gone too soon - female stars who died aged 17 to 41 years

Romina Yan was born on 5 September 1974 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress and writer, known for Chiquititas: Rincón de luz (2001), Amor mío (2005) and Chiquititas (1995). She was married to Darío Giordano. She died on 28 September 2010 in Acassuso, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Rabbit Yang was born on 17 September 1987 in Taipei, Taiwan. She was an actress, known for The New World (2015), Flavor of Life (2013) and Love Family (2013). She died on 18 July 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Natalya Yunnikova was born on 25 February 1980 in Lipetsk, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Pautina (2007), Vozvrashchenie Mukhtara 8 (2012) and Vozvrashchenie Mukhtara 5 (2009). She was married to Anton Fedotov. She died on 25 September 2017 in Moscow, Russia.

Mia Zapata grew up listening to Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles and Hank Williams. She was also a gifted poet and artist. In the fall of 1986, she formed a rock band called The Gits with three classmates at Antioch College in Ohio. In 1989, they relocated to Seattle, where grunge rock and street punk was burgeoning. The Gits quickly gained popularity in the Seattle music scene of the early 1990s, and major record labels took notice. But just as The Gits were poised to explode onto the national music scene, tragedy struck. On July 7, 1993, Mia was raped and murdered while walking home. Her murder remained unsolved for a decade, prompting numerous conspiracy theories, including that she was killed by a rival band, stalked by a rabid fan, or that a Satanic cult was involved. Finally, using old DNA evidence, a Cuban drifter was convicted in 2004 of Mia's murder and is serving a 37-year sentence.

The Seattle music community had been shattered by death many times in the early 1990s. In 1990, Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdose. In 1991, local poet Jesse Bernstein shot himself. Stefanie Sargent of 7 Year Bitch overdosed in 1992. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana committed suicide in 1994. All of these deaths altered the local music scene, but because Mia's death was a homicide, her memory in particular haunted the community. Many bands broke up after her murder, and her posters still hang in clubs and cafés.

In response to her murder, friends created a women's self-defense group called Home Alive, which produces fundraising concerts and CDs with the participation of Seattle's music elite, including Pearl Jam, Heart, and the Presidents of the United States. Joan Jett recorded an album with the surviving members of The Gits.

Lena Zavaroni was born on the 4th of November in the town of Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, just off the West coast of Scotland. Although Scottish, her family was of Scottish and Italian descent and she grew up in a musical environment, performing at an early age. As a ten year old, she appeared on the Thames Television talent show Opportunity Knocks (1956) at the end of 1973 where she topped the viewers voting polls for five weeks. Her recording of 'Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me' was rush released and early in 1974 reached #10 in the British charts as well as making the US charts. This secured her a place as the youngest-ever artist to appear on BBC Television's Top of the Pops (1964) show. Other singles such as '(You've Got) Personality' (#33 on the UK chart), 'Some of These Days'and 'Smile' as well as albums followed. Notable LPs included 'If My Friends Could See Me Now' and 'Presenting Lena Zavaroni', released in 1977 and including her versions of Dawn's 'Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose' and the Lynsey de Paul song 'Won't Somebody Dance With Me'.

Live performances quickly followed, including a show-stopping performance in a Hollywood charity show starring Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball as well as guest-starring on the The Carol Burnett Show (1967). She was even invited to go to the White House to sing for President Gerald Ford in 1974 and performed in the 1976 'Royal Variety Show'.

Notable TV appearances included The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968), Hi! Summer (1977), The Val Doonican Show (1970) and her own TV series called 'Lena Zavaroni and Music', the first of which was screened on BBC Television in May 1979. Sadly, Lena developed anorexia and spent many years fighting this devastating disease until she died in 1999.

Formed in 2006, Those Darlins was a Rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The group released three albums, their self-titled debut "Those Darlins" in 2009, "Screws Get Loose" in 2011, and "Blur the Line" in 2013. The band also owns and operates its own record label, "Oh Wow Dang Records". The group disbanded in 2016 when founding member, and lead singer, Jessi Zazu Wariner, fell ill. Zazu died in 2017.

Diana Zvereva-Balyuk was born on 1 April 1979 in Pushkino, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Zolotaya golova na plakhe (2005) and Istoriya Vesennego Prizyva (2003). She was married to Konstantin Voroshilov. She died on 27 September 2009 in Moscow, Russia.

