Celebrities Who Passed Away Too Soon: How Would They Look Today?

No one lives forever, not even our favorite celebrities.

Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, Heath Ledger — the whole world knows these names, and they are still the greatest idols for many of us. Their lives were cut short at the peak of fame and youth, leaving behind only photos and all of their creative heritage.

Using Photoshop and AI, photographer Alper Yesiltasch was able to recreate portraits of celebrities who left this mortal coil too soon, allowing us to imagine what they would look like if they were still alive. Alper aptly titled this series of his photos “As if nothing happened.”

8 PHOTOS

1. Princess Diana

Princess Diana was one of the most important and influential women of the twentieth century. A few days before her tragic death, Princess Diana sold 79 ball gowns at an auction. The proceeds were sent to the fund to fight cancer and AIDS. This is what Diana Spencer would have looked like if not for the car accident.

2. John Lennon

John Lennon, British musician and founder of the world-famous band The Beatles, was also lost but not forgotten by the author. The singer’s life was tragically cut short on December 8, 1980, but his memory of him remained in people’s hearts forever.

3. Freddie Mercury

Another British pop star and a good friend of Lady D — Freddie Mercury — did not live to see Queen still popping up in music top charts. Apparently, he would look like a very modest grandpa.

4. Heath Ledger

The circumstances around the actor’s death are still raging on certain parts of the internet. As many assume, after preparing for the role of the Joker, the actor faced serious mental problems and went down the hideous rabbit hole filled with drugs, which reportedly led to his death. This is what Heath Ledger would look like in 2022.

5. Michael Jackson

The songs of the King of Pop can still be heard all over the world to this day. What else did you expect from Michael Jackson, who had won 15 Grammy Awards and sold over 1 billion records worldwide? His kind smile would have looked just like that.

6. Paul Walker

Paul Walker once said something like: “If one day you find out that speed killed me, do not cry and know that I smiled.” The movie “Fast and the Furious” gave wide popularity to Walker, but the actor died at the age of 40 in a horrific car accident. Today, he would look like this.

7. Tupac Shakur

The legendary hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, but his murder is still a very heated debate among fans and conspiracy theory aficionados because, so far, the police have not been able to solve it. Nowadays, Tupac would look something like this.

8. Jimmi Hendrix

If only this iconic guitarist didn’t try to look for inspiration in his drug cabinet and found it in something more mundane, we’d still have one of the most talented musicians with us alive and happy. And this is what he would look like.