In 2023's "Dumb Money," which is about the "Gamestonk" GameStop short squeeze and subsequent drama that happened in 2021, led by the Reddit community r/WallStreetBets and one user in particular, Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, Stan has a small role.

He plays Robinhood cofounder and CEO, Tenev. During the events of the film, Tenev directs Robinhood, an e-trading platform and investment app, to stop allowing users to buy certain stocks and options (including GameStop), which caused an uproar.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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Democrat Mega-Donor Eric Schmidt's Anthropic Stake Could Add $10 Billion to His Fortune

Eric Schmidt, the former Google chief executive and Democrat mega-donor, holds a one percent stake in Anthropic that traces back to an early investment of millions in the AI startup. This stake could add up to $10 billion to Schmidt's net worth when the company notable for its AI doomer messages goes public.

The post Democrat Mega-Donor Eric Schmidt’s Anthropic Stake Could Add $10 Billion to His Fortune appeared first on Breitbart.

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Germany Drops Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat Rapid Procurement Plan

Germany appears to have dropped plans to directly procure the larger, Block 3 version of Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), leaving doubts over Berlin’s ambitions to field uncrewed combat aircraft alongside its crewed fighters before the end of the decade.

Boeing confirmed to Breaking Defense that Germany’s Ministry of Defense had informed the company it would not proceed with a direct acquisition of the drone, which had previously been lined up. The decision, first reported by Politico, represents a setback for Boeing’s effort to position the Ghost Bat as a candidate for Berlin’s planned CCA capability, something that had seen it announce a partnership with Rheinmetall, the largest arms manufacturer in Germany, earlier this year.

🔴 NEW: Germany has formally scrapped plans to buy the Ghost Bat combat drones directly from Australia, documents show.

Its air force wanted them by 2029. Now it faces a longer wait.

Behind the decision is a much bigger political dilemma facing Germany as it races to rearm. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/2fWHPoQOl0

— Chris Lunday (@lundayfunday) October 15, 2026

“With Boeing Defense Australia as a partner, we are laying the groundwork to optimally tailor the MQ-28 to the Bundeswehr’s requirements,” said Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, in March of this year. “As a system integrator, we ensure that integration, operation, and further development come from a single source while simultaneously strengthening industrial value creation in the form of an industrial hub in Germany and Europe. We see revenue potential for Rheinmetall in the range of three-digit millions of euros.”

#Rheinmetall and #Boeing partner on German MQ-28 #Ghost #Bat
https://t.co/zGEhjQNqqi pic.twitter.com/VLBDQ8EAaV

— Rheinmetall (@RheinmetallAG) March 31, 2026

The move does not necessarily mean the MQ-28 is out of contention for Germany’s wider program. Instead, Berlin appears set to move toward a different acquisition approach, with competing designs potentially having an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities before a selection is made.

A Boeing spokesperson told Breaking Defense the company “stands ready to support” its German customer on the next steps, while referring questions about the decision to the German Ministry of Defense.

An AIM-120 is launched from an MQ-28A Ghost Bat during Trial Kareela at RAAF Base Woomera, South Australia. Australian Department of Defense

The ministry declined to discuss the specific procurement with the same outlet, citing regulations governing public contracting and the need for such matters to be addressed by parliament.

“[As a] matter of principle — and regardless of the specific case in question — we cannot provide information regarding potential procurement projects,” a ministry spokesperson told Breaking Defense.

Germany has set an ambitious goal of fielding CCAs by 2029. These uncrewed aircraft are intended to operate alongside crewed fighters such as the Eurofighter, extending their reach, adding sensors and weapons, and giving air forces additional options for conducting high-risk missions.

Ein Eurofighter vom Taktischen Luftwaffengeschwader 74 aus Neuburg an der Donau fliegt bei einem Übungseinsatz als Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) über dem Südosten Deutschlands, am 02.03.2022. ©Bundeswehr/Christian Timmig
A German Eurofighter flies a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) practice sortie over the southeast of the country. Bundeswehr/Christian Timmig

However, the reported change in Berlin’s acquisition plans raises questions about whether that deadline remains achievable.

According to Politico, Germany is now looking toward the early 2030s for the capability to arrive, with flight testing expected to begin in 2027. That would suggest the original target was based around the introduction of the MQ-28, which has already undergone extensive testing, rather than a newer design. The reshuffle could now give prospective suppliers additional time to demonstrate their designs.

The reported new timeline suggests that Germany’s CCA effort could be entering a more competitive and potentially longer development phase.

There is also a question about the degree of operational capability that will initially be fielded by the given date. Getting a CCA into meaningful frontline service is a very significant task, calling for integration with crewed fighters, communications systems, mission-planning networks, weapons, and sensors. Then there is also testing, certification, training, and the establishment of supporting infrastructure. For Germany in particular, getting a military drone, let alone an armed one, cleared to operate routinely in commercial airspace has long been an issue.

If Germany acquired the Ghost Bat directly, it would have offered a route to a CCA capability without having to begin an entirely new aircraft development effort.

However, the MQ-28 was always one of a larger field of candidate aircraft.

A week ago, Airbus and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced the first flight of their U740 Valkyrie uncrewed combat aircraft, a Europeanized version of the XQ-58A Valkyrie. Airbus is simultaneously working on its larger U760 Ravenstorm, intended for service in the early 2030s, and the company has previously pitched a stealthy CCA-like concept known as Wingman.

The ride of the Valkyrie ⚔
With the successful first flight of the Airbus U740 Valkyrie in Europe, we are one step closer to introducing an operational uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) to the German and other European Armed Forces.
The flight achieved all… pic.twitter.com/S2sFrtdmGA

— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) October 12, 2026

Other entrants include Anduril, General Atomics partnered with Germany’s INTEC, as well as Lockheed Martin. Meanwhile, Helsing and Hensoldt are pursuing the homegrown CA-1 Europa, very much an MQ-28 lookalike.

The CA-1 Europa from the German defense startup Helsing. Helsing

Germany may not be looking for a single drone to do everything, a point we have discussed in the past:

“One option might be a split high-low approach that could pair more capable, longer-range systems for deep-strike missions with cheaper, attritable collaborative combat aircraft that can fly alongside crewed fighters. At this point, it should also be noted that CCAs could also give older fourth-generation fighters a new lease on life, boosting their lethality and survivability by extending their sensor reach, adding weapons capacity, and allowing uncrewed aircraft to take on more dangerous tasks.”

At the same time, Germany continues to define its requirements for a capability described in media reports as a Jagdbomberdrohne, or fighter-bomber drone. Berlin has yet to publicly clarify its intended concept of CCA operations, including whether the Luftwaffe envisions an uncrewed wingman operating alongside crewed fighters, a platform capable of carrying out long-range strike missions independently, or a system designed to perform both roles.

There are signs that the strike mission is being prioritized, at least initially, with a reduced emphasis on air-to-air missions. This is essentially the reverse of the U.S. Air Force’s CCA effort.

Since Germany is set to receive the F-35 stealth fighter, there is also an argument that Berlin could place more orders for the crewed jet. This could have the dual role of filling the gap left by the collapse of the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS), specifically its sixth-generation crewed fighter, and the delayed introduction of the first operational CCAs. Germany is also looking forward to receiving more Eurofighters.

Germany’s first F-35A arrived at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas earlier this month, where it will be used for training. Lockheed Martin

Germany’s evolving CCA plans form part of a broader effort by Western air forces to develop uncrewed aircraft capable of working alongside advanced fighters. These systems are intended to expand the number of available platforms, distribute sensors and weapons across a larger force, and potentially take on missions that would otherwise expose pilots and expensive crewed aircraft to greater risk.

Boeing’s Ghost Bat could still have an opportunity to compete, depending on the structure of the eventual acquisition process and the requirements Berlin establishes.

However, with testing reportedly planned from 2027 and operational fielding potentially slipping into the early 2030s, the original 2029 ambition for an operational German CCA appears increasingly uncertain.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

The post Germany Drops Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat Rapid Procurement Plan appeared first on TWZ.

