10 Final Interviews With Iconic Celebrities

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

“Hot & Bothered”

Actor and artist Malcolm-Jamal Warner led everything from wholesome comedies to heady dramas. Fans were devastated when he drowned during a holiday in 2025, aged 54. Two months prior, he talked with Melyssa Ford for over an hour about his career, life and personal philosophy. He also shared how his mother told him that his work granted him immortality. Still, Warner emphasized that he wanted to be remembered as a good person. This wasn’t the last we saw of him. Warner hosted the podcast “Not All Hood” until his passing. And in his final Instagram video, before doing “Hot & Bothered,” he reminded people that “there’s always a reason to smile.” That spirit is why this great talent will be remembered as a good person.

Anthony Bourdain

Popula

Celebrity chef and intellectual traveloguer Anthony Bourdain was thought to be the envy of everyone. The heartbreaking way in which he died raised public discourse about celebrity lifestyle and the realities of mental health. This was compounded after Popula editor Maria Bustillos published her interview with Bourdain one month after his passing. In two-and-a-half hours of promoting projects and decrying the state of politics and industries, he said that he found the luxuries of travel to be isolating. He instead preferred the little moments of taking in the world with his film crew and ordinary people. Even as things were getting to be too much, Bourdain affirmed to people that life itself is precious.

Michael Madsen

“Before the Fame”

Seven months before Michael Madsen died of cardiac arrest, he was featured on the celebrity profile show “Before the Fame with Mike Sherman.” The interview dove deep into a distinguished acting career and turbulent life, which included domestic scandals and struggles with substance use. Madsen was candid about the challenges in reconciling a “positive personal life” with the pressures of celebrity. He said that there were things he wished he could have done differently, but that there's no point in thinking about that. Madsen’s final in-depth interview puts into perspective that it's better to remember the complexities of this man and the impact of his work.

Matthew Perry

“Q with Tom Power”

For all the joy that comedic actor Matthew Perry brought, he accepted that he represented the burdens of substance use disorder. He brought this to his 2022 appearance on the CBC Radio show “Q” to promote the memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.” Perry explained plans to prioritize public service over acting, and that he most wanted to be remembered for helping others dealing with the same struggles as him. Less than a year later, he drowned amid a dependency on ketamine that was criminally supplied by physicians. It was a tragic epilogue to Perry’s last public appearances. Nonetheless, his work continues to provide people with humor and hope.

Betty White

People

Few acting careers have had the longevity and consistency of Betty White’s. Every generation mourned when she passed away in 2021, a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. This ironically happened just three days after People magazine published a profile piece on the major milestone. The glowing career retrospective featured White boasting about her good health and good attitude. She was as witty as ever, proving to be a riot who was full of life up to the very end. That says a lot more about White’s beloved life and career than about how long they lasted.

John Wayne

“Good Morning America”

In 1979, one of classic Hollywood’s biggest stars and most polarizing political figures told all to Barbara Walters of ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The 71-year-old John Wayne spoke humbly about his career and reputation as a figure of masculinity. He also clashed with Walters over his views on left-wing politics as rigid and socially corrosive. Wayne felt he was at an age that valued honesty and simply enjoying the time he had left. Time ran out for the idol dubbed “Duke” six months after this controversial interview aired. Three years later, the patriotic ABC special “I Love Liberty” featured an outtake in which Wayne championed his and Jane Fonda’s right to free speech. Besides Wayne's talent, that's something worth believing in.

Kurt Cobain

Madhouse

The month he joined the 27 Club, Nirvana’s frontman gave Madhouse magazine an interview to sum up his life, art and personality. Kurt Cobain was colorfully blunt about everything from the contemporary music industry to his racy marriage to Courtney Love. He even laughed off the notion of Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl wanting to become a singer-songwriter himself. Cobain waxed more romantic about being a father, but also about his substance use disorder. This intensified the mental health struggles that led to his death shortly after this ironically lively conversation. As important as his brief but high-pressure career was, Cobain maintained that it was in “the small things” that he found true happiness.

Yul Brynner

“Good Morning America”

The towering Yul Brynner wanted the world to know how fragile he had become before his passing in 1985. The actor’s lifetime of tobacco use contributed to the cancer he knew he would soon die from when he talked to ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He then only wanted to star in an anti-smoking campaign, wherein he would say, [“Now that I'm gone, I tell you: Don't smoke. Whatever you do, just don't smoke.”] So in his last professional act, Brynner collaborated with the American Cancer Society to isolate that clip for commercials that aired after his death. This important message is all anyone remembers from Brynner’s final interview. Thankfully, there are many other strong-willed appearances to remember him by.

John Lennon

Rolling Stone

The revolutionary musician John Lennon spoke to the revolutionary music magazine Rolling Stone for nine hours on December 5th, 1980. He was murdered just three days later. Jonathon Cott had not yet finished transcribing his interview, which he ultimately worked into an obituary. The full conversation was finally published 30 years later, profiling a private husband and father who was preparing for a comeback after releasing his first album in five years. Lennon spoke at length about the creative process, humanist philosophies and family that would define his legacy. In the decades since it was conducted, and the years since it was published, that fateful interview is as resonant a swan song as ever.

Marilyn Monroe

LIFE

In 1962, actress Marilyn Monroe’s mental health struggles shut down production on “Something's Got to Give.” She then sat down with the editor of LIFE magazine to extensively discuss the situation and her career. One particularly poignant quote reads, “I now live in my work and in a few relationships with the few people I can really count on. Fame will go by, and, so long, I’ve had you fame.” Richard Meryman's “A Last Talk with a Lonely Girl” was published 13 days after Monroe died of an overdose. The article has since become an important piece in discussions about depression and celebrity culture. But it's just as important to remember the iconic artist behind those final words.

Who are some other celebrities whose legacy was captured in their last sit-downs? Sit down with us in the comments below