OK! Reveals All the Stars Who Have Fallen Victim to Hollywood's Deadly 'Christmas and New Year Death Curse' 

George Michael stands as one of the most haunting symbols of what OK! can reveal industry insiders have dubbed the showbiz world's "Christmas and New Year death curse."

Instead of being periods of celebration, for many in showbiz they have turned into times of mourning as so many stars have passed away over the holidays – often in horrific and tragic circumstances.

Michael, who rose to global fame with Wham! before forging a hugely successful solo career, was found dead at his home in Oxfordshire on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53.

Police initially described his death as "unexplained," but "not suspicious," before a postmortem concluded he had died from heart failure linked to a fatty liver after years of drug taking and hard partying.

The timing stunned fans and peers, turning one of the calendar's most joyful dates into a moment of collective grief.

That sense of cruel timing has echoed through multiple high-profile deaths clustered between Christmas and New Year.

Few episodes captured it more painfully than the deaths of Carrie Fisher, 60, and her mother Debbie Reynolds, 84, whose losses came within 24 hours of each other at the end of 2016.

Fisher suffered a cardiac emergency while flying home to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with her family and died on December 27.

Reynolds died the following day after suffering a stroke.

A statement released on behalf of Fisher's family shared words from her daughter Billie Lourd, who said about her mom: "She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly."

Reynolds had been preparing to celebrate Christmas with her daughter and granddaughter, a gathering that never took place.

The pattern extends back decades. Charlie Chaplin, the silent film icon whose work shaped modern cinema, died peacefully in his sleep on Christmas Day 1977 at the age of 88, following a stroke at his home in Switzerland.

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, passed away on Christmas Day 2006 at age 73, from congestive heart failure resulting from complications of pneumonia, closing the book on a career that transformed popular music.

Dean Martin, 78, died on Christmas Day 1995 at his Beverly Hills home after years of declining health – while Eartha Kitt, 81, whose voice became synonymous with the holiday season, died on December 25, 2008, following a battle with colon cancer.

The sense of loss has not been limited to Christmas Day.

Natalie Cole, 65, died from congestive heart failure on New Year's Eve 2015 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In the days before her death, Cole was surrounded by family.

Her sister Casey later said: "She's fought a very long battle and she's at peace now. She's ringing in the new year in ways we don't know."

More recently, Carlos Marín, 53, a member of Il Divo, died in December 2021 after complications from Covid, while Earl Hindman, 61, best known as the unseen neighbor on Home Improvement, died on December 29, 2003, after a battle with lung cancer.

For fans and families alike, the clustering of deaths during what is meant to be a period of reflection and renewal has given rise to the idea of a seasonal curse.

What remains undisputed is the enduring impact of those lost, their legacies continuing long after the holiday lights are taken down and the year quietly turns.