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Celebrity deaths in 2026: Remembering the famous people we lost this year

Tom Skerritt in a black jacket and grey turtleneck
Tom Skerritt.

Mat Hayward/Getty Images

  • Actors James Van Der Beek, Hayden Panettiere, Robert Duvall, Chuck Norris, Tom Skerritt, and Eva Marie Saint died in 2026.
  • So did musicians Dolly Parton and Duncan Sheik.
  • Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, activist Gloria Steinem, and NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka also died this year.

Below, we look back at the celebrities we lost in 2026, listed in alphabetical order.

Scott Adams, 68
Scott Adams next to a cut out of his creation comic book character Dilbert
Scott Adams.

Michael Macor/Getty Images

Scott Adams worked at a telephone company in the 1980s. The experience inspired his beloved comic strip, "Dilbert."

By the end of the decade, the character and his satirical office humor began appearing in comic strips.

At its peak, "Dilbert" was syndicated in over 2,000 newspapers. A cartoon series debuted in 1999, running for two seasons.

Adams gained notoriety when he began writing blog posts praising Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential run. In 2023, "Dilbert" was pulled from newspapers across the US following racist comments made by Adams.

Adams died on January 13 from metastatic prostate cancer.

Brad Arnold, 47
Brad Arnold leaning on a microphone stand
Brad Arnold.

Scott Gries/ImageDirect/Getty Images

The lead singer of 3 Doors Down, Brad Arnold launched the group into fame with the 2000 rock anthem "Kryptonite," which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.

The success led to other hits like "Loser," "Here Without You," and "When I'm Gone." Arnold's vocal range and lyrics focused on love and love lost, which fueled the group to stardom.

Arnold died on February 7 from a type of kidney cancer.

Afrika Bambaataa, 68
Afrika Bambaataa wearing sunglasses
Afrika Bambaataa.

Paul Natkin/WireImage/Getty

A hip-hop pioneer during the 1970s and 1980s, Lance Taylor, known professionally as Afrika Bambaataa, first gained attention as a DJ in the Bronx.

He signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1981 and released landmark songs like "Jazzy Sensation" and "Planet Rock." He would go on to influence the likes of Queen Latifah and A Tribe Called Quest throughout his career.

Bambaataa founded the hip-hop awareness group, Universal Zulu Nation, in the 1970s to steer kids away from gang life. Bambaataa stepped down as the head of the organization in 2016 after accusations of sexual abuse.

Bambaataa denied all claims.

He died on April 9 due to prostate cancer.

Rob Bass, 59
Rob Bass sitting in a recording studio
Rob Bass.

Al Pereira/Michael Osche Archives/Getty Images

One of the icons responsible for bringing hip-hop to the mainstream, Rob Bass crafted the iconic track "It Takes Two" alongside DJ E-Z Rock.

The track, released in 1988, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart and later went certified platinum. In 1989, it was voted the greatest single of all time by Spin magazine.

Bass died on May 22 following cancer.

Nicholas Brendon, 54
Nicholas Brendon in a swearer
Nicholas Brendon.

Getty Images

Nicholas Brendon was a television actor, best known for playing Xander Harris in all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

He also starred in "Criminal Minds" and "Kitchen Confidential."

Brendon died in his sleep on March 20 due to natural causes, according to his family's statement.

In 2023, Brendon suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. He also had cauda equina syndrome, which led to several spinal surgeries.

"While it's no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis, and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing," the statement to The Hollywood Reporter read. "Our family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart."

Peabo Bryson, 75
Peabo Bryson sitting on a blue chair
Peabo Bryson.

ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

Two-time Grammy winner Peabo Bryson is best known for his classic love ballads.

Bryson began releasing music in the late 1970s, but one of his first major hits was opposite Roberta Flack on the 1983 duet, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love." He continued hit-making a year later with the smash "If Ever You're in My Arms Again," and in 1991, he topped the R&B charts with "Can You Stop the Rain."

Bryson found global stardom with his renditions of two Disney classics. In 1991, he released the pop version of "Beauty and the Beast," alongside Céline Dion, and a year later, he duetted with Regina Belle on "A Whole New World" from the 1992 release of "Aladdin."

Bryson died on June 2. No cause was given.

James Burrows, 85
James Burrows
James Burrows.

Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images

An 11-time Emmy winner and co-creator of "Cheers," director James Burrows helped shape modern TV comedy through his work on iconic sitcoms including "Will & Grace," "Friends," and "Frasier."

Known for his comedic timing and elaborate blocking, Burrows got his start directing episodes of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Throughout his career, he directed episodes of "Frasier" (winning an Emmy for the pilot episode), "Will & Grace," "Friends," and "The Big Bang Theory." He directed over 50 pilot episodes.

Burrows died on June 19. No cause was given.

Kyle Busch, 41
Kyle Busch in a blue race suit and hat
Kyle Busch.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Busch was considered one of the greatest racers of all time.

Busch was hospitalized on May 21, before two upcoming races. Hours later, he was pronounced dead.

Busch died from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.

Robert Carradine, 71
Robert Carradine in a grey suit with a bow tie and pocket protector filled with pens
Robert Carradine.

Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty

Robert Carradine was best known for his roles as Lizzie McGuire's dad and as the iconic geek Lewis Skolnick in the 1980s franchise "Revenge of the Nerds."

As a member of Hollywood's famed Carradine family, Robert was destined for an onscreen career.

He received one of his first screen credits starring in his brother David Carradine's popular 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" and went on to land roles in everything from Samuel Fuller's World War II classic "The Big Red One" to the "Lizzie McGuire" series.

Carradine's family shared statements with Deadline that emphasized being open about his struggles with mental illness.

"We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby's valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder," Carradine's family said. "We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness."

Carradine died by suicide on February 23.

If you or someone you know is experiencing depression or has had thoughts of harming themself or taking their own life, get help. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help is also available through the Crisis Text Line — just text "HOME" to 741741. The International Association for Suicide Prevention offers resources for those outside the US.

Bud Cort, 77
Bud Cort blowing a bubble
Bud Cort.

CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

Most famous for his role as Harold in the 1971 cult-classic "Harold and Maude," Bud Cort became the epitome of 1970s counterculture thanks to his baby-faced looks, wit, and sophisticated persona.

The dark comedy starred Cort as Harold, a man in his 20s who is obsessed with suicide until he meets 79-year-old eccentric Maude (Ruth Gordon).

Before that, Cort scored bit parts in Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H*" (1970) and "Brewster McCloud" (1970).

After "Harold and Maude," Cort worked steadily for the rest of his life, occasionally showing up in hit movies like Michael Mann's "Heat" (1995) and Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004).

Cort died on February 11 following a long illness.

Tim Curry, 80
Tim Curry.
Tim Curry.

Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Curry is best known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult-classic musical "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," after originating the role in the original stage production.

Over six decades, Curry carved out a niche playing outlandish villains like Rooster Hannigan in the 1982 film "Annie" and Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries "It." Other notable roles include Wadsworth the Butler in "Clue" (1985) and Mr. Hector in "Home Alone 2: Escape from New York."

Curry suffered a major stroke in 2012, which required brain surgery. He said in 2025 that he was "still recovering."

Curry died at his Los Angeles home on August 26. No cause was given.

Eric Dane, 53
Eric Dane.
Eric Dane

Pief Weyman/NBC via Getty Images

Long before becoming one of TV's most recognizable heartthrobs, Eric Dane was building his career with guest roles on series like "Saved by the Bell" and "Married… with Children."

He later gained wider attention with appearances on "Charmed" before landing his breakout role as Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan on "Grey's Anatomy." He most recently starred in HBO's "Euphoria," where he played Cal Jacobs, the father of Jacob Elordi's character, Nate Jacobs.

Dane has two children with his wife, Rebecca Gayheart. In April 2025, the actor said that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

Dane died on February 19 at age 53, his publicist confirmed in a statement to Business Insider.

"He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world," his publicist said.

Clive Davis, 94
Clive Davis in a dark suit purple tie
Clive Davis.

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

A legend in the music world, Davis was responsible for elevating pop music to unthinkable heights by discovering talents like Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Whitney Houston, and Alicia Keys, to name a few.