Irina Metlitskaya was born on 5 October 1961 in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Ransom (1986), Melodrama s pokusheniem na ubiystvo (1992) and A Little Doll (1988). She was married to Sergey Gazarov. She died on 5 June 1997 in Moscow, Russia.

Nadira was born in 1961 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. She was an actress, known for Miss Allah Rakhi (1989), Puttar Jaggay Da (1990) and Mafroor (1988). She died on 6 August 1995 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

Roxanne Kernohan greatly enlivened a handful of hugely enjoyable late 80s horror, science fiction and exploitation pictures. Born on March 20th in 1960, Kernohan first began acting in the late 80s. She portrayed a victim in the crummy slasher dud "Fatal Pulse" and a feisty warrior woman in the deliciously cheesy post-nuke sci-fi flick "Phoenix the Warrior." Roxanne played sex workers in both "Angel III: The Final Chapter" and the campy "Not of This Earth" remake. Kernohan's most memorable screen role was a "Playboy" centerfold which comes to life (complete with staple in her stomach!) in "Critters 2: The Main Course." She had a small part in the big budget mainstream buddy cop action movie "Tango and Cash." Roxanne appeared as herself in the funny "Scream Queen Hot Tub Party," the excellent "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years," and the steamy "Playboy: Sexy Lingerie." Roxanne Kernohan died at the tragically young age of 32 from injuries acquired in an automobile accident on February 5th, 1993.

Darya Yegorycheva was born on 13 May 1981 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Tyomnaya noch (2004), Moya granitsa (2002) and Glukhar (2008). She died on 21 February 2019 in Moscow, Russia.

Natacha Jaitt was born on 13 August 1977 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was married to Adrián Yospe. She died on 23 February 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Saphira Indah was born on 26 July 1986 in Bandung, Indonesia. She was an actress, known for Eiffel I'm in Love 2 (2018) and Uka-Uka the Movie: Nini Tulang (2019). She was married to Suami Pertama and Ai Rico Hidros Daeng. She died on 30 January 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Trisha Graybill, a native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sprang onto the Philadelphia acting and theater scene in 2006 with acclaimed roles in over a dozen recently-produced independent films and plays - most notably Project Twenty1 Film Festival's "Between The Blinds" (Best Directed, Best Acting Nominee), "The Rise & Fall Of Tobias" (Audience Choice Award), and "Total Rewrite" (Audience Choice Award); and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival's "The Acting Class".

Her decade plus break from the craft afforded her numerous life experiences, including the thanklessness of corporate finance and a week-long trauma-induced coma.. Her characters have ranged from flighty and fun to somber and expressionless - a roller derby gal to a marionette. Her work can be seen on the small screen, from local Philadelphia- and Atlantic City-area based television productions to national spots on QVC and Turner Broadcasting's truTV. She also graced the covers of numerous paperback novels and magazines.

A actress who grew up in Illinois, Nicole Clitman (aka Holly Hanson) traveled the country singing for a non-profit organization before making her debut in adult movies. A music major at Milliken University in Decatur with a minor in vocal performance, Clitman sang opera and also played the flute for eight years. Clitman made her porn debut in May 2016, performing in 46 titles over the course of the next three years.

It has not been revealed for certain where Arcadia Lake was born, where she went to school or where she died. Ron Jeremy has said she was teaching a college physical education aerobics class before beginning her adult film career. In Show World--a Times Square sex emporium--around 1977, she met Eric Edwards while dancing on the live stage. He claimed to have helped her stop using cocaine while she performed in films with him. He also said she was able to leave a methadone treatment program with his help. They were said to have married in 1980, but jealousies and disagreements followed regarding his multiple partnerships. Of course, without methadone, it was more difficult for her to stay off of cocaine. The money she earned from her successful porn career and her troubled marriage only fueled her return to her habit. Director Carter Stevens, a director of photography on many of her early films, said she "had the most beautiful, clear porcelain skin" complexion he had ever seen. Arcadia had such a clean, wholesome look in her films it was difficult to imagine that she had any drug problems at all. Rumors about her 1991 death range from her being the victim of a Mafia murder to her having faked her death so she could leave the porn world and take a new--and more respectable--name and career. Wherever she might be now, her beautiful dark, jet black hair and unforgettable sweet smile could live forever in the dreams of her fans.

