RIP

Richard Branson is opening up about the death of his beloved wife ... revealing Joan -- who he'd been with for 50 years -- passed away after suffering a back injury.

The British business tycoon wrote an emotional tribute to Joan on Instagram, saying she was hospitalized in England while recovering from her back problems. Richard said he was recovering in the same hospital from injuries he suffered in a separate bike accident in India.

Richard said they laughed about "how typical it was for them to end up on the same floor" of the hospital ... and enjoyed a "lovely lunch" just before her death.

Tragedy has struck Richard Branson's family -- he's just announced his wife of 50 years, Joan, has died.

Richard shared the heartbreaking news Tuesday on IG ... posting a photo of Joan and calling her the "most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for."

He went on to say she was his best friend, rock, guiding light and his entire world … signing off with, "Love you forever, Joan x."

Sawyer Sweeten left a lasting impression on his fans through his acting work ... and his former "Everybody Loves Raymond" castmates are no exception.

The late actor -- who died by suicide in 2015 when he was just 19 years old -- was remembered fondly by the hit sitcom's surviving cast members during the show's 30th anniversary reunion special, which aired Monday night.

The show's star, Ray Romano, broached the topic by asking Sawyer's siblings Madylin and Sullivan -- both of whom also starred in the sitcom -- for permission to speak about their late brother, which they were okay with, according to the New York Post.

Romano said the show's cast and crew all miss Sawyer ... Sullivan said he tried to focus on the good times he shared with his brother -- many of which happened during filming.

Sullivan said no one thought Sawyer would have chosen to die by suicide. Madylin said she thought it was "important" to bring up her brother's death in any conversation related to the late actor, who portrayed character Geoffrey Barone in the hit sitcom.

She said her family is heavily involved in suicide prevention efforts in memory of her brother.

Madylin said her family received several messages from people whose lives had taken a turn for the better.

Simon Cowell’s speaking out about Liam Payne ... saying the loss hit him hard -- but you can’t pin someone's life on a guy 10 years after he signed them to a music deal.

"The X Factor" mogul addressed the chatter that he somehow played a role in Liam’s death last year ... saying he doesn’t read that stuff because he’s not into self-torture, and honestly, the fact that people were blaming him? He just wasn’t having it.

Simon told Rolling Stone he recently spoke with Liam’s parents -- who said the singer kept gushing about how proud he was of everything he’d achieved since soaring to fame with One Direction at age 14.

Jill Freud, a British actress who provided C.S. Lewis with the inspiration for Lucy Pevensie in "The Chronicles of Narnia," has died.

Jill's daughter Emma Curtis announced her death Monday, posting ... “My beautiful 98-year-old mum has taken her final bow. After a loving evening -- where we knew she was on her way -- surrounded by children, grandchildren and pizza, she told us all to f*** off so she could go to sleep. And then she never woke up. Her final words were ‘I love you.’”

Born June Flewett, Jill moved in with C.S. Lewis and his companion, Jane Moore, when she was just 16 after evacuating London to escape The Blitz bombing by Nazi Germany. She stayed with them at their country house as a housekeeper, and eventually Lewis based the youngest Pevensie kid, Lucy, on her.

"90 Day Fiancé" star Elizabeth Castravet announced the death of her father, Chuck Potthast, in an Instagram post Sunday.

The reality television star wrote her father died two weeks ago and her family's been "completely shattered."

One of Elizabeth's sisters, Rebekah Lichtwerch, also paid tribute to her late father on Instagram, writing her world has been "distorted into a place I don’t understand."

Chuck Potthast -- who appeared in several episodes of "90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?" -- had been open about his struggles with his health ... in one episode of the show, he urged his daughter to patch up her differences with family members.

His family has not yet released the cause of his death.

Chuck posted a health update on Instagram in September, revealing he underwent an 8-hour surgery to repair a hernia and a collapsed stomach.

Chuck took the surgery in stride and jokingly pointed out the procedure left him with a flat stomach.

Chuck Potthast was 64 years old.

Dharmendra, one of Bollywood's most enduring leading men, died in Mumbai on Monday.

The actor's cause of death wasn't released to the public. He'd spent time in and out of the hospital in the weeks prior to his death, according to The New York Times.

Dharmendra appeared in romance films at the start of his career in the 1960s and later branched out into action and comedy-centric projects.

