Sepsis and Celebrities

Many celebrities and public figures have been affected by sepsis. Some survived their bout with the disease, but others died. Sepsis is an equal opportunity illness – it can affect anyone of any social status, age, ethnicity, or beliefs.

All too often, however, the media that report celebrities illnesses or deaths from sepsis fail to say the word. They often say that the person has died of complications of pneumonia, surgery, or cancer, for example. If someone has died of an infection, such as pneumonia or the flu, or an infection from surgery, he or she has died from sepsis. If someone develops an infection serious enough that they must be treated in the hospital with IV fluids and antibiotics, chances are that they have sepsis.

Below is a list of celebrities who Sepsis Alliance knows have had sepsis or believes they did due to the news reports. If you know of any celebrities that you feel should be added to this list, please send the information to info@sepsis.org.

Suggested Citation:
Sepsis Alliance. Sepsis and Celebrities. 2024. https://www.sepsis.org/sepsisand/celebrities/

Updated June 6, 2024.

Likely Sepsis Cases By Illness:

Bacterial Infection

Ashley Park, actress – treated for tonsillitis that progressed to sepsis

Cancer

Paul Allen, Co-Founder of Microsoft – died
Ron Piche, former Montreal Expo pitcher – died of “cancer and blood poisoning” in 2011 (baseball)
Ray Price (Country star Ray Price back in hospital with sepsis) – died
Charlie Robinson, actor – died
Lura Lynn Ryan, Illinois former first lady – survived first bout with sepsis, later died of “complications from cancer”
Susie Steiner, author – died
Cory Wells, musician – died
John Wetton, musician – died

Cellulitis

Jon Huntsman, philanthropist – died
Rusty Staub, baseball player – died

COVID-19

Nick Cordero, actor – died
Larry King, TV personality – died
Cloris Leachman, actor – died of stroke, but coroner said COVID-19 was “significant condition”
Pranab Mukherjee, former president of India – died

Dental Infection

Mike Williams, former NFL player – died

Diabetes

Paul Jackson, bassist with Herbie Hancock – died

E coli

Hugh Hefner – died
Lily Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp

HIV

Fred Hersch, Jazz pianist and composer

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Tyler James Williams, actor (Crohn’s disease)

Infected Wound

Casey Kasem, radio personality, voice over actor – died
Christopher Reeve, actor – died of anaphylactic shock
E-Dubble (Evan Sewell Wallace), rapper – died
Mother Theresa, infected pacemaker line, survived but died years later of other causes
Chris Young, singer
Calvin Coolidge jr., President Calvin Coolidge’s youngest son, infected blister – died

Influenza

Quintana Roo Dunne, daughter of author Joan Didion – died
Ken Flach, professional tennis player – died
Mary Louise Parker, actor

Intestinal Infection or Perforated Bowel

Socrates, Brazilian soccer player (captain) – died
Patty Duke, actor – died

Maternal Sepsis

Lily Allen, British singer
Kathryn Fiore, UK actress

Meningitis

Amy Purdy, actress and athlete

Other

Stephen Colbert, TV talk host, “blood poisoning” after burst appendix
Paul Di’Anno, singer
J. Charles Jones, civil rights activist – died
Eli Leon, psychologist, scholar – died
Kyle Lowry, basketball player
Eddie Money, musician (Barrett’s esophagus)
Fernando Valenzuela, former pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers – died
Heather O’Rourke, actress – died
Ignaz Semmelweis, physician who pioneered infection control to reduce postpartum sepsis deaths
Jessye Norman, opera singer – died (following a spinal cord injury)
John McCutcheon, singer (lung infection)
Denis O’Brien, film maker – died
Mel Tillis, singer – died
Marcus “Kutfather” Tufono, DJ – died
Rudolf Valentino, actor – died

Pancreatitis

Robby Steinhart, musician with the band Kansas – died

Peritonitis

Harry Houdini, magician – died

Pneumonia

Marty Allen, comedian – died (reported as pneumonia)
Christian Brando – died
Chuck Brown, singer – died
Fast Eddie Clarke, musician – died
Jeff Conaway, actor – died
Nicole DeHuff, actor – died
R Lee Ermey, actor – died
Ken Flach, professional tennis player – died
Whoopie Goldberg, TV personality
Corey Haim, actor – died
Angelica Hale, singer
Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets – died
Trish Keenan, singer -died
Bernie Mac, actor – died
George Michael, singer
Steve McMichael, former NFL player
Prince Ranier of Monaco, “chest infection” – died
Leslie Nielson, actor – died
William L. O’Neill, historian and author – died
Kim Porter, actress, model – died
Wayne Rogers, actor – died (reported as “complications of pneumonia”)
Lawrence Welk, musician – died

