Deaths in May 2025

The following is a list of notable deaths that happened in May 2025. Names under each date are noted in the order of the alphabet by their last name, or pseudonym. Deaths of non-humans are also noted here, if worth noting.

## Criteria

Every entry is backed by a source. Proper citations are used and no bare URLs so as to prevent link rot. The following are the requirements for adding a name to the list in its order: Name, age, origin, what the person is known for and his or her cause of death – if known – and a source for verification.

### 31

- Robert Anderson, 76, New Zealand cricketer (Otago, Central Districts, national team).

### 30

- Étienne-Émile Baulieu, 98, French scientist.
- Prentis Hancock, 83, British actor (_Space: 1999_, _Doctor Who_).
- Loretta Swit, 87, American actress.

### 29

- David Trist, 77, New Zealand cricketer (Canterbury) and cricket coach (Eastern Province, national team).

### 27

- Choi Jung-woo, 68, South Korean actor (_Like a Virgin_, _City Hunter_, _Doctor Stranger_). (death announced on this date)
- Vasily Funtikov, 62, Russian actor (_Tuning Fork_, _Presumption of Innocence_, _The Sisters Liberty_).

### 26

- Monna Tandberg, 85, Norwegian actress (_Victoria L_, _Drømmeslottet_, _Bryllupsfesten_).
- Marie Tomášová, 96, Czech actress (_Anna Proletářka_, _Jan Hus_, _September Nights_).

### 24

- Malini Fonseka, 78, Sri Lankan actress (_Pilot Premnath_, _Bambaru Avith_, _Beddegama_) and politician, MP (2010–2015).
- Piro Milkani, 85, Albanian film director (_The Lady from the City_, _The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider_), People's Artist of Albania.
- Marcel Ophuls, 97, French filmmaker (_The Sorrow and the Pity_, _Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie_).
- Teresita Reyes, 75, Chilean actress (_Sussi_, _The Toast_, _Santos_), cancer.

### 23

- Mukul Dev, 54, Indian actor (_Dastak_, _Yamla Pagla Deewana_, _Son of Sardaar_).
- Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, 91, Algerian film director (_Chronicle of the Years of Fire_, _Sandstorm_, _The Last Image_) and screenwriter.

### 22

- Alfredo Palacio, 86, Ecuadorian cardiologist and politician, president (2005–2007) and vice president (2003–2005).

### 20

- Michael Roemer, 97, American film director and screenwriter (_Nothing but a Man_, _The Plot Against Harry_, _Dying_).
- George Wendt, 76, American actor (_Cheers_, _Forever Young_, "Bill Swerski's Superfans").

### 19

- Aurora Clavel, 88, Mexican actress (_Tarahumara_, _Once Upon a Scoundrel_, _Mariana de la Noche_).
- Kathleen Hughes, 96, American actress (_It Came from Outer Space_, _The Glass Web_, _The Golden Blade_).

### 17

- Gawn Grainger, 87, Scottish actor (_Doctor Who_) and writer.
- Franco Merli, 68, Italian actor (_Arabian Nights_, _Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom_, _Down and Dirty_).
- Roger Nichols, 84, American songwriter ("We've Only Just Begun", "Times of Your Life") and composer.
- Zhu Yuanyuan, 51, Chinese actress (_Ocean Heaven_, _Lost in Hong Kong_, _Sister_), cancer.

### 16

- Meta Velander, 100, Swedish actress (_Honeymoon_, _Dear Alice_, _Marmalade Revolution_).

### 15

- Kostas Lychnaras, 86, Greek film director (_Christ Recrucified_, _Konstantinou kai Elenis_, _To kafe tis Charas_).

### 14

- Cornal Hendricks, 37, South African rugby player (Bulls, Boland Cavaliers, national team), heart attack.

### 13

- José Mujica, 89, Uruguayan politician (president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015), oesophagus cancer.
- Leila Negra, 95, German singer and actress (_Münchhausen_, _The Star of Rio_, _Salto Mortale_).

### 11

- Robert Benton, 92, American film director (_Kramer vs. Kramer_, _Places in the Heart_) and screenwriter (_Bonnie and Clyde_), Oscar winner (1980, 1985).
- John Edwards, 80, American Hall of Fame singer (The Spinners).
- Arjun Menon, 48, Singaporean cricket player (national team) and coach (Chile, Malawi).

### 10

- Bob Cowper, 84, Australian test cricketer.
- Larry Lee, 78, American musician (The Ozark Mountain Daredevils) and songwriter ("Jackie Blue").

### 9

- Fred Graham, 96, New Zealand rugby union player (New Zealand Māori) and artist, AFNZ Icon (since 2018).

### 8

- Jiří Bartoška, 78, Czech actor (_Sekal Has to Die_, _All My Loved Ones_, _Angel of the Lord_), president of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
- James Foley, 71, American film director (_Glengarry Glen Ross_, _Who's That Girl_, _Fifty Shades Darker_), brain cancer. (death announced on this date)
- Josaia Raisuqe, 30, Fijian rugby union footballer (Stade Français, Nevers, Fiji 7s), traffic collision.

### 7

- Cleopa Msuya, 94, Tanzanian politician, prime minister (1980–1983, 1994–1995) and first vice president (1990–1995), heart failure.

### 6

- Bill McCaw, 97, New Zealand rugby player (Southland, national team).

### 4

- Aleftina Evdokimova, 85, Russian actress (_Tender Age_, _Let the Charms Last Long_, _Courier_).

### 2

- Ricky Davao, 63, Filipino actor (_Ang Padrino_, _Kung Aagawin Mo ang Lahat sa Akin_) and television director (_!Oka Tokat_). (death announced on this date)
- Jean-François Davy, 79, French film director (_Bananes mécaniques_, _Surprise Sock_) and producer.
- Sir Bob Jones, 85, New Zealand property investor and politician. (death announced on this date)
- Alessandro Quasimodo, 82, Italian actor (_The Seventh Floor_, _A Milanese Story_), theater director and poet.

### 1

- Jill Sobule, 66, American singer-songwriter ("I Kissed a Girl", "Supermodel"), house fire.