Dharmendra was elected to the lower house of the Indian Parliament in 2004, and later spoke of his regret about getting into politics.

Several of Dharmendra's children followed him into acting, including his sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol from his first wife, Prakash Kaur.

He married his frequent costar Hema Malini in 1980, and they welcomed two children, one of whom -- daughter Esha -- became an actress.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the late actor on X, writing Dharmendra's death marked the "end of an era in Indian cinema."

Dharmendra was 89.

Erika Kirk says she desperately hoped she was carrying another one of Charlie Kirk’s children on the heels of his assassination.

Charlie’s widow sat down with Megyn Kelly ... revealing she was “praying to God that I was pregnant when he got murdered.”

Erika and Charlie share two kids, but she says they planned to have four, and were excited about growing their family.

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff has died, his wife Latifa Chambers announced Monday.

Latifa wrote ... “It’s with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia. I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him,”

She continued ... “To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love. I also wanted to thank Dr. Couceyro and the whole medical staff, as they have been extremely supportive and helpful during this difficult process.”

Actor Udo Kier — who landed famous roles in “My Own Private Idaho” and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," has died.

His partner, Delbert McBride, confirmed to Variety that Kier passed away Sunday.  His close friend, Michael Childers, posted on Facebook Kier died in a hospital in Palm Springs, California. A cause of death was not released.

The German-born actor had a long and illustrious Hollywood career, spanning decades with over 250 credits from 1966 to 2025. His final role was as Hans in "The Secret Agent."

MMA Fighter Isaac Johnson has died after being injured during a match near Chicago Friday night.

NBC 5 Chicago reports Johnson collapsed after suffering an injury during his fight against Mario Aleksandrovski at Cicero Stadium.

An ambulance was called to the stadium at 8:38 PM local time to transport “an injured fighter” to the hospital ... and Johnson passed away a few hours later, just after midnight.

Celeste Rivas's body had been frozen, and as a result, it looks the L.A. County Medical Examiner will not be able to establish a cause of death ... sources directly connected to the investigation tell TMZ.

According to those sources, the medical examiner received the body in horrendous condition ... it was decapitated, and, while the torso was intact, the limbs had been removed and cut into multiple pieces.

We're told all of the body parts were "partially frozen" ... and had, apparently, been thawing out while sitting in the trunk of D4vd's Tesla.

Remember, D4vd's vehicle had not been moved for several days when it was parked on a Hollywood Hills street near his rental home ... which resulted in it getting towed, and then the body being found.

Rodney Rogers -- a basketball star who shined in college and went on to have a productive NBA career -- has died ... his alma mater, Wake Forest University announced.

WFU's athletic department released a statement from Rodney's wife, Faye, Saturday morning ... stating Rogers passed away peacefully Friday surrounded by loved ones.

Faye mentions Rodney rising above adversity -- he was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a 2008 ATV accident -- keeping upbeat and joyful despite all his challenges. Faye did not reveal a cause of death.

Jellybean Johnson -- best known for being a founding member of Prince's band The Time -- has died.

Jellybean -- real name Garry George Johnson -- died suddenly Friday night, his family tells TMZ. The cause of death is currently unknown.

Aside from being the one and only drummer in The Time -- which later changed its name to Morris Day and the Time and the Original 7ven -- the late musician is known for being a leading innovator in what became known as the Minneapolis Sound -- a funk, rock and soul movement in the 1970s and '80s.

Anna Kepner's ex has come forward with harrowing new details about the final moments of her life ... alleging she was involved in a heated confrontation with her 16-year-old stepbrother before her death.

Joshua Tew -- who described Anna as his first love during a new interview with Inside Edition -- said her 14-year-old brother Connor told him about a nasty fight she was allegedly in with her stepsibling in the cabin they all were sharing aboard Carnival's Horizon ship.

Anna and the unnamed brother were allegedly inside the locked cabin ... and according to Joshua, Connor could hear him "yelling at her in a harmful way." Joshua was told the stepsibling even yelled at her to "shut the hell up." There was also some "banging around" heard in the room ... including what the brother believes were chairs being thrown.

Beloved Italian singer Ornella Vanoni, whose international hits include "Senza Fine" and "L’appuntamento," has died.

Vanoni died from cardiac arrest at her home in Milan, Italy, according to Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sadness following the news, remembering Vanoni’s "unmistakable voice" and her contribution to Italian arts on X.