Over his 50-year career, along with being an executive behind millions of album sales, he also won five Grammys, including two for Album of the Year ("The Bodyguard" soundtrack and "Supernatural" by Santana).

Davis died on June 22. No cause was given.

Mike Ditka, 86
Mike Ditka being held up on his players' shoulders
Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka gets carried off the field after they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX on January 26, 1986.

Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Mike Ditka was the first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a coach for the Chicago Bears, he led the team to its only Super Bowl win to date in 1986.

Ditka's success turned him into a celebrity who showed up in commercials, TV shows, and movies in cameo roles.

One of his most famous was starring opposite Will Ferrell in the 2005 comedy "Kicking and Screaming."

His persona became the long-running "Saturday Night Live" sketch called "Bill Swerski's Superfans," in which cast members dressed up as Ditka and spoke about their love for "Da Bears."

Ditka died on October 9; no cause was given.

Robert Duvall, 95
Robert Duvall in a leather jacket
Robert Duvall.

Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Robert Duvall starred in a plethora of timeless classics, including "The Godfather," "The Godfather Part II," "Apocalypse Now," "THX 1138," "The Natural," "Days of Thunder," and "The Apostle."

Duvall will be best remembered for starring in three of director Francis Ford Coppola's iconic films: playing Tom Hagen in the first two "Godfather" movies and Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now," in which he delivers one of the most memorable lines in movie history: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

Duvall was lauded for his acting talent, from not saying a word while playing Boo Radley in his first big screen role in the 1962 classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" to his portrayal of a country singer dealing with alcoholism in 1983's "Tender Mercies," which earned him an Oscar.

He died on his ranch in Virginia on February 15. No cause was given.

Brenda Fricker, 81
Brenda Fricker with pigeons on her shoulders and arms in Home Alone 2
Brenda Fricker in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York."

20th Century Fox

This Irish actress was a fixture on the stage and screen for six decades. But she's most known for showing up in the "Home Alone" sequel.

As The Pigeon Lady in 1992's "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," Fricker has become a fixture for families during the holiday season for decades (and in 2020 became the subject of a popular meme).

But Fricker's acting talents go beyond playing a spooky wanderer of Central Park.

In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, as she was given the best supporting actress Oscar that year for her performance in "My Left Foot."

Fricker died on July 16; no cause was given.

Mark Fuhrman, 74
Mark Fuhrman in a suit and tie
Mark Fuhrman.

Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images

Fuhrman cemented his place in popular culture as one of the lead LAPD detectives on the 1995 murder case of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Fuhrman found the famed bloody glove on the Simpson estate, and during the trial, he gained infamy when Simpson's defense team used his past racist language to discredit him as a witness.

Fuhrman retired from the LAPD after the Simpson trial and moved to Idaho, where he wrote true crime books.

Fuhrman died on May 12 of throat cancer.

Valentino Garavani, 93
Valentino Garavani stanging in a white suit in front of red dresses
Valentino Garavani.

Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

For over six decades, one name has been synonymous with women's high fashion: Valentino.

The Italian designer launched his fashion business in Rome in 1960 and never looked back. Soon, every star wanted to be seen in his creations. They've been worn by icons like Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, Sharon Stone, and more.

Though Garavani retired from designing in 2008, his label is still a red carpet staple, as is his famous shade of bright red dubbed "Valentino Red."

Garavani died on January 19. No cause was given.

Donald Gibb, 71
Donald Gibb in a football jacket in Revenge of the Nerds movie
Donald Gibb.

20th Century Fox

No one defined a bully for a generation more than Gibb's hulking fraternity character Ogre in the "Revenge of the Nerds" movies of the 1980s.

Since the original raunchy comedy was released in 1984, Gibb's intimidating size and loud yells of "NERDS!" have become as memorable as the pocket protectors worn by the movie's geeks.

Gibb went on to star opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in his classic 1988 action movie "Bloodsport." He also landed guest star roles through his career on shows like "Quantum Leap," "Magnum P.I.," "MacGyver," "Night Court," and "Cheers."

Gibb died on May 12 following health complications.

Chad Gilbert, 45
Chad Gilbert playing the guitar on stage
Chad Gilbert.

Andrew Benge/Redferns/Getty

Gilbert was the guitarist and backing vocalist for the punk band New Found Glory.

The band's hit albums include 2002's "Sticks And Stones" and 2004's "Catalyst." Both showed up in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Gilbert died on September 20; no cause was given, but Gilbert told People in April he was battling stage 4 adrenal cancer.

Glen Hansard, 56
Glen Hansard holding his hands to his heart next to a microphone
Glen Hansard.

Frank Hoensch/Redferns/Getty

Irish singer-songwriter Hansard was the frontman of the rock band The Frames and one-half of the band The Swell Season. But he was perhaps best known for writing and starring in the hit 2007 indie film "Once," in which he and his Swell Season bandmate Markéta Irglová play two struggling musicians who fall in love. The duo won an Oscar for best original song for the film's standout track, "Falling Slowly."

Hansard also embarked on a solo career; his 2015 album, "Didn't He Ramble," was nominated for a Grammy for best folk album.

Hansard died on July 29 in a motorcycle crash in Dublin.

Dennis Haskins, 75
Dennis Haskins with jacket over his shoulder
Dennis Haskins.

NBC/Getty Images

For those who grew up in the '90s, Dennis Haskins was your favorite high school principal, Mr. Belding.

Starring in the hit TV series "Saved By The Bell," Haskins' Belding character traveled the halls trying to be a step ahead of the hijinks inflicted by Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and his friends. But unlike many school principals in pop culture who were mean and seemed to hate kids, Haskins played his authority role with a playful, good-natured style.

He was on the show's full four-season run from 1989 to 1993, and also starred in the spin-off, "Saved By The Bell: The New Class," from 1993 to 2000.

Haskins' other credits include "The Bold and the Beautiful," "Mad Men," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and "New Girl."

Haskins died on September 27; no cause was given.

Anthony Head, 72
Anthony Head in a black jacket and grey scarf
Anthony Head.

James Quinton/WireImage/Getty

Rising up through the UK stage scene in the 1980s, Head found fame when he was cast as Rupert Giles, who became a father figure to Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy Summers in all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Most recently, he played the bitter former owner of AFC Richmond on "Ted Lasso."

Head's death was announced by his family on June 5. They stated the cause was "complications due to pneumonia."

David Hockney, 88
David Hockney poses for a portrait in his Los Angeles home in 1987.
David Hockney at home in Los Angeles in 1987.

Anthony Barboza/Getty Images

British painter David Hockney was renowned for his striking portraits and figurative pop art. Many of his best-known paintings, including 1966's "The Splash" and 1972's "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)," were inspired by the bright colors and sun-dappled pools of Los Angeles.

Hockney moved to Los Angeles in the late '60s, and his work became synonymous with the warmth and leisure of Southern California. He was also one of the few popular artists at the time to depict openly gay scenes, and Hockney was outspoken about anti-gay censorship.

Throughout his career, Hockney split time between California, England, and France. He died at his home in London on June 12 at age 88, his publicist confirmed to The New York Times. No cause of death was given.

Jesse Jackson, 84
Jesse Jackson
Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks at Operation PUSH in Chicago, Illinois in December 1989.

Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and an activist icon who twice ran for president.

Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson experienced Jim Crow segregation on public buses and at school firsthand. It would shape the rest of his life.

His fight for civil rights began in the 1960s, when he helped organize protests and demonstrations across the US and worked closely alongside civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

His decadeslong career as a leading civil rights activist included support for modern national movements, such as the push for voting rights, the fight against racism, and a higher minimum wage.

Jackson ran for president twice, both times as a democrat. He placed third for the party's nomination in 1984 and second in 1988. This marked the most successful presidential runs of any Black candidate prior to Barack Obama.

Jackson announced in 2017 that he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In November 2025, Jackson was treated in a Chicago hospital after complications from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurodegenerative condition.

Jackson died on February 17.

Yayoi Kusama, 97
Yayoi Kusama presented an "Infinity Room" installation in Paris.
Yayoi Kusama presented an "Infinity Room" installation in Paris.

