List of Famous people who died at 53

Margaret Atieno Ogola was a Kenyan novelist who wrote The River and the Source and its sequel, I Swear by Apollo. The River and the Source follows four generations of Kenyan women in a rapidly changing country and society. The book has been on the KCSE syllabus for many years, and it won the 1995 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best first book, Africa Region. Ogola completed on her final book, titled Mandate of the people, before her death and it is set to be released posthumously. She was also the recipient of the Familias Award for Humanitarian Service of the World Congress of Families.

The Ariel Castro kidnappings took place between 2002 and 2004, when Ariel Castro kidnapped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus and held them captive in his home in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The three girls were imprisoned until May 6, 2013, when Berry escaped with her six-year-old daughter, to whom she had given birth while imprisoned, and contacted the police. Police rescued Knight and DeJesus and arrested Castro within hours.

Victoria Shaw was an Australian actress.

Jürgen Ponto was a German banker and chairman of the Dresdner Bank board of directors. Previously, he had worked as a lawyer. He was assassinated by members of the Red Army Faction in events leading up to the German Autumn. Actor Erich Ponto was his uncle.

Audrey Marie Hilley was an American murderer. Her life and killing spree are the subjects of the 1991 telefilm Wife, Mother, Murderer.

Angelika Amon was an Austrian American molecular and cell biologist, and the Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor in Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Amon's research centered on how chromosomes are regulated, duplicated, and partitioned in the cell cycle. Amon was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.

Anne Eustis Pepper Stewart, known as Wendy Pepper, was a fashion designer who appeared on the first season of the reality television show Project Runway, which aired on Bravo from December 2004 through February 2005. She was also a contestant on the second season of Project Runway All Stars. She was eliminated from the Project Runway All Stars competition in the second challenge.

Yootha Joyce Needham, known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred.

Anjum Singh was an Indian artist whose works focused on urban ecology, environmental degradation, and her own struggles with cancer. She was born in New Delhi, India, and she continued to live and work there. Singh was the daughter of noted Indian artists Arpita Singh and Paramjit Singh.

James Johannson was an American professional ice hockey player, who was later an executive with USA Hockey. Johannson was selected by the Hartford Whalers in the 7th round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft.