List of Famous people who died in 2001

Whitman Blount Mayo Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom Sanford and Son.

Jean-Pierre Aumont was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service.

Yee Keung Victor Wong was an American actor, artist, and journalist. A fourth-generation Chinese-American, he appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He portrayed Chinese sorcerer Egg Shen in John Carpenter's 1986 cult film Big Trouble in Little China, royal adviser Chen Bao Shen in the Best Picture–winning The Last Emperor, rural storekeeper Walter Chang in the comedy horror film Tremors, and Grandpa Mori Tanaka in the 3 Ninjas tetralogy.

Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes was an American fashion designer and costumer. She is the creator of the original Playboy Bunny costume.

Ramakrishna was a noted Telugu film Hero and actor. He has acted in over 200 films, including Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. He has acted in several super hit Telugu movies such as 'Nomu', 'Pooja', 'Nenu Naa Desam', 'Bomma Borusa', 'Badi panthulu', 'Kurukshetram', 'Yuvataram kadilindi', 'Mantralaya Sri Raghavendra Vaaibhavam', 'Hantakulostunnaru jagrattha', 'Magadu', 'Katakatala Rudraiah', 'Doralu Dongalu', 'Kotalo paga', 'Vishwanadha Nayakudu'. He played various roles in several mythological films, including Yashoda Krishna, Vinayaka Vijayamu, Devude digivasthe. He had also acted alongside thespians N. T. Ramarao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao.

John Peder Ditlev-Simonsen was a Norwegian sailor who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1936 he won the silver medal as crew member of the Norwegian boat Silja in the 8 metre class event.

Leonardo Salvador Sarao Sr. was the founder and owner of the Sarao Motors, a company known for designing, manufacturing and selling the jeepney, the most popular mode of transportation in the Philippines. He is not the first person to alter the surplus jeeps left behind by the U.S. Army from World War II, but he saw them as a business opportunity for mass transportation. He redesigned the surplus jeeps to increase its functionality by extending the body to accommodate at least twice the number of passengers and by putting some railings at the back and top for extra passengers to cling to, and for cargoes. He revolutionized a burgeoning industry and changed the life of generations of Filipinos.

Lyle Stevik was the alias used by an American man who, in 2001, committed suicide in a motel in Amanda Park, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. Although his body was quickly discovered, and fingerprints, DNA, and dental information collected and recorded, there were no matches in any databases and his identity remained unknown until 2018.

Cândida Branca Flor was a famous Portuguese entertainer and traditional singer whose career spanned four decades.

Ejner Bainkamp Johansson was a Danish art historian, magister of art, writer, and documentary film director. He is also a 1998 N. L. Høyen Medal recipient.