Alain Nogues/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

Kusama was a famed Japanese pop artist who often used polka-dot motifs in her work, initially rising to prominence in Japan in the 1950s.

In 1959, Kusama presented her first solo exhibition in New York: a collection of abstract paintings that an ARTnews review praised as "strong, advanced in concept and realized."

Kusama later branched into sculptures, performances, and immersive installations. She continued to expand her influence and relevance into the social media era, when her mirrored "Infinity Room" installations became Instagram-friendly attractions that inspired many copycats.

Kusama died on August 14 in Tokyo. She was 97.

Bob Mackie, 87
Bob Mackie looking through gold curtain
Bob Mackie.

Mel Melcon/Getty Images

As one of Hollywood's most renowned costume designers, Bob Mackie's eye set the style for decades.

Known as the Sultan of Sequins, the Rajah of Rhinestones, or the Guru of Glitter, a signature of Mackie's work was its use of sparkle, which made everyone from Cher to Elton John to Dolly Parton to Sabrina Carpenter shine on stage.

He also was the costume designer on "The Carol Burnett Show" for all eleven seasons through the 1970s. He won nine Emmys, a Tony Award, and was nominated for three Academy Awards for his work.

Mackie died on September 14; no cause was given.

RJ Mitte, 34
RJ Mitte in a jacket and black turtleneck
RJ Mitte.

Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic/Getty

Mitte was best known for playing the son of Bryan Cranston's Walter White in the hit series "Breaking Bad."

Mitte, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was 3 years old, became a disability rights activist after finding fame with "Breaking Bad."

His other credits include the 2021 movie "Triumph," in which he played a high school student with cerebral palsy who tries out for the wrestling team. He also starred in the 2024 thriller "Love Me Dead" opposite Dove Cameron.

Mitte died by suicide on October 12.

Patrick Muldoon, 57
Patrick Muldoon in a grey suit
Patrick Muldoon.

Mitchell Haaseth/NBC/Getty

In the 1990s, you couldn't escape the piercing eyes of Patrick Muldoon.

He played Austin Reed on "Days of Our Lives" for most of the decade, and when he wasn't on the soap, he was over on "Melrose Place" playing the villain role of Richard Hart.

If being on two iconic shows wasn't enough, he also showed up on "Saved by the Bell" and had a role in the cult classic movie "Starship Troopers."

Muldoon died on April 19 after a heart attack.

Sam Neill, 78
Sam Neill looking into camera black and white
Sam Neill.

Nick Haddow/Penske Media/Getty Images

With a career spanning more than five decades and including countless memorable performances in movies and television, Sam Neill was one of the most versatile actors of his generation,

The New Zealand actor starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the 1989 thriller "Dead Calm," played the loyal first officer opposite Sean Connery in 1990's "The Hunt for Red October," played the lead in John Carpenter's 1994 horror "In the Mouth of Madness," and most recently starred in the hit series "Peaky Blinders."

But Neill is best known for playing the brave and all-dinosaur-knowing Dr. Alan Grant in the "Jurassic Park" franchise.

Neill died on July 13; no cause was given. Neill was battling a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, but was cancer-free at the time of his death, according to a post on his Instagram account announcing his passing.

Tom Noonan, 74
Tom Noonan in a gray shirt
Tom Noonan.

Mike Albans/New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Standing at a towering 6' 5", Tom Noonan was born to play the bad guy. And he did just that, starring as the villain in movies like "Manhunter," "RoboCop 2," and "Last Action Hero."

But this actor had more to show off. He showcased his comedy chops as Rodney Dangerfield's degenerate gambling friend in the 1983 comedy "Easy Money," and set up the heist for Robert De Niro in Michael Mann's 1995 classic "Heat."

His knack for storytelling also translated behind the camera. Noonan wrote, directed, and starred in the drama "What Happened Was," which won the grand prize at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.

Noonan died on February 14; no cause was given.

Chuck Norris, 86
Chuck Norris in a shirt
Chuck Norris.

Frederic Meylan/Getty

Few action stars have Chuck Norris' credentials.

Before he ever stepped in front of a camera, he was a martial arts champion and a black belt in Karate, judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, and Tang Soo Do.

His talents would become known the world over in 1972, when he faced off against Bruce Lee in "The Way of the Dragon."

Through the 1980s, Norris became one of the biggest action stars in the world thanks to movies like "A Force of One," "The Octagon," and the "Delta Force" and "Missing in Action" franchises.

In the 1990s, he took over the small screen, playing the lead in the "Walker, Texas Ranger" TV show, which aired in over 100 countries during its run from 1993 to 2001.

Norris was hospitalized on March 19 in Hawaii and died the following day, according to his family. No cause was given.

Catherine O'Hara, 71
Catherine O'Hara at the 2024 Oscars.
Catherine O'Hara at the 2024 Oscars.

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

O'Hara, who was best known for her roles in "Beetlejuice" and "Home Alone," got her start in the Canadian comedy scene, appearing in the now-legendary cast of "SCTV."

It would mark the beginning of a fruitful partnership with fellow actor Eugene Levy, who became her frequent costar and collaborator in memorable appearances in Christopher Guest films like "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show" and television series like "Schitt's Creek," which earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in 2020.

O'Hara's representative confirmed her death to Business Insider on January 30. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed in a death certificate viewed by People that O'Hara died of a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer listed as an underlying cause.

Hayden Panettiere, 36
Hayden Panettiere in a black and red top
Hayden Panettiere.

Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic/Getty

Panettiere began acting as a child, landing one of her earliest major roles as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live," on which she appeared from 1994 to 1997.

As her career progressed, she became best known for portraying Claire Bennet on "Heroes" and Juliette Barnes on "Nashville."

Over the years, Panettiere had spoken openly about her struggles with alcoholism and postpartum depression. She detailed those experiences in her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," which was released in May.

Panettiere died on August 16. A final autopsy report by the Greenville County Coroner's Office ruled her death an accident caused by the toxic effects of fentanyl and other drugs.

Dolly Parton, 80
Dolly Parton poses for a portrait session in 1978.
Dolly Parton poses for a portrait session in 1978.

Harry Langdon/Getty Images

Parton released her debut album, "Hello, I'm Dolly," in 1967 and went on to pen country hits like "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene," both of which were released as singles in 1974.

In addition to her music, Parton was beloved for her flamboyant style and her philanthropy. She founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988, a charitable organization focused on education and community initiatives in her home state of Tennessee. She continued to fund scholarship programs and donate to hospitals, public health initiatives, and disaster relief programs throughout her life.

Parton is known as the best-selling female country music artist of all time. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Parton's 49th and final solo studio album, "Rockstar," was released in 2023. The tracklist included both original material and covers of classic rock songs, featuring an array of guests like Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sting, Joan Jett, and Parton's goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.

News broke on August 25 that Parton died following unspecified health issues. She was 80.

Vincent Pastore, 80
Vincent Pastore wearing a burgundy shirt
Vincent Pastore.

Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic/Getty

This character actor found fame appearing in a string of mob movies in the 1990s, like "Goodfellas," "Carlito's Way," and "Men of Respect." But Pastore truly became a star when he was cast in the hit HBO series "The Sopranos."

As Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, Pastore was part of the main cast for the first two seasons of the show, playing Tony Soprano's mob enforcer-turned-FBI informant. Bonpensiero's shocking death was one of the most famous in the show's history and proved that no one was safe from getting whacked.

Pastore died on August 1. No cause was given.

Valerie Perrine, 82
Valerie Perrine sitting in a truck
Valerie Perrine.

Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images

Perrine found herself cast alongside the biggest stars of the 1970s.

She played the love interest opposite Jeff Bridges in 1973's "The Last American Hero" and Robert Redford in 1979's "The Electric Horseman." She earned an Oscar nomination for starring alongside Dustin Hoffman in 1974's "Lenny."

For most, she'll be remembered best for sharing the screen with Gene Hackman as the secretary to his evil Lex Luthor in 1978's "Superman." She also starred in the sequel. As Ms. Teschmacher, her loyalty to Luthor is questioned when she rescues Superman (Christopher Reeve) after he's chained with Kryptonite.

Perrine died in her home in Beverly Hills on March 23. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015.

Richard Riehle, 78
Richard Riehle in a dark shirt
Richard Riehle.

Renard Garr/FilmMagic/Getty

A prolific character actor, Riehle has over 400 screen credits, appearing in everything from "Casino" to "Bridesmaids" over his career.

He's best known for playing the worker in "Office Space" who, after being laid off, wins a large payout from a lawsuit after a suicide attempt.

Other credits include "The Fugitive," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and "Transformers: Age of Extinction."

Riehle died on October 15; no cause was given.

Sonny Rollins, 95
Sonny Rollins wearing sunglasses and playing a saxaphone
Sonny Rollins.

Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images

One of the most influential jazz musicians in history, Rollins recorded more than 60 albums over his seven-decade career.

His live album, "A Night at the Village Vanguard," is considered one of the greatest jazz albums ever made.

Rollins died on May 25; no cause was given.

Eva Marie Saint, 102
Eva Marie Saint sitting in chair with arm drapped over it
Eva Marie Saint.

Getty Images

An Oscar and Emmy winner, Eva Marie Saint appeared in classic movies in Hollywood history.

She made her film debut starring opposite Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan's 1954 classic "On the Waterfront," which won her the Oscar for best supporting actress. In 1959, she heated up the screen with Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's defining thriller "North by Northwest."

In 1990, she won an Emmy for her work in the miniseries "People Like Us."

Saint died on October 6 of natural causes.

Neil Sedaka, 86
Neil Sedaka singing while sitting at a piano
Neil Sedaka.

Bettmann Archive/Getty

Sedaka is responsible for some of the biggest pop songs of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Brooklyn native wrote over 500 songs, including classic hits like "Laughter in the Rain," "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," "Bad Blood" and the Captain & Tennille song, "Love Will Keep Us Together."

Sedaka died on February 27; no cause was given.

Gene Shalit, 100
Gene Shalit sitting at desk with typwriter and movie reel
Gene Shalit.

NBC/Getty

Before there was Rotten Tomatoes or even Siskel & Ebert, movie lovers got their recommendations from Gene Shalit.

The iconic movie critic could be seen sporting his signature look of glasses, bushy hair, and big mustache as a staple on the "Today" show from 1973 to 2010. If he wasn't interviewing the biggest movie stars, he was reviewing movies with incredible puns ("'Ishtar' is Ish-terrible.")

His larger-than-life presence left a mark on pop culture: he was parodied as a Muppet and on countless episodes of "SCTV" and "Saturday Night Live."

Shalit died on June 12; no cause was given.

Duncan Sheik, 56
Duncan Sheik playing the guitar
Duncan Sheik.

J. Vespa/WireImage/Getty

Sheik found success in the late 1990s with his hit song "Barely Breathing." He later pivoted from alt-rock to a career on Broadway, composing the music for the Tony-winning musical "Spring Awakening." His other stage credits include "American Psycho" (2013) and "The Secret Life of Bees" (2019).

Sheik died on September 17 after a cardiac arrest.

Kiki Shepard, 74
Kiki Shepard in a leopard print top
Kiki Shepard.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

In her 15-year tenure as a co-host on "Showtime at the Apollo," Kiki Shepard was considered royalty at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater.

Known in the building as "Apollo Queen of Fashion" thanks to her dazzling outfits, Shepherd was a fixture on the show from 1987 to 2002.

Throughout her career, Shepard also appeared on TV shows like "Baywatch," "A Different World," "NYPD Blue," and "Grey's Anatomy."

Shepard died on March 16 after suffering a heart attack.

Tom Skerritt, 93
Tom Skerritt in a black jacket and white shirt
Tom Skerritt.

Will Hart/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty

A beloved actor in Hollywood for over six decades, Tom Skerritt appeared in some legendary movies and television.

Robert Altman gave Skerritt his big break when he cast him as the womanizing and sarcastic surgeon Captain "Duke" Forrest in the classic 1970 movie "M*A*S*H." Skerritt followed it up with a string of hits, including Altman's "Thieves Like Us" (1974), "The Turning Point" (1977), and a hilarious cameo in Cheech & Chong's classic debut movie "Up in Smoke" (1978).

Then, Skerritt went sci-fi when Ridley Scott cast him as Captain Arthur Dallas in 1979's "Alien." Skerritt also scored a memorable role as Tom Cruise's flight instructor "Viper" in 1986's "Top Gun."

On the small screen, Skerritt earned an Emmy for playing Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the hit series "Picket Fences," which ran from 1992 to 1996.

Skerritt died on October 21 of natural causes.

Gloria Steinem, 92
Gloria Steinem in a brown dress
Gloria Steinem.

Barbara Alper/Getty Images

An icon in the women's liberation movement of the 1970s, Steinem dedicated most of her life to fighting sexism.

Starting her career as a journalist, she became a columnist for the newly founded New York Magazine in 1968. She cofounded Ms. magazine in 1971, which focused on women's issues. She also helped launch the Women's Action Alliance, which focused on tackling sexism.

Steinem was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

Steinem died on September 2, according to a post on her social media. No cause was given.

Béla Tarr, 70
Béla Tarr in a black jacket
Béla Tarr.

Sean Gallup/Getty

Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr became a legend in the arthouse world for his unflinching work featuring several-minute-long takes.

With movies like "Family Nest" (1979) and "The Turin Horse" (2011), Tarr showcased his slow cinema style while focusing on marginalized characters living bleak lives. Tarr pushed the envelope with his style when he made "Sátántangó" in 1994, which had a run time of 450 minutes.

His work influenced several arthouse filmmakers, including Jim Jarmusch and Gus Van Sant's "Death Trilogy" ("Gerry," "Elephant," and "Last Days").

Tarr died on January 6 following a battle with a "long and serious illness."

James Tolkan, 94
James Tolkan dressed as a Navy commander in Top Gun
James Tolkan in "Top Gun."

CBS/Getty Images

You might not recognize the name, but if you're a movie fan, you know the face.

Tolkan's tough-guy persona made a mark on movie history in films like "Top Gun" and the "Back to the Future" franchise.

In "Top Gun," he played Commander Tom "Stinger" Jardian, who famously gives Tom Cruise's character a tongue lashing, saying, "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash."

In "Back to the Future" and its sequels, he played Principal Strickland, who had zero tolerance for "slackers."

Other credits include "Serpico," "WarGames," "Masters of the Universe," and "Dick Tracy."

Tolkan died on March 26; no cause was given.

Ted Turner, 87
Ted Turner in a suit and tie
Ted Turner.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Ted Turner changed the television landscape thanks to his maverick maneuvers to harness the 24-hour news cycle.

After taking over his father's advertising company in the 1960s at the age of 24, Turner embarked on a path to change the media landscape by buying up radio and TV stations around the South. He even bought sports teams including the Atlanta Braves MLB team and the Atlanta Hawks NBA team.

All of that programming would eventually become part of TBS, a "super station" that showed old movies, reruns, and Braves and Hawks games.

Turner then set his sights on the news. He founded CNN, the first 24-hour news channel, in June of 1980.

Over the decades, Turner gained celebrity status, particularly after marrying Jane Fonda, a union that lasted from 1991 to 2001. In 1991, he was named Time's "Man of the Year." He sold his networks to Time Warner for $7.5 billion in 1996.

Turner died on May 6; no cause was given.

Bonnie Tyler, 75
Bonnie Tyler singing into a microphone black and white photo
Bonnie Tyler.

Suzie Gibbons/Redferns/Getty

Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler became one of the biggest artists of the 1980s thanks to her legendary power ballads.

Tyler was behind hits like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero," which was also featured on the 1984 "Footloose" soundtrack. Both songs were chart-toppers that have since become two of the best-selling singles of all time.

Over her career, Tyler was nominated for three Grammys and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Tyler died on July 8 in Portugal, where she was being treated for an illness, according to a statement posted on her social media.

James Van Der Beek, 48
James Van Der Beek sitting on a couch
James Van Der Beek.