While best known for her role in Debbie Does Dallas (1978), most aficionados agree that her best films were Secrets of a Willing Wife (1979)--in which she played a cook who seemed not connected to the film's main plot--Honey Throat (1980) and Summertime Blue (1979).

Suzanne Jerome was born on 21 January 1960 in Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Octopussy (1983), Mixed Doubles (1985) and The Comic Strip Presents (1982). She died on 4 December 1986 in Cornwall, England, UK.

A dancer and model before entering the porn business in 1993, Kristi Lynn's on-screen persona was that of the regal, aloof "ice queen" who, before the video was over, had turned into a full-on nympho, taking on any and all comers.

Many of her films were made for producer/director John Stagliano, who also became her boyfriend. The relationship ended in 1995. According to friends, even though she and Stagliano continued to live together after the breakup, Kristi apparently didn't take it well. She became severely depressed and began drinking heavily.

On December 4, 1995, she and a girlfriend were returning from a night of partying and drinking and were speeding on a twisting road near Calabasas, California, when she lost control of the car, which flew off the road and plunged down a 150-foot ravine. Both she and her passenger were killed.

Ylenia Carrisi was born on 29 November 1970 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress, known for Champagne in paradiso (1984), La ruota della fortuna (1987) and Verstehen Sie Spaß? (1980). She died on 31 December 1993 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Mariya Zubareva was born on 24 February 1962 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Velikiy muravinyy put (1992), Genialnaya ideya (1991) and Mordashka (1990). She was married to Igor Shavlak and Boris Kiner. She died on 23 November 1993 in Moscow, Russia.

Anne Caudry was born on 28 May 1957 in Cambrai, France. She was an actress, known for The Unburdening (1983), Bolero (1981) and Heart to Heart (1979). She died on 23 August 1991 in Paris, France.

Anastasiya Ivanova was born on 24 July 1958 in Adler, Armenian SSR, USSR. She was an actress, known for U popa byla sobaka... (1993), Malchiki (1991) and Ne mogu skazat 'proshchay' (1982). She was married to Boris Nevzorov. She died on 3 June 1993 in Moscow, Russia.

Carolin van Bergen was born on 27 March 1964 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Segeln macht frei (1986), The Country Doctor (1987) and Detektivbüro Roth (1986). She was married to Kay Sabban. She died on 26 October 1990 in Hamburg, Germany.

Marieluise Claudius was born on 6 January 1912 in Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen [now Thuringia], Germany. She was an actress, known for Pan (1937), Peer Gynt (1934) and King August the Strong (1936). She died on 2 August 1941 in Berlin, Germany.

La Jana was the stage name of the brunette Viennese-born actress and exotic dancer Henriette 'Henny' Hiebel. She was trained as a ballerina for ten years and first performed at the Frankfurt Kinderoper at the age of eight. Of boyishly slim build, she appeared on stage in cabaret in 1921. Soon after, she was reputedly discovered for the screen by the director Géza von Cziffra at the Chat Noir cabaret in Paris. She received good publicity from a successful tour of Britain, during which the press alternately touted her as being Spanish or Hungarian. The build-up continued with glamour photographs for Vogue magazine. Movies followed and La Jana hit the big time with Truxa (1937) (dancing on a giant tambourine) and The Stars Shine (1938). Propelled to instant stardom, she came to represent oriental or Latin mystery and allure as the scantily-clad heroines of The Tiger of Eschnapur (1938), Das indische Grabmal (1938) (as the high priestess of a cult) and Stern von Rio (1940).

Her life ended tragically young at the very peak of her popularity. She died of pneumonia at the age of 35, a fact which rather cemented her cult status. Since she left few personal notes, little of La Jana's life is known. This has given life to unverified rumours and scuttlebutt. One fanciful story has it that she aided in the escape from Nazi Germany of Jewish acting colleagues and was consequently murdered by the SS.

La Jana was married to the opera star Michael Bohnen and was said to have previously been romantically involved with Wilhelm, the last Crown Prince of the former German Empire.