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. 2025. https://www.sepsis.org/sepsisand/celebrities/

Updated June 18, 2026.

Likely Sepsis Cases By Illness:

Bacterial Infection

Madonna, singer – “serious bacterial infection”
Ronnie Coleman, pro body builder -“blood infection”
Ashley Park, actress – treated for tonsillitis that progressed to sepsis
Donald Norcross, U.S. Congressman – treated for a gallbladder infection that progressed to sepsis

To learn more about bacterial infections and how they can cause sepsis, visit Sepsis and Bacterial Infections.

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

To learn more about how people with cancer can be at higher risk of contracting infections and developing sepsis, visit Sepsis and Cancer.

Cellulitis

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

To learn more about what cellulitis is and its connection to sepsis, visit Sepsis and Cellulitis.

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

To learn how COVID-19 can lead to sepsis, visit Sepsis and COVID-19.

Dental Infection

Mike Williams, former NFL player – died

To learn how infections in your mouth can lead to sepsis, visit Sepsis and Dental Health.

Diabetes

Paul Jackson, bassist with Herbie Hancock – died

To learn about how diabetes increases your risk of developing infections that can lead to sepsis, visit Sepsis and Diabetes.

E coli

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

To learn more about intestinal E. coli and how it can lead to sepsis, visit Sepsis and Intestinal E Coli Infections.

HIV

Fred Hersch, Jazz pianist and composer

Learn more about HIV and how it can increase your risk of developing sepsis at Sepsis and HIV/AIDS.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Tyler James Williams, actor (Crohn’s disease)

Learn more about how IBD can increase your risk of developing infections that can lead to sepsis at Sepsis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

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

Learn more about bacterial infections at Sepsis and Bacterial Infections.

Influenza

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

Learn how the flu can cause sepsis at Sepsis and Influenza.

Intestinal Infection or Perforated Bowel

Patty Duke, actor – died
Perez Hilton, celebrity
Socrates, Brazilian soccer player (captain) – died
Brendan Wayne, actor

Learn how a perforated bowel can lead to infection and sepsis at Sepsis and Perforated Bowel.

Maternal Sepsis

Lily Allen, British singer
Kathryn Fiore, UK actress
Rebecca Adlington, UK Olympic swimmer

Learn about how pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum infections can cause sepsis at Sepsis and Pregnancy & Delivery.

Meningitis

Daveigh Chase, actress – died
Amy Purdy, actress and athlete

Learn how bacterial, viral, and fungal meningitis can cause sepsis at Sepsis and Meningitis.

Necrotizing fasciitis

Lynn Collins, actress – also had pneumonia

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
Robert Trebor, actor – 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
Kyle Busch, NASCAR champion – died
Fast Eddie Clarke, musician – died
Lynn Collins, actor, also had necrotizing fasciitis
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
Rudy Moreno, comedian – died
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

Learn how pneumonia can lead to sepsis at Sepsis and Pneumonia.

Surgery

Bobby Darin, singer – died
Danielle Campo McLeod, paralympic gold medalist
Jamie-Lynn Sigler – actor
Ozzy Osbourne , singer – had sepsis from surgery, but died later of other causes

Learn how surgery can cause infections, during and after the procedure, that can lead to sepsis at Sepsis and Surgery.

Toxic Shock Syndrome

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

Learn how toxic shock syndrome can lead to sepsis at Sepsis and Toxic Shock Syndrome.

Unknown

Neil Adams, creator of Batman and the X-Men – died
Muhammad Ali, boxer – died
Joshua Bassett – actor
David H.K. Bell, actor– died
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
Billy Ray Cyrus, singer
Brian Dennehy, actor – died
Robert L. Drew, Filmmaker and journalist – died
George Genovese, baseball scout – died
Elizabeth Irving, mother to athlete Kyrie Irving – died
Jewel, singer
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
Billy Porter, actor
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
Dave Thomas, comedian
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

Erin Bates, reality TV star
William (Bill) J. Clinton, former President of the United States, due to E. coli
Etta James, singer – died
Pope John-Paul II – died
Craig Morton – died, former NFL quarterbac
Tanya Roberts, actress – died
Brian Wilson, singer (Beach Boys) – died

Learn how the common UTI can lead to sepsis at Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections.

Related Resources

Ann H.

On April 17th, 2025 I went to the walk in clinic with a very slight wheeze thinking my asthma was acting up. The nurse practitioner gave me some prednisone and said everything else looked okay. This was just a precaution. I took my first dose of prednisone that night. April 18th I felt great. No more wheeze and felt as if nothing had flared up. I took the dog for a run. While on the run I felt chilly so we went home. I was a bit tired and retired for the night around 10 pm. After about 1 hour ... Read Full Story

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Amanda V.

It was my first week at college, first time ever being away from my parents. It’s supposedly meant to be exciting and fun, right? That’s what I figured, for a perfectly healthy 18-year-old freshman like me. Three days before my first class began, I came down with the highest fever I’ve ever had – a 103 – and no antipyretics I took could break it. I went to the student clinic on day 3 of my illness, and they dismissed it as a mild URI (upper respiratory infection) as my Covid and flu tests came back negative. I thought I’d ... Read Full Story

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Kris S.

Hi there fellow sepsis survivors, I was on the glp1 injections. With this, you’re supposed to drink a lot of water. I knew the shots slowed down your digestion and can give you constipation. I thought it was normal to have a bowel movement once a week! This carried on for 1.5 years! Until one day, I randomly got sick. Started vomiting, stood up and fell unconscious! Like others, they couldn’t find a blood pressure reading. Once getting to hospital the first reading was 46/31. Fecal impaction had led to tissue death. Spent 9 days in the hospital! What they ... Read Full Story

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Melissa L.

I went to three doctors in as many weeks before my trip to the emergency room in February 2025. Something was wrong, but no one could figure it out. My symptoms were occasional stomach aches/back pain, lethargy, lack of appetite—basically I felt “off,” like a low-grade flu. I was tested repeatedly for Covid, strep, flu and UTIs, and they were always negative. After a night of sweats, then violent chills, I asked my husband to take me to the hospital, assuming I’d finally get my flu confirmation, a bag of fluids and some meds then be on my way. It ... Read Full Story

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Kevin Paradee

Started off as severe abdominal pain. I was told in the ER that it was my pancreas. I was out for at least a week and was told later that I had necrotising pancreatitis that led to septic shock. I was given less than 20% chance of survival at that time. After 6 months in the hospital and a heart attack, I’m home and recovering. It’s a slow slog with very slow incremental improvements but at least I’m still alive. Read Full Story

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Sepsis and Celebrities

Likely Sepsis Cases By Illness:

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