List of Famous people who died in 2003

Lev Efimovich Kerbel was a sculptor of Soviet realist works. Kerbel's creations included statues of Marx, Lenin, Yuri Gagarin, which were sent by Soviet Government as gifts to socialist and the Third World countries across the world.

Barry Eugene Carter, better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer and composer.

James Carter was an American singer. He was born a Mississippi sharecropper and as a young man was several times an inmate of the Mississippi prison system. He was paid $20,000, and credited, for a four-decade-old lead-vocalist performance in a prison work song used in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Soong Mei-ling or, legally, Soong May-ling, also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo and President Chiang Kai-shek. Soong played a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China and was the sister-in-law of Sun Yat-sen, the founder and the leader of the Republic of China. She was active in the civic life of her country and held many honorary and active positions, including chairwoman of Fu Jen Catholic University. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, she rallied her people against the Japanese invasion; and in 1943 conducted an eight-month speaking tour of the United States of America to gain support. Her life traversed three centuries.

Maxine Daniels was an English jazz singer who worked with Humphrey Lyttelton.

Jonathan Paul Luna was an American lawyer found dead under mysterious circumstances in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania while serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland. Luna had been stabbed 36 times with his own pocketknife and then drowned in a creek next to his car in rural Lancaster County. Investigations have proven inconclusive, and there is debate on whether Luna's death was murder or suicide.

Roberto Pisani Marinho was a Brazilian businessman who was the owner of media conglomerate Grupo Globo from 1925 to 2003, and during this period expanded the company from newspapers to radio and television.

Harivansh Rai Bachchan was an Indian poet of the Nayi Kavita literary movement of early 20th century Hindi literature. He was also a poet of the Hindi Kavi Sammelan. He is best known for his early work Madhushala. He is also the husband of social activist, Teji Bachchan, father of Amitabh Bachchan and grandfather of Abhishek Bachchan. In 1976, he received the Padma Bhushan for his service to Hindi literature.

Jean-Luc Lagardère was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardère Group, one of the largest French conglomerates.

Arthur William Matthew Carney was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Carney was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the sitcom The Honeymooners (1955–1956).