Making Sense of the Lucy Gordon Tragedy

Family Stunned After Rising Star Found Hanged; Left Two Suicide Notes

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Less than two weeks after British actress Lucy Gordon was found hanged in an apparent suicide, her family and friends are struggling to make sense of what drove the seemingly happy 28-year-old budding star to take her own life.

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Recent Star Tragedies

'Spider-Man 3' actress Lucy Gordon was found hanged in her Paris apartment on May 20. Her friends and family did not see it coming. "She had everything to go for," friend and photographer Michael Haddi said, but "she was hiding that turmoil inside. It's devastating. All of us have a tendency to want to kill ourselves, but there's a difference to think about it."

Evan Agostini, Getty Images

Gordon, who played a reporter in 'Spider-Man 3' and was in 'The Four Feathers' with Heath Ledger, had recently moved to Paris where she was living with an older man whom friends say she was madly in love with. Jerome Almeras, a father of four and in his 40s, had to cut his lover down after finding her hanging on the morning of May 20.

"Nobody can understand why she did this horrible thing," Almeras' teenage daughter Lucy told the Mail on Sunday. "I liked her so much and I didn't have enough time to tell her."

A neighbor said he heard Gordon and Almeras fighting the night before she died, but that he could be heard screaming "Why? Why?" in the morning.

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Lucy Gordon on Film >>

'The Last International Playboy'

'Spider-Man 3'

But her father, Richard Gordon, rejected any and all rumors that Almeras had anything to do with his daughter's death.

"Lucy committed suicide," he told the Evening Standard. "Police are not investigating anything else. There are no signs of a struggle."

He also revealed that Gordon, who was just days shy of her 29th birthday, had left a pair of suicide notes. "She has left a note to us and a letter detailing her last wishes regarding her own estate," he said, though he had not read them yet.

Gordon just wrapped shooting a film where she plays the actress and model Jane Birkin in a French biopic of singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg and fans remember her as television reporter Jennifer Dugan in the third installment of 'Spider-Man.'

Photographer Michael Haddi, who recently took photos of Gordon for Vanity Fair, recalled how smitten she seemed to be with how her career was going and with her new boyfriend.

"She had everything to go for," he said, but "she was hiding that turmoil inside. It's devastating. All of us have a tendency to want to kill ourselves, but there's a difference to think about it."

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Celebs Who Died Young

The accidental overdose death of Heath Ledger stunned the entertainment world in 2008. He went on to win a posthumous Oscar for his role as The Joker in 'The Dark Knight.' He was 28 when he passed away.

Carlo Allegri, Getty Images

One-time Oscar nominee River Phoenix was considered one of Hollywood's top, young talents when he died of heart failure brought on by drug use at 23.

Barry King, WireImage.com

'Rebel Without a Cause' star James Dean died at 24 in a car accident. While he only made three films, his death transformed him from a top young star to an icon.

Chris Farley was a breakout star on 'Saturday Night Live' who went on to make the hit films 'Tommy Boy' and 'Black Sheep.' He died of an accidental heroin and cocaine overdose at 33.

NBC / AP

Hip-hop master and promising film actor Tupac Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas at 25.

'Animal House' star and 'Saturday Night Live' legend John Belushi died of a heroin and cocaine overdose when he was 33.

NBC / AP

One of Hollywood's brightest stars, Marilyn Monroe, died of a drug overdose at 36. After her death, the 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' and 'Seven-Year Itch' star became even more of a Tinseltown icon.

Brandon Lee was accidentally killed by a faulty prop gun on the set of his first major film, 'The Crow,' when he was 28.

Barry King, WireImage.com

Sharon Tate, star of 'Valley of the Dolls, was murdered by followers of Charles Manson when she was just 26.

Keystone / Getty Images

Rebecca Schaeffer was the rising star of the television comedy 'My Sister Sam' when she was murdered by a delusional stalker at 21. Her death helped celebrities protect their private information.

2009-05-29 11:31:56

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