Keith Torrie/New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Van Der Beek was beloved all over the world for his role as the titular teen Dawson Leery on the WB series "Dawson's Creek."

The series, which ran from 1998 to 2002, turned Van Der Beek into a star and a teen heartthrob. While "Dawson's Creek" was still airing, he'd cement his stardom playing the lead role of high school quarterback "Mox" Moxon in the 1999 coming-of-age drama "Varsity Blues."

Van Der Beek found steady work the rest of his career in movies like "Texas Rangers" and "The Rules of Attraction, and memorably played a fictional version of himself on the TV series "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23," and performed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2019.

Van Der Beek learned he had stage 3 colon cancer in 2023, and publicly announced his diagnosis in late 2024.

Van Der Beek previously told Business Insider that the news came as a shock, given the subtleness of his symptoms and his efforts to stay as healthy as possible.

"I was doing everything," he said. "I was doing sauna, cold plunge, weightlifting, Pilates. I would dance and also do football training."

Van Der Beek died on February 11.

Bob Weir, 78
Bob Weir sitting on a bed playing a guitar
Bob Weir.

Mark Sullivan/Getty

Weir was one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead.

The singer-songwriter wrote and/or sang on songs like "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band," "Truckin,'" "I Need a Miracle," and "The Other One."

After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir went on to form several other bands, including Kingfish, Bobby and the Midnites, RatDog, The Other Ones, and, alongside John Mayer, Dead & Company.

In the summer of 2025, Weir was diagnosed with cancer.

Weir died on January 10.

Victor Willis, 74
Victor Willis in cop costume on stage with The Village People
Victor Willis.

Paul Natkin/Getty Images

Willis was the lead singer of the iconic disco band the Village People.

Along with being the lead vocalist and dressing as the police officer (and sometimes naval officer), Willis was also the cowriter on many of the band's hits, including "In the Navy," "Macho Man," and the song that will keep the Village People in pop culture lore until the end of time, "Y.M.C.A."

Willis left the band to embark on a solo career in 1979, then re-formed the Village People in 2017.

Willis died on June 30 following a "short but aggressive illness," according to the Village People Facebook page.

Frederick Wiseman, 96
Frederick Wiseman in a dar suit sitting on a gray couch with his hand to his cheek
Frederick Wiseman.

Loic Venance/AFP/Getty

For over five decades, Wiseman's brand of non-fiction storytelling put a spotlight on everyday people.

From high schoolers to hospital workers to Air Force cadets training for nuclear war, Wiseman's close to 50-film catalogue is an unvarnished reflection of America over the last half century.

Wiseman died on February 16. No cause was given.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Explosive births, talking foxes and the devil in a trenchcoat – the Sitges fantastic film festival in all its creepy glory

Olivia Colman goes vulpine, Rupert Grint’s newborn is a monster and Joko Anwar makes a warmhearted violent ghost story set in an Indonesian prison

If I’d ever wanted children, the films showing at the 59th edition of the International Fantastic film festival of Catalonia in the coastal town of Sitges, south of Barcelona, would have soon set me straight. This year’s recurring themes were explosive parturition, chewed-up nipples and the fruit of the womb turning out to be at best sociopathic, at worst inhuman.

The theme was celebrated in an evil-kiddy exhibition at the Miramar Cultural Centre, marking the 50th anniversary of Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s “fantaterror” classic Who Can Kill a Child?, some of which was filmed in Sitges itself. The expo traced the subgenre from 1956’s The Bad Seed, via Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, to this year’s Nightborn, in which poor Rupert Grint, as the hapless husband, is no match for the developing folk-horror bond between his depressed wife, their newborn “child”, and the spooky forest surrounding their house. Finnish director Hanna Bergholm, in her introduction, confessed it was inspired by her experiences of motherhood. Only up to a point, one hopes.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Andrea Miconi

© Photograph: Andrea Miconi

© Photograph: Andrea Miconi

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Saudi airport bombing is a stark reminder of MbS’s fragile hold on power

Mohammed bin Salman is learning a lot about being a leader, although it is the Houthis who are giving him the lessons.

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Contact us: info@strategic-culture.su

Mohammed bin Salman is learning a lot about being a leader, although it is the Houthis who are giving him the lessons. The first one is that in the Arab world all promises of military support from neighbours are worthless. The second: only Iran has the power to stop the war in Yemen.

It’s hard to define Donald Trump’s legacy in the Middle East when, since the end of February this year, everything seems to point to him and the U.S. being a huge loser in a war against Iran. But one decision he did make more recently can be considered quite smart: not to hit the Houthis.

This group in Yemen has cultivated the model of how to stay in power even in the face of airstrikes from the U.S. They remain in mountainous regions, scattered as much as possible, and are the toughest fighters in the entire region. Trump’s decision in March 2025 to halt his own bombing campaign against them was probably the smartest thing the Donald has done in the region. He knew that they were just too tough, too resilient, and the price of U.S. shipping being hit in the Red Sea was just too great.

Tough times now for Saudi Arabia’s young crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who can’t be sleeping very well at night – if he is getting any sleep at all. His own decision back in 2015 to launch a bombing campaign against civilians mainly in Sanaa (and often wedding ceremonies) might be one he is regretting now. The Crown Prince’s own air force is still bombing the Houthis, but this time along the coastline in a bid to break their stranglehold on the Bab el-Mandeb straits. But the response by the Houthis – to bomb the living daylights out of Saudi Arabia’s main airport in Riyadh – has not only shocked leaders of the entire region but underlines a point that media based in Dubai, too used to writing flattering copy about the Crown Prince, might not make: the fate of this young country, with its young leader, is balancing on the edge of a knife. Many experts point out why the Crown Prince is so paranoid about security and the threat of a coup d’état by pointing out that it is only a matter of time before one of these Saudi pilots drops his payload on the Crown Prince’s palace instead – which would be the tinderbox moment for a regime to fall, for a leader to slip away in the dead of night and arrive perhaps somewhere in London, Tangiers or even California. While MbS is fretting about the state of the war with the Houthis, which is not going at all well, his main worry is not that this group enters KSA and does anything politically to destabilise the country. It is rather that the lack of confidence within the royal family – by enough princes – reaches a tipping point and he is either assassinated or given the opportunity to flee at a moment’s notice. The attack on the airport was really such a tipping point, as it showed not only how MbS’s leadership and the poor decisions he makes are evident (the airport should have been closed months ago, but it would look like a defeatist move) but also how vulnerable the entire country is to any attack by the Yemeni group. Such a vulnerability is the issue, given that it was the young Crown Prince himself who upped the ante with the conflict with the Houthis – and he has hundreds of princes whom he locked up in a five-star hotel and held hostage while extracting huge amounts of money from, as one of his first policy initiatives as leader, who all hold mock reverence to him as the country’s leader. But for how long?

“This could turn out to be existential for Bin Salman,” argues London-based MENA commentator Sami Hamdi. “UAE and Houthis are hammering him in Yemen, Trump has taken his money and turned his back on him, Netanyahu is violating him by insisting on an official invite for help (normalisation), his best friend Turki Al Sheikh continues to fleece him with unprofitable boxing matches and never-ending raves, and his international allies refuse to fight for him and are pushing him towards a deal that will be interpreted by all as a humiliation for him.”

Solitude seems to come with the job of being MbS in Saudi Arabia – a country always appearing to be on the cusp of being great and significant but never quite managing it. Recently MbS carved out the reputation of being a dynamic regional leader who allowed pop concerts with scantily clad Western performers, while his own mega-projects in the desert quietly get wound down, barely leaving the drawing board.

The real lesson of the Houthis for MbS is that they are simply too tough – and even Turkey and Pakistan, who presented themselves as allies for Riyadh militarily, are remarkably quiet. Some would even go as far as to call it a betrayal of the Arabs.

“Why does Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ‘rightfully’ live in a state of disappointment and betrayal from his Arab and American allies?” asks the legendary Egyptian journalist and geopolitical hack Abdel Bariatwan. “Where is Turkey and Pakistan, and where is the Mecca alliance? Isn’t it a disgrace that Iran is the only one volunteering to mediate to stop the war?” he asks.

