Rewind 2023: Remembering influential figures we lost this year

The anticipation to welcome 2024 fills us with excitement. Reflecting on the past 12 months, we recall a myriad of memories and events — from the challenges of the Israel-Hamas conflict to impactful policy changes. Sadly, we also bid farewell to several prominent figures who left an indelible mark on our lives this year. As we close the chapter of the year 2023 from the book of our life, let’s take a few minutes to remember those influential souls who left us this year. January 10: JEFF BECK, 78, British guitar virtuoso and innovator who rose to rock and roll fame with 1960s group the Yardbirds 10: CARDINAL GEORGE PELL, 81, Australian archbishop, giant of the Catholic Church, who was jailed for child sexual abuse but later cleared 12: LISA MARIE PRESLEY, 54, singer-songwriter and only child of Elvis Presley, dies of a bowel condition caused by weight loss surgery 16: GINA LOLLOBRIGIDA, 95, Italian film diva, one of the last icons of Golden Age Hollywood February 03: PACO RABANNE, 88, Spanish fashion designer famed for his eccentric designs and fragrances 05: PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, 79, Pakistan's former military ruler [caption id=“attachment_13527292” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Pervez Musharraf, the former army general and president of Pakistan who ruled for almost a decade after seizing power in a coup in 1999, has died in Dubai after a long illness. File image/AP[/caption] 08: BURT BACHARACH, 94, legendary pop composer of hits including Walk on By and Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head 15: RAQUEL WELCH, 82, US actress and global sex symbol who famously donned a fur bikini in a 1960s caveman epic April 13: MARY QUANT, 93, rule-breaking British fashion designer and pioneer of the miniskirt **Also Read: Rewind 2023: The big controversies and scandals of the year** 25: HARRY BELAFONTE, 96, superstar American music performer and activist 27: JERRY SPRINGER, 79, popular US talk show host, whose rowdy programme symbolised low-brow TV May 19: MARTIN AMIS, 73, leading voice in modern British fiction 24: **TINA TURNER**, 83, US rock icon famed for her electrifying stage presence [caption id=“attachment_13527332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The queen of rock ’n’ roll, Tina Turner, died on 24 May, 2023, at her home in Switzerland. File image/AP[/caption] June 10: TED KACZYNSKI, 81, “Unabomber” who terrorised America with a two-decade bombing campaign aimed at halting the advance of modern technology and society 12: SILVIO BERLUSCONI, 86, larger-than-life, scandal-tainted former Italian premier and billionaire media mogul 13: CORMAC McCARTHY, 89, titan of American fiction with novels including The Road and No Country for Old Men July 11: MILAN KUNDERA, 94, Czech-French novelist who criticised Czechoslovakia’s communist regime. Best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being 16: JANE BIRKIN, 76, British-born singer and actress famous for her creative and romantic relationship with French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg **Also Read: Rewind 2023: A for AI, Z for Zionism… What defined the year** 21: TONY BENNETT, 96, last of the classic American crooners 26: SINEAD O’CONNOR, 56, iconoclastic Irish pop singer, best known for her 1990 global hit Nothing Compares 2 U August 15: BINDESHWAR PATHAK, 80, Indian social reformer and revolutioniser of national sanitation, known as "toilet man" 23: YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, 62, head of Russian paramilitary group Wagner, killed in a plane crash after leading a mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership [caption id=“attachment_13527342” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in Russia’s Tver Oblast after plotting a coup against President Vladimir Putin. File image/AP[/caption] 30: MOHAMED AL-FAYED, 92, Egyptian ex-owner of Harrods department store and the Ritz in Paris, whose son Dodi died alongside Princess Diana in a car crash in 1997 September 27: MICHAEL GAMBON, 82, British actor, played Albus Dumbledore in many Harry Potter films 25: MATTEO MESSINA DENARO, 61, one of the most ruthless Sicilian mafia bosses dies in prison 29: DIANNE FEINSTEIN, 90, trailblazing politician dubbed the “Lioness of the US Senate” October 21: BOBBY CHARLTON, 86, English football hero, World Cup winner, Manchester United legend 27: LI KEQIANG, 68, Chinese premier during the first two five-year terms of President Xi Jinping 28: **MATTHEW PERRY**, 54, US star who played Chandler Bing in hit sitcom Friends dies after a long battle with addiction [caption id=“attachment_13527392” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Matthew Perry, the Emmy-nominated “Friends” actor whose sarcastic, but lovable Chandler Bing was among television’s most famous and quotable characters died on 28 October, 2023. File image/AP[/caption] November 19: ROSALYNN CARTER, 96, former US first lady who championed human rights, democracy and public health 29: **HENRY KISSINGER**, 100, US diplomat whose unapologetic promotion of raw American power helped shape the post-World War II world December 01: SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR, 93, the first woman to serve as a justice on the US Supreme Court, appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981 08: RYAN O’NEAL, 82, US actor and heartthrob of Love Story and Barry Lyndon fame With inputs from AFP