Surgery

Bobby Darin, singer – died
Jamie-Lynn Sigler – actor

Toxic Shock Syndrome

Audrey Leishman, wife of pro golfer Marc Leishman
Alex Smith, professional football player

Unknown

Neil Adams, creator of Batman and the X-Men – died
Muhammad Ali, boxer – died
Joshua Bassett – actor
DuShon Monique Brown, actress – died
George H.W. Bush, former President of the United States
Dennis Caplinger, musician – died
Christopher Cazanove, actor – died
Steve Curry, actor – died
Brian Dennehy, actor – died
Robert L. Drew, Filmmaker and journalist – died
George Genovese, baseball scout – died
Elizabeth Irving, mother to athlete Kyrie Irving – died
Kenny Jönsson, NHL player
Paul Kantner, singer
Larry King, talk show host
Jonathan Koch, film producer
Steve Mackay, musician (the Stooges) – died
Rita McNeil, Canadian singer, possible: “from complications of surgery after a recurrent infection” – died
Burt Metcalfe, TV producer – died
Steven Rumbelow, writer and director – died
Charles L. Schulze, economist – died
David Sherwin, screenwriter – died
Grace Slick, singer, septic shock
Anne Love Smith, mother of actress Julianne Moore – died
Anna Nicole Smith, model – died
Dan Snyder, National Hockey League player – died
Yolanda Sonnabend, theater designer and painter – died
John Vinocur, foreign correspondent, reporter, and editor – died
Deborah Donnelly Wahlberg, sister of actor Mark Wahlberg – died
Dean Winters, actor (bacterial infection)
lke Wyludda, German Olympian
Jay Youngblood (Steven Nicky Romero), professional wrestler -died

Upper Respiratory Infection

Robbie Coltrane, actor – died

UTI

William (Bill) J. Clinton, former President of the United States, due to E. coli
Mariana Bridi Costa, Brazilian model – died
Etta James, singer – died
Pope John-Paul II – died
Tanya Roberts, actress – died

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I am a healthy, active 50 year old. Next Wednesday will be the one year anniversary of waking up with pain in my knee like I slammed it into a wall overnight. I rode my bike easily to an exercise class at 6 am but by 8 AM my knee was a giant ball and I couldn’t put any weight on the leg. A first visit to the ER didn’t show signs of fever or redness so I was sent home at noon with crutches and instructions to return if fever . By 3 pm the fever had set in ... Read Full Story

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Frank B.

This is my story. I am 64 years old. My encounter with septic shock took place in June 2023. I was driving a tractor trailer in an Over the Road capacity working towards a client in East Peoria, IL. What led to my stay in the ICU of a hospital in Urbana IL was a kidney stone roughly 1 cm in diameter dropping out of my kidney and blocking the passageway (ureter) to the bladder. (Sepsis and Kidney Stones) Urine backed up leading to the sepsis condition. My recollection of my condition constituted a diminished capacity to safely operate the ... Read Full Story

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Kaity Schlauer

In March 2024, only a week after moving to a different state, I developed the worst pain of my life on the right side of my abdomen. I knew something was wrong, maybe my appendix, but didn’t know what so I went to the ER. They did a CT and ultrasound, but nothing abnormal came up. They figured it was my first kidney stone, gave me some pain meds, and sent me home to pass it. Within an hour of being back home I spiked a fever, started vomiting profusely, and was fetal on the bathroom floor in so much ... Read Full Story

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Claire Lapat

I developed severe sepsis and went into septic shock in March 2023, at 23 years old. I was on TPN (total parenteral nutrition) as a result of my Crohn’s disease. (Sepsis and Invasive Devices) Unfortunately TPN is almost like agar used in microbiology lab and Crohn’s disease changes the permeability of the intestines making it easier for bacteria to leak out into the bloodstream, making the combination a perfect storm. I had labs drawn weekly and I got a call in the evening that my WBC count was elevated and to monitor my temperature. At that point I was at ... Read Full Story

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Tina Minnich

In September of 2023 I started having pain in my left knee, it progressed quickly to the point I couldn’t walk. I went to the ER 3 times crying in pain and they really didn’t do anything. To them I was obese and already had arthritis so why look further. The next night I couldn’t take the pain anymore. My sister brought me to the ER and yelled at them to do something. I don’t remember much until I woke up about 2 weeks later on a ventilator. My sister told me I had MRSA in the knee and I ... Read Full Story

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Sepsis and Celebrities

Likely Sepsis Cases By Illness:

Related Resources

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