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Russia’s Rubicon hunts Ukrainian drone pilots. In Vivaldi, it became the target, and its morale fell sharply, says the Ukrainian general

russia's rubicon built hunt ukrainian drone pilots vivaldi became target its morale broke says general · post left right major dmytro rohoziuk acting commander ukraine’s third army corps; brigadier andrii

Russia’s Rubicon drone unit, which is sent to hunt Ukrainian drone pilots, was not used to being hunted itself, Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi told journalists on 19 October. He was summing up Operation Vivaldi, which his Third Army Corps fought in northern Donetsk Oblast from May to mid-October. Once its pilots realized they were being killed, Rubicon’s morale dropped sharply, he said.

Russia has fought for 12 years to take all of Donetsk Oblast, and Sloviansk and Kramatorsk anchor the fortress belt of cities Ukraine still holds there. Vivaldi retook 277 km² in northern Donetsk Oblast. Biletskyi says it destroyed Russia’s bridgehead on the Chornyi Zherebets River and forced Moscow to drop its plan to bypass Lyman from the north and encircle the two cities. On that front, the Third Corps had flagged Rubicon, Russia’s elite drone unit, as a threat.

Hunting the hunters

Once a Rubicon position was found, the Third Assault Brigade and the KRAKEN drone regiment committed any number of FPV and bomber drones to destroy its crews, Biletskyi said.

The brigade’s commander, Yaroslav Levenets, said his troops prepared for Rubicon’s arrival and concentrated on killing its pilots. He gave no details.

“Not stable in defense,” Levenets said of Rubicon’s troops.

They dislike sitting in trenches, he said, and under pressure they grow nervous and change positions.

An FPV drone.
An FPV drone. Illustrative photo: ArmyInform

Named for four seasons

Biletskyi said the name was chosen at the very start of planning, in winter 2025–2026, many months before the operation began. The original plan had four stages, one for each season, and later grew to slightly more, ArmyInform reported.

When he first unveiled the operation in September, he put it this way:

“Vivaldi, as is known, has four seasons. And this is only the first one.”

He credited two planners, known by the call signs Yurist and Leshyi. Leshyi, an assault soldier wounded seven times who later moved to staff work, was killed. Yurist was seriously wounded.

Ukraine's Third Army Corps commander Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi announcing new developments in "Operation Vivaldi," 20 September 2026. Screenshot from video: Ukraine's Third Army Corps
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Ukraine blocks Russia from outflanking its fortress cities in Donbas, retaking 277 square kilometers and hitting 8,000 Russian troops

A new hand at the Third Corps

Major Dmytro Rohoziuk is now acting commander of the Third Army Corps, the corps press service said on 20 October. The press service said the move is not a transfer, and Biletskyi keeps his formal post as corps commander while he leads the “Center” grouping of the Third, 11th, and 19th corps.

Major Dmytro Rohoziuk, acting commander of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps.
Major Dmytro Rohoziuk, acting commander of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps. Photo: Armed Forces of Ukraine

Rohoziuk took over the 60th Mechanized Brigade in October 2025. Its previous commander was arrested in January after the State Bureau of Investigation accused him of embezzling about $1 million in weapons procurement. The brigade fought in all four phases of Vivaldi and retook Kolodiazi without street fighting.

Ukrainian troops capture a Russian infiltrator carrying a Russian flag during Operation Vivaldi in northern Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian troops capture a Russian infiltrator carrying a Russian flag during Operation Vivaldi in northern Donetsk Oblast. Photo: Third Army Corps

Biletskyi also declined command of the Ground Forces, which oversee mobilization.

“There’s no point taking on something you don’t truly believe you can improve,” he said.

Biletskyi’s count

Russian losses in Vivaldi topped 8,000 troops, and about 270 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner, Biletskyi said. More than 20 officers surrendered, including a chief of staff and three company commanders.

The territory matters less than disrupting Russia’s strategic plan, he said. Russian forces still press toward Dobropillia, where Ukraine is counterattacking.

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UK Dispatches Fighter Jets to Defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi Attacks

The UK is dispatching fighter jets and military transport aircraft to defend Saudi Arabia against attacks from Iran-backed Houthi Islamic terrorists of Yemen, boosting its ally after the kingdom has been pummelled by strikes from the militant group in recent weeks.

The post UK Dispatches Fighter Jets to Defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi Attacks appeared first on Breitbart.

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Jesse Eisenberg explica cómo le afectó ganar un Razzie a peor actor de reparto: “Ya no lograba papeles en producciones de grandes estudios”

Jesse Eisenberg (Nueva York, 43 años) pasó de estar nominado a un Oscar por su papel protagonista en La red social (2010) a ganar el premio a peor actor de reparto por su antagónico en Batman v Superman: El amanecer de la justicia (2016). El cineasta reveló que, tras recibir el Raspberry Award (mejor conocido como Razzie), su carrera como actor se vio perjudicada, hasta el punto de que decidió volcarse en la dirección. “En gran medida, todo surgió del miedo”, comentó Eisenberg durante el Festival de Cine de Londres (BFI) el pasado 18 de octubre, según recoge la revista Variety.

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© Carlos Álvarez (Getty Images)

Jesse Eisenberg en el Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián, el 23 de septiembre de 2026.
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Ex-Netanyahu ally Hanegbi, longtime Likud stalwart, announces he’s voting for Liberman

Former national security adviser says he is breaking with voting habits of almost 50 years to cast ballot for Yisrael Beytenu; laments 'messianic' and 'racist' voices in PM's bloc
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Cuba Accuses U.S. of Undermining UN Debate on Blockade

Cuban ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán denounces the U.S. blockade and a disputed event at United Nations headquarters.

Havana accuses Washington of using a disputed event at UN headquarters to divert attention from its decades-long economic blockade.


Cuba has accused the United States of staging an unauthorized event at UN headquarters to discredit the island ahead of a General Assembly debate on ending Washington’s decades-long economic blockade.

RELATED: Cuban President Rejects U.S. Arrest Warrant Against Gen. Raul Castro

Cuba’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, condemned the gathering, organized by the U.S. Mission to the UN, as a clandestine meeting unrelated to the organization’s official agenda. He also criticized the UN Secretariat for failing to stop the event despite repeated warnings from the Cuban delegation.

According to Soberón Guzmán, the U.S. mission selectively invited a small group of member states to promote what he described as false claims about Cuba. He alleged that the panelists were funded by the U.S. State Department and had criminal records or links to organizations responsible for attacks against the Cuban people.

“This charade is an attempt to distract attention from a simple fact: the United States is acting as an international criminal, imposing collective punishment on the Cuban people. It is inflicting immense suffering on the entire population of a peaceful nation,” Soberón Guzmán said.

Declaraciones del Representante Permanente de Cuba🇨🇺 ante @UN 🇺🇳, @SoberonGuzman, denunciando el provocador y vergonzoso evento realizado por la misión de EEUU en ONU.#CubaNoEsUnaAmenaza, el bloqueo sí! pic.twitter.com/lmDcWv2SAT

— Cancillería de Cuba (@CubaMINREX) October 19, 2026

Text Reads: Statements by Cuba’s Permanent Representative to @UN, @SoberonGuzman, denouncing the provocative and shameful event held by the US mission at the UN. #CubaNoEsUnaAmenaza, the blockade is!

Debate on the blockade

The Cuban protest comes ahead of a formal debate at the UN General Assembly on a resolution calling for an end to the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba. The assembly is scheduled to consider the issue on October 27 and 28 in an open and inclusive debate, marking the 34th time the body has addressed the resolution.

Soberón Guzmán accused Washington of exploiting human rights concerns to undermine Cuba’s sovereignty and right to self-determination, weaken the Cuban people’s resolve and subvert the country’s constitutional order. He also argued that the U.S.-organized event was intended to divert attention from the consequences of Washington’s policy of maximum economic pressure on the island.

The ambassador expressed confidence that the resolution would again receive broad international support, insisting that Cuba posed no threat to other countries.

