List of Famous people who died in 2015

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist and politician who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III was an American politician, lawyer, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. He was the eldest of three children from the marriage of U.S. President Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden. He served as the 44th Attorney General of Delaware and was a Major in the Delaware Army National Guard.

Mario Matthew Cuomo was an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1979 to 1982 and Secretary of State of New York from 1975 to 1978. He was the father of current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo.

Wesley Earl Craven was an American filmmaker, actor, and novelist. He was known for his pioneering work in the horror genre, particularly slasher films, where he mixed horror cliches with humor and satire. His impact on the genre was considered prolific and highly influential. Due to the success and cultural impact of his works, Craven has been called a "Master of Horror".

Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982.

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, was an English actor, singer and author. With a career spanning nearly seven decades, Lee was well known for portraying villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a sequence of Hammer Horror films. His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (2002–2005), and Saruman in both the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and the Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014).

Muhammad al-Fayturi, also spelled Muhammad al-Fītūrī, was a Sudanese–Libyan poet writer, poet, playwright, and ambassador.

Tirone José González Orama, known by his stage name Canserbero, was a Venezuelan hip hop singer and songwriter from Caracas. He is regarded as one of the most significant rappers in Latin America. Since he was young, he showed interest in music, mainly influenced by reggaeton but, after the murder of his half brother, his musical references changed to more critical genres such as hip hop and hard rock, appreciable in songs like "Es épico".

Jacqueline Jill Collins OBE was an English romance novelist. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times bestsellers list. Her books have sold more than 500 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages. Eight of her novels have been adapted for the screen, either as films or television miniseries. She was the younger sister of Dame Joan Collins.

Bobbi Kristina Brown was an American reality television personality, media personality, and singer. She was the daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Her parents' fame kept Brown in the public eye, including her appearances on the reality show Being Bobby Brown. Brown was 14 when her parents divorced and Houston gained custody. When Houston died in February 2012, Brown was the sole beneficiary of her mother's estate.

Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as Lemmy, was an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter and only continuous member of the British heavy metal band Motörhead.

Cynthia Powell Lennon was the first wife of John Lennon and the mother of Julian Lennon.

Yoram Jerzy Gross was a Polish-born Australian producer of children's and family entertainment. Internationally acclaimed for his films and television series, Gross established a worldwide reputation for the adaptation of children's characters from books and films to animation that won the hearts of children and adults worldwide. His company is best known for producing the films Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala and Dot and the Kangaroo.

Omar Sharif was an Egyptian film and television actor. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s, but is best known for his appearances in both British and American productions. His films include Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Funny Girl (1968). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Lawrence of Arabia. He won three Golden Globe Awards and a César Award.

Roderick George Toombs was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor, better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Leonard Simon Nimoy was an American actor, film director, photographer, author, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for playing Spock in the Star Trek franchise, a character he portrayed in television and film for almost fifty years, from a pilot episode shot in late 1964 to his final film performance in 2013.

Jonah Tali Lomu was a New Zealand rugby union player. He became the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. Playing on the wing Lomu finished his international career with 63 caps and 37 tries. He is regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby and consequently had a huge impact on the game. Lomu was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007, and the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011.

Scott Richard Weiland was an American musician, singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2002 and 2008 to 2013, making six records with them. He was also lead vocalist of supergroup Velvet Revolver from 2003 to 2008, recording two albums, and recorded one album with another supergroup, Art of Anarchy. Weiland established himself as a solo artist as well and collaborated with several other musicians throughout his career.

Kalief Browder was an African-American youth from The Bronx, New York, who was held at the Rikers Island jail complex, without trial, between 2010 and 2013 for allegedly stealing a backpack containing valuables. During his imprisonment, Browder was in solitary confinement for two years.

Francis Newton Gifford was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL), he was a play-by-play announcer and commentator for 27 years on ABC's Monday Night Football.