List of Famous people who died in 2013

Donald Walbridge Shirley was an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. He recorded many albums for Cadence Records during the 1950s and 1960s, experimenting with jazz with a classical influence. He wrote organ symphonies, piano concerti, a cello concerto, three string quartets, a one-act opera, works for organ, piano and violin, a symphonic tone poem based on the 1939 novel Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, and a set of "Variations" on the 1858 opera Orpheus in the Underworld.

Jesús Hector Gutiérrez Rebollo was a Mexican military general who was sentenced to 40 years in prison on multiple charges, including involvement in organized crime in the late nineties.

Cory Allan Michael Monteith was a Canadian actor, singer, and musician best known for his role as Finn Hudson on the Fox television series Glee. As an actor based in British Columbia, Monteith had minor roles on television series before being cast on Glee. During his success on the show, he also acted in films. Monteith's film work included Monte Carlo and a starring role in Sisters & Brothers.

Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer, who shot mostly arthouse pictures but gained mainstream popularity with the crime drama Brother (1997) and its more action-oriented sequel, Brother 2 (2000), both of which starred Sergei Bodrov, Jr. as Danila Bagrov. Brother was successful both at the box office and in video copies, achieving wide popularity in Russia. Later, however, Balabanov became better known for his films Cargo 200 (2007) and Morphine (2008). A hugely controversial figure, Balabanov was often accused of both Russian nationalism (Brother 2, War) and Russophobia (Cargo 200, The Stoker), as well as general misanthropy. Due to his personal and political controversy, grotesque style, dark humour, shocking naturalism, genre deconstruction, and balancing between art cinema and mainstream he was often compared to Lars von Trier, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Coen brothers, and Takeshi Kitano.

Aaron Hillel Swartz was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist. He was involved in the development of the web feed format RSS, the Markdown publishing format, the organization Creative Commons, and the website framework web.py, and joined the social news site Reddit six months after its founding. He was given the title of co-founder of Reddit by Y Combinator owner Paul Graham after the formation of Not a Bug, Inc.. Swartz's work also focused on civic awareness and activism. He helped launch the Progressive Change Campaign Committee in 2009 to learn more about effective online activism. In 2010, he became a research fellow at Harvard University's Safra Research Lab on Institutional Corruption, directed by Lawrence Lessig. He founded the online group Demand Progress, known for its campaign against the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in April 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until 2012.

Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp was a South African model and paralegal. She modelled for FHM magazine and was the first face of Avon cosmetics in South Africa. Steenkamp once worked as the live roaming presenter for FashionTV in South Africa and starred in television advertisements for Toyota Land Cruiser, Clover "The One", Redds and Aldor Pin Pop. She was a celebrity contestant on the BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012 and on Tropika Island of Treasure season 5 which aired on SABC 3 in February 2013.

Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix was a Mexican drug lord and former leader of the Tijuana Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. He was the oldest of seven brothers and headed the criminal organization early in the 1990s alongside them. Through his brother Benjamín, Francisco Rafael joined the Tijuana Cartel in 1989 following the arrest of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, one of the most prominent drug czars in Mexico during the 1980s. When the Arellano Félix took control of the organization in the early 1990s, tensions with the rival Sinaloa Cartel prompted violent attacks and slayings from both fronts.

Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahid was an Afghan cleric, Islamist partisan fighter and political leader. He founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) in 1994 and served as its first leader until his death, including as the head of its government from 1996 to 2001. His death, however, remained concealed until July 2015, during which time the Taliban continued to issue statements in his name. Known for his reclusivity, he was a mythical and revered figure within the Taliban.

Andrei Vladimirovich Panin was a Nika Award-winner Russian actor appearing in film and television, and a director.