Celebrities Who Survived Multiple Near-Death Experiences

Being rich and famous doesn’t mean you’re untouchable. In fact, some stars have come dangerously close to the end — more than once. From freak accidents to freakier luck, these celebs could probably write survival guides at this point.

Johnny Depp’s Wild Rides
Johnny Depp has had more than his fair share of close calls. During the filming of The Rum Diary in Puerto Rico, he and the director were on a plane when the engine cut out mid-flight. Depp’s reaction? “Is this it?” He then laughed uncontrollably with the director — until the engine came back to life.

Not long after, while filming The Lone Ranger, Depp nearly got trampled by his own horse during a high-speed stunt. He fell underneath the galloping animal, but luckily, “the horse was very a-Depp-t at dodging clumsy actors.”

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Survival Trilogy
Leo DiCaprio has stared death in the face not once, not twice, but three times. First, a shark jumped into his cage while diving in South Africa. He hid at the bottom until it thrashed its way out.

“Fortunately, the beast thrashed its way free of the cage before anything other than DiCaprio’s desire to dive with sharks was hurt.” Next, while flying to Russia, one of the plane’s engines exploded.

“One engine… exploded like a comet.” Things got eerier when the crew shut down all the engines for a while. Thankfully, the plane landed safely at JFK. Then came skydiving. Both his main and backup parachutes tangled mid-air. The instructor finally untangled the chute at the last second. Leo landed hard — but alive. “DeadCaprio” was avoided — though maybe not clean shorts.

Lil Wayne’s Shocking Start
Lil Wayne’s closest call happened long before his fame. At just 12 years old, he accidentally shot himself in the chest at home. Bleeding badly, he called 911. With no ambulance in sight, the police rushed him to the hospital and saved his life.

Years later, his epilepsy led to repeated seizures — often during flights. During one intense episode, he had three seizures in a row. “His heart rate dropped so low, his life was in danger.” Thankfully, quick medical care came through again.

Sharon Stone’s Close Encounters
Sharon Stone survived a brutal car crash after filming Total Recall, suffering broken ribs and a dislocated jaw. But it was a stroke years later that nearly killed her.

After days of headaches and confusion, she finally went to the hospital. She later said she “saw a white light and visions of deceased loved ones.”

Harrison Ford: The Real-Life Action Hero
Harrison Ford might be Indiana Jones on screen, but off-screen, he’s had his own heart-stopping adventures.

In 1999, while taking a helicopter flying lesson, he was practicing an emergency landing when things went sideways — literally. The chopper crashed in a dry riverbed. Luckily, both Ford and his instructor walked away.

Just a routine crash for Han Solo, apparently. But Ford didn’t hang up his pilot’s license. In 2015, he took off in a vintage WWII plane when the engine suddenly quit. He tried turning back to the runway, but didn’t make it. Instead, he crash-landed on a golf course, hitting a tree along the way. “Where’s a bullwhip when you need one?” Seriously.

Sylvester Stallone: Too Tough for His Own Good
Sylvester Stallone might play tough guys, but some of his movie stunts hit too close to home. While filming Rocky IV, Dolph Lundgren’s punches were so intense, Stallone ended up with a swollen heart and spent eight days in intensive care. You’d think he’d learned his lesson — but nope.

Years later, during The Expendables, another fight scene went too far. This time, Stone Cold Steve Austin delivered a blow that actually broke Stallone’s neck. He needed surgery and a metal plate to fix it. “Hopefully he’s learned his lesson now… if the punch left him any memory of it, that is.”

Keith Richards: Still Standing
If there’s one man who’s impossible to kill, it’s Keith Richards. In the ’70s, he unknowingly used heroin laced with strychnine — a poison used to kill rats. He later said he was fully awake but totally paralyzed. Somehow, he survived. Because of course he did. He’s Keith Richards. Then in 2006, he fell from a tree while vacationing in Fiji. He hit his head so hard that he fractured his skull and developed a brain bleed. Emergency surgery in New Zealand saved him. Again. “Because he’s Keith Richards.”

Elizabeth Taylor: A Lifetime of Comebacks
Elizabeth Taylor knew her way around a hospital bed. Her scariest moment came in 1961 when a bad case of pneumonia turned deadly. She fell into a coma and “was pronounced dead four times, including once where she didn’t breathe for five minutes.” An emergency tracheotomy saved her — and the scar is even visible in some of her later films.

In 1997, doctors found a golf-ball-sized brain tumor. Surgery removed it, and thankfully, it was benign. Still, “if a golf-ball-sized growth in your brain can even be called that.”

Bob Dylan: He Just Keeps Going
In 1966, Bob Dylan crashed his motorcycle, broke his neck, and got a concussion. His recovery forced a much-needed break — one that may have saved his career and his life.

In 1997, fans feared the worst again when Dylan was hospitalized with histoplasmosis, a dangerous lung infection. But once more, he bounced back. After all, “a little swelling of the heart had no chance of putting down a folk singer.”