Stars Awarded Posthumously: Catherine O’Hara and Chadwick Boseman
Iconic talents such as Catherine O’Hara, Chadwick Boseman, and Heath Ledger may have departed, but their memories live on.
These remarkable actors, along with countless others, have garnered posthumous awards, ensuring their legacies remain vibrant.
Boseman received a Critics Choice Award and a Golden Globe Award in 2021, the year following his death in 2020. Ledger was awarded his only Academy Award posthumously in 2009 after passing away a year earlier from an accidental overdose.
O’Hara was honored with a SAG Actor Award in 2026, just a month after her passing in late January.
“I was honored to accept this award on [Catherine] O’Hara’s behalf,” remarked Seth Rogen, who collaborated with her on The Studio, during the awards ceremony in March 2026. “She would have been incredibly honored to receive this recognition from her fellow performers, whom she deeply admired. She was a huge fan of all of you.”
Continue reading to discover other stars who received awards posthumously:
James Dean
Following his tragic passing in 1955 at the age of 24, James Dean was awarded a special Golden Globe Award for East of Eden in 1956. He also received the Henrietta Award at the Golden Globes in 1957 for World Film Favorite — Male, and his star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. The star of Rebel Without a Cause died in a fatal car accident.
Audrey Hepburn
The iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s star Audrey Hepburn was acknowledged posthumously after her death in January 1993 at the age of 63 due to cancer. She received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 1994 and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement — Informational Programming in 1993, making her the first posthumous EGOT winner.
Ray Charles
Ray Charles had amassed 12 Grammys before his death in 2004 at the age of 73. A year posthumously, he was awarded five additional Grammys, increasing his total to 17.
Heath Ledger’s legacy continues to be celebrated 18 years after his untimely demise. The Australian actor left an indelible mark on Hollywood throughout his brief career. His breakthrough performance appeared in 1999, starring alongside Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You. Stiles characterized Ledger’s magnetic presence in a subsequent interview.
Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger was posthumously recognized with an Academy Award for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. His family accepted the Best Supporting Actor award on his behalf in February 2009, following his death from an accidental drug overdose in January 2008 at the age of 28.
“Bittersweet best describes that evening. It had only been a year and a month since his passing,” his father, Kim Ledger, shared with The Hollywood Reporter in February 2016. “We were still grappling with the tragedy of losing him, yet he was being celebrated for what he knew was his finest work.”
The family committed the accolade to Heath’s then 13-year-old daughter, Matilda, whom he shared with ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams.
Amy Winehouse
Songbird Amy Winehouse succumbed to alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at the young age of 27. Already a four-time Grammy laureate, she received a posthumous award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in February 2012 for her collaboration with Tony Bennett on the song “Body and Soul.”
Joan Rivers
Comedian and fashion critic Joan Rivers passed away in 2014 at the age of 81 following respiratory complications during an outpatient procedure on her vocal cords. She posthumously won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album in 2015.
David Bowie
David Bowie won four Grammy Awards in 2017 for his final album, Blackstar, posthumously after his death in 2016 at the age of 69. He passed away in New York City after battling liver cancer.
Carrie Fisher
Celebrated Star Wars star Carrie Fisher received her first Grammy Award in January 2018 for Best Spoken Word Album for her recording of her memoir, The Princess Diarist, more than a year after her death in December 2016 due to sleep apnea and other undetermined factors at the age of 60.
Catherine O’Hara appeared at the 2025 Emmy Awards just five months before her passing at age 71, dazzling in a long-sleeved Christian Dior gown during the September 14, 2025, ceremony at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, where she won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in The Studio.
Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020 after a private struggle with colon cancer. He was just 43 years old. The star of Black Panther was honored with a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in 2021 for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, as well as Best Actor at the Critics Choice Awards that same year. In 2022, he received the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance award for What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?. Boseman was also recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025.
Christine McVie
Christine McVie, the talented pianist of Fleetwood Mac, passed away in November 2022 at the age of 79. In 2023, she was awarded a Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for her work on Vince Mendoza’s “Songbird (Orchestral Version).”
Her former bandmate Mick Fleetwood later organized a memorial tribute during the live CBS broadcast. Fleetwood, Sheryl Crow, and Bonnie Raitt performed a live rendition of “Songbird.”
“We are all here to honor Christine, representing what she meant to all of us, to Fleetwood Mac, and of course to myself and the band members,” Fleetwood expressed to E! News on the red carpet in February 2023. “It’s an acknowledgment in memory of a remarkably talented, lovely lady known as Christine McVie. … We’re delighted to celebrate her.”
Catherine O’Hara
Catherine O’Hara passed away in January 2026 at the age of 71, with the cause of death attributed to a pulmonary embolism linked to underlying rectal cancer. She was awarded the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for The Studio in March of that year, preserving her comedic legacy.