“The U.S. government knows very well that the vast majority of countries will once again support our demand, because Cuba is not the threat; the blockade is,” he said.

Soberón Guzmán rejected the prospect that U.S. pressure would force Cuba to abandon its position, saying that efforts to break the determination and unity of the Cuban people would fail.

“If anyone in the U.S. government thinks they will break the determination and unity of the Cuban people, they are wasting their time, their efforts and no small amount of resources. We will never bend the knee. We will not surrender,” he said.

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Cuba denuncia ante la ONU maniobra de EE.UU. para justificar el bloqueo

"Esta farsa es un intento de desviar la atención de un simple hecho: Estados Unidos está actuando como un delincuente internacional, imponiendo un castigo colectivo al pueblo de Cuba. Están infligiendo un inmenso sufrimiento a toda la población de una nación pacífica", manifestó Ernesto Soberón Guzmán.
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Saudis Aided Family of Engineer Accused of Bugging OpenAI, Prosecutors Say

Saudi officials paid for his wife and son to fly out of the U.S. and offered to cover his bail, according to court filings. A judge ordered the engineer to remain in custody.

© Aaron Wojack for The New York Times

The San Francisco offices of OpenAI, whose former employee Abdulrahman Alfozan is charged with trying to secretly record conversations.
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Math's 'romantic era' is over, UCLA prodigy says

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - DECEMBER 03: Mathematician Terence Tao attends the 2018 Breakthrough Prize at NASA Ames Research Center on December 3, 2017 in Mountain View, California.  (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
Terence Tao, a UCLA math professor who earned a doctorate at age 20, said that math is entering a new, less "heroic" age.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images

  • Terence Tao, now a UCLA professor, earned his doctorate in mathematics at 20.
  • The prodigy said his work is changing in the age of AI.
  • With AI tools doing the legwork, math is no longer "heroic," Tao said.

AI is upending mathematics. For one top professor, the issue is just as spiritual as it is practical.

Terence Tao, a renowned professor at UCLA, said in a recent podcast appearance that the "romantic era" of math is over, thanks to AI tools capable of solving hundreds of problems with some simple prompting.

Now, he said, even leading scholars like him are reduced to sorting through reams of AI-generated proofs, instead of doing the "heroic" solving themselves.

"We are moving to an industrial era where math will become much more large-scale," Tao said in an interview this week on Numberphile, a YouTube channel dedicated to math.

"We are entering an era where exciting new things are possible, but some things are being lost," he added.

OpenAI began its brusque push into the field by solving the Navier-Stokes equation in early September, one of math's millennium problems.

The revelation that AI had cracked it caused consternation from many a math geek. Some mathematicians also expressed frustration that while the AI model might have solved the problem, it didn't show its work, leaving them with the less celebratory task of verifying it.

Then, earlier this month, OpenAI said it cracked another 700 outstanding problems. A math professor at New York University told CNBC that the company's release had derailed work by early-career mathematicians.

"We've had whole research programs wiped out on Tuesday by their dump," the professor, Tristan Buckmaster, said at the time.

In a separate brouhaha in September, OpenAI backed out of a sponsorship for a so-called AI "mathathon" — an event organized by undergraduates at Caltech, where participants were encouraged to use AI to solve equations — after complaints from a group of more senior academics.

Event organizers told Business Insider at the time that their professors were sorely out of touch with the field's trajectory.

"We look to the future, and we don't even know if there's going to be grad school open positions by the time we get to Ph.D," one organizer, Caiman Moreno-Earle, said.

Though OpenAI has said it is taking steps to ensure human academics retain their role in this new era, some researchers and professors are already forecasting their possible obsolescence.

Tao isn't as much of a doomer as some of his colleagues in the field. However, he did say in the interview that the stories math nerds tell themselves may not mean so much in the future.

"We have these sort of mythological stories," he said in reference to the tale of Sir Andrew Wiles, who famously spent seven years isolated in his attic solving a single difficult equation.

"There was something romantic about sort of the heroic age," Tao said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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EU and Turkey Plan Cyprus Talks as New Dispute Threatens Diplomatic Opening

The European Union and Turkey are preparing high-level talks before the end of October in an attempt to revive negotiations over Cyprus, following an initiative by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides announced the planned meeting on 16 October during the European Council summit in Brussels, saying discussions would address both the resumption of negotiations over the island’s division and the possibility of improving relations between Ankara and the EU.

The initiative follows diplomatic contacts in New York involving Guterres, European institutional leaders and the Cypriot government. However, renewed differences over the conditions for negotiations have already cast doubt on whether the process can produce substantial progress.

On Sunday, 18 October, Christodoulides accused Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman of imposing preconditions before formal negotiations could resume, particularly concerning arrangements for a rotating presidency in a reunited Cyprus.

The disagreement underlines the difficulties facing an initiative intended to reconnect the UN peace process with the EU’s broader relationship with Turkey.

Brussels seeks a negotiating role

Christodoulides said the planned meeting between the EU and Turkey would examine how to establish the necessary conditions for negotiations to restart within the previously agreed UN framework.

He indicated that any improvement in EU–Turkey relations would be linked to progress over Cyprus.

The president’s announcement in Brussels follows months of diplomatic consultations involving the Commission, European Council and UN.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa have urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to support the renewed peace initiative.

Turkey’s relationship with the EU encompasses trade, customs cooperation, migration and regional security. Ankara remains an EU candidate country, although accession negotiations have been effectively stalled for years.

Cyprus remains one of the principal obstacles to any substantial improvement in that relationship.

The island has been divided since Turkey’s military intervention in 1974. The internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but EU law remains suspended in areas where its government does not exercise effective control.

The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.

Disagreement over political equality

The UN has traditionally sought a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Negotiations collapsed at Crans-Montana in Switzerland in 2017 amid unresolved disputes over security guarantees, political representation, territory and the presence of Turkish troops.

Erhürman, who became Turkish Cypriot leader in 2025, has expressed support for renewed negotiations within a federal framework. However, he wants assurances about political equality and the structure of future talks.

The latest dispute concerns whether the principle of a rotating presidency between the two communities should be accepted before negotiations resume.

Christodoulides rejected that demand on 18 October, arguing that substantive questions should be negotiated together rather than settled in advance.

The Turkish Cypriot leadership regards rotating executive power as an essential element of political equality, while the Greek Cypriot side objects to making agreement on that arrangement a prerequisite for restarting discussions.

The disagreement has emerged despite recent efforts by the United Nations to improve relations between the communities.

In a statement issued on 13 October, the UN confirmed that Christodoulides and Erhürman had met in Nicosia and agreed to continue discussions, including participation in bicommunal initiatives.

The two leaders subsequently attended a joint event in Pyla, although their public differences persisted.

Turkey’s position remains decisive

A Cyprus settlement would require agreement not only between the island’s communities but also on Turkey’s military presence and the system of security guarantees established at independence.

Ankara has long maintained that Turkish Cypriots require effective political equality and credible security arrangements.

Greek Cypriot leaders argue that the continuation of foreign intervention rights and Turkish military deployments would be incompatible with a fully sovereign and reunited state.

The EU cannot resolve those differences independently of the UN process, but it can influence the economic and institutional framework within which a settlement might operate.

A comprehensive agreement would affect property ownership, trade, customs arrangements, border administration and the application of European law throughout the island.

The European Commission has sought a greater role in supporting the UN-led peace process, reflecting Brussels’ interest in progress towards a settlement.

Negotiations face immediate test

The UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín, has warned that the opportunity for renewed negotiations may be narrowing.

Disagreements over diplomatic representation, contacts with foreign missions and the status of Turkish Cypriot institutions have complicated relations between the two communities.

Christodoulides has also referred to a series of proposals intended to advance discussions, including the future of the fenced-off area of Varosha. Their full contents have not been publicly disclosed.

The proposed EU–Turkey meeting offers a separate diplomatic channel through which Brussels can assess Ankara’s willingness to support renewed negotiations.

No final date, detailed agenda or list of participants had been publicly confirmed by 18 October.

The immediate test will be whether the parties can agree on the basis for formal talks without attempting to settle disputed constitutional questions before negotiations begin.

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