List of Famous people who died in 2008

Ruslana Sergeyevna Korshunova was a Kazakh model of Russian descent. She established herself as a rising figure in the fashion industry by posing for magazines including Vogue and designers such as Vera Wang and Nina Ricci. Korshunova's unexpected death, killed under unexplained circumstances, became a longtime controversial subject of international attention.

Paul Benedict was an American actor who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in 1965. He was known for his roles as The Number Painter on the PBS children's show Sesame Street and as the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons.

Christine Joy Maggiore was an HIV-positive activist and promoter of HIV/AIDS denialism. She was the founder of Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives, an organization which disputes the link between HIV and AIDS and urges HIV-positive pregnant women to avoid anti-HIV medication. Maggiore authored and self-published the book What If Everything You Thought You Knew about AIDS Was Wrong?

Georgia Frontiere was an American businesswoman and entertainer. She was the majority owner and chairperson of the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams NFL team and the most prominent female owner in a league historically dominated by males.

Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham was the American maternal grandmother of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. She and her husband Stanley Armour Dunham raised Obama from age ten in their Honolulu apartment, where on November 2, 2008, she died two days before her grandson was elected President.

Ofelia "Lia" Maivia was a Samoan professional wrestling promoter. She is credited as one of the first female professional wrestling promoters. Maivia was the wife of Samoan professional wrestler Peter Maivia and the grandmother of actor and wrestler, Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock.

Gregory Lewis Burson was an American voice actor, best known as a replacement for voice actors Daws Butler and Mel Blanc following their deaths in 1988 and 1989, respectively.

Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi, known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was a Finnish-American actress and television personality who created the campy 1950s character Vampira.

Bernhard Caesar Einstein was a Swiss-American engineer, the son of Hans Albert Einstein. Of the three known biological grandchildren of Albert Einstein, all sons of Hans, he was the only one to survive childhood.

Luisa Isabel Alvarez de Toledo y Maura, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia, GE was the holder of the Dukedom of Medina Sidonia in Spain. She was nicknamed La Duquesa Roja or The Red Duchess due to her lifelong left-wing, anti-Francoist, pro-democracy political activism.