List of Famous people who died in 2002

Nika Georgievna Turbina was a Russian poet. She became famous for her profound and emotional poems which she wrote at an early age.

Sihung Lung was a Taiwanese movie and TV actor. He appeared in over 100 films and TV series throughout his career and was best known for playing paternal roles in films such as Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet. He frequently collaborated with award-winning director Ang Lee.

Johannes Cornelis Princen, better known as Poncke Princen, was a Dutch anti-Nazi fighter and colonial soldier. In 1948, he deserted, joined the pro-independence guerrillas in what was then the Dutch Indies. He lived the rest of his life in Indonesia, where he became a prominent human rights activist and political dissident under various dictatorial regimes in his adopted country and consequently spent considerable time in detention.

Herman Eugene Talmadge was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981. A staunch segregationist, he was denounced by the Senate for financial irregularities, which were revealed during a bitter divorce from his second wife. He previously served as governor of the state from 1948 to 1955, taking over after the death of his father Eugene Talmadge, the governor-elect. Talmadge was known for his opposition to civil rights, ordering schools to be closed rather than desegregated.

Irán Eory was an Iranian-Spaniard and Mexican actress and former model.

Carolina Fadic Maturana was an actress and television presenter from Chile. She started her career when she was only 19 years old, when she was chosen by the director Vicente Sabatini to star in his successful productions of the 1990s. She played the main role in the telenovelas Rompecorazón (1994), Estúpido cupido (1995), Oro verde (1997), Algo está cambiando (1999) and Sabor a ti (2000), since then it began to be considered as one of the most profitable actresses in the television industry. Her debut in cinema was with the film La rubia de Kennedy by director Arnaldo Valsecchi, and her last film was Antonia (2001). On television, she was also one of the hosts of the entertainment program Primer plano. Fadic died on October 12, 2002, due to a stroke, while she was at the height of her career when only was 28 years old. Her unexpected death caused grief and commotion in Chile.

Charles Rayne Kruger was a South African author and property developer.

Celso Augusto Daniel was the mayor in 2002 for the third time of the city of Santo André in São Paulo, Brazil, as a representative of the Workers' Party (PT). He was kidnapped and assassinated in the same year.

Esmeray Diriker was a Afro-Turkish singer.

Akleem Akhtar was the mistress of Army general and future military leader General Yahya Khan and was known as the country's most powerful woman during his regime.