You've heard the old cliche: Stars: They're just like us!
Celebrities might be in the spotlight, but on any given day, you can find them buying coffee, reading the paper, and performing any number of routine tasks. And, just like us regular folks, all celebrities eventually take a permanent vacation to that deluxe apartment in the sky. Sometimes it's tragic, and other times it's a long time coming, but either way, we miss them.
If you've ever found yourself wondering about the final resting places of some of your favorite celebs, look no further. Here are 20 big-time celebrity graves (and some interesting facts about them, too!)
#1. Princess Diana
Like the other members of her family, Princess Diana is buried on a private island in the middle of a lake owned by the estate. For outsiders who want to pay their respects, a pillar was also constructed in her name.
#2. Frank Sinatra
Old Blue Eyes famously left this world with the parting words "I'm losing," before succumbing to a heart attack. His marker reads "The Best is Yet to Come," and he was buried with a bottle of Jack Daniels and pack of cigarettes, which are Rat Pack essentials (even in the afterlife).
#3. Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston's death was a surprisingly difficult blow to the music industry. To memorialize her, her grave is heart-shaped and is inscribed with phrases such as "The Voice" and "I Will Always Love You." Houston is buried next to her father.
#4. Edgar Allen Poe
Though he's long gone, Edgar Allen Poe still gets an important visitor at his grave. The Poe Toaster is said to be a mysterious figure who left cognac at Poe's grave, as well as notes for visitors, since the 1940s! Up until 2012, the identity of the Poe Toaster was widely debated but never determined - but it was that year that the visits suddenly stopped. The Poe Toaster hasn't been heard from since.
#5. Selena
The Hispanic pop idol was famously murdered by the head of her fan club at age 23. Her elaborate grave is located in Corpus Christi, Texas, the same city where she was killed.
#6. Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison died tragically young at 27 of a drug overdose in Paris. It is there that his body remains to this day. His father designed his grave marker, which says "ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ." Translated roughly from Greek, this means "faithful to his own spirit."
#7. Elvis Presley
The King's body was moved to Graceland after vandals kept disturbing his original final resting place. Now part of the Graceland tour, over a half a million people have been to see him, even if its just in spirit.
#8. Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee might have some of the most dedicated fans in the world. For example, three Mongolians traveled nearly 4,000 miles to get a glimpse of the action star's grave (it took them seven months!) The cause of Lee's death was controversial, but his legacy lives on at the Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle.
#9. Jules Verne
Famous science fiction writer Jules Verne has a sculpture of himself, emerging from the underworld, alongside his grave.
#10. James Dean
James Dean died at the mere age of 24, a fatality in a terrible car accident. For years, his gravesite was vandalized and even stolen - Once, it was even left in the middle of the road and discovered when a police officer hit it with his car! Dean now lies peacefully in Indiana - for now.
#11. Michael Jackson
In the Great Mausoleum of the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, lies the body of the King of Pop. The site has only ever been open to the public once.
#12. Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly's body was laid to rest in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, but there is a memorial to him constructed in the cornfield where his plane crashed. The memorial trail begins with a large sculpture of Holly's iconic glasses.
#13. Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe's grave is surprisingly sparse for a woman who led such a grandiose life. Located in a cemetery near UCLA, Monroe's grave is simple and adorned with only her name.
#14. Bob Marley
Bob Marley is buried in Jamaica, and the country celebrates his birthday as a national holiday. On February 6th of each years, a huge music festival is held near his grave. Something tells me that Marley would be proud.
#15. John Belushi
John Belushi's tombstone is on Martha's Vineyard, complete with a very Belushi-esque epitaph: "I may be gone, but Rock-and-Roll lives on." However, vandalism prompted Belushi's wife to move his body to an unmarked plot nearby (although the stone remains in the same spot).
#16. Robin Williams
Robin Williams was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the San Francisco Bay. However, his fans wanted to create a memorial to the troubled actor. The result was an homage to Williams on the bench the actor sat on in his famous role in Good Will Hunting.
#17. John Lennon
John Lennon's memorial is called Strawberry Fields, and in it located in a peaceful section of Central Park. The name of the site comes from his famous song "Strawberry Fields Forever." Fans come from all across the world to visit Lennon's memorial.
#18. Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway committed suicide in Ketchum, Idaho. He is buried close by: He and his wife's graves are marked by two grey flat stones lying between four tall pine trees.
#19. Johnny Cash
Some say that singing Johnny Cash died of a broken heart - he passed away just four months after his wife, June Carter. The two were buried in a cemetery near his former home in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
#20. Tupac Shakur
Tupac's memorial site is located at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts Peace Garden. The rapper's death prompted a lot of conspiracy theories, but fans who believe Shakur is really gone can come here to pay their respects.
Were you surprised by any of these? Which celebrity memorial site would you like to visit?
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