Death and dying are inevitable, yet many people fear it. It's the fear of not knowing what happens when you die--does everything just become black, or is there an afterlife? Some individuals like to hold on to the idea that there is something greater after death, while others completely disregard what can never be known. But, what if there is proof of the afterlife? What if there were people who could tell you exactly what it looked like, and how they felt traveling there?
There are a chosen few who have claimed they've actually experienced the other side. They've seen heaven, or a "white light" that pulls them to a peaceful paradise filled with their lost loved ones and angelic figures. Some of the chosen are actually celebrities with an outlet to express their experiences to a wide audience of believers.
While we've described celebrities who had near death experiences, this list takes a look at the celebrities who actually saw the light. Their stories are compelling, thought-provoking, and can give you something to hope for when your time is eventually up.
Celebrities Who Had Near Death Experiences,
Gary Busey Sees Angels After Car Accident
In 1988, Gary Busey was riding his motorcycle without a helmet when he crashed. Busey was flung from the motorcycle, which was going at high speeds, and struck his head. The impact fractured his skull and as he underwent intensive neurosurgery, he died on the operating table.
The Buddy Holly Story actor spoke of his experience after waking from his coma, insisting that he spoke with angels. He told Larry King in 2005 of the experience, "I saw angels...I was surrounded by angels. And they don't look like what they look like on Christmas cards. They're big balls of light that float and carry nothing but love and warmth."
ATV Crash Brings Ozzy Osbourne Close to the Light
In 2003, Black Sabbath rocker Ozzy Osbourne was riding an ATV on his England estate when he crashed. Osbourne was seriously injured in the accident, fracturing a collarbone and multiple ribs, and falling into a coma for several days.
The singer recalled his near-death experience in his memoir "I Am Ozzy", "I didn't know where I was or how long I'd been there. I would drift in and out of consciousness. Other times there would be a white light shining through the darkness, but no fucking angels, no one blowing trumpets and no man in a white beard."
William Petersen Rides an Escalator into the Light
CSI actor William Petersen explained in an interview with Playboy magazine that a near-death experience in the 80s assured him of an afterlife.
Peterson nearly cut his finger in half while performing on stage. As he was rushed to the hospital he passed out from loss of blood. He swears he heard the doctors working on him, saying they lost his vital signs. Then the actor described being on an escalator and seeing a white tunnel of light. Before making it to the top, a voice told him it wasn't time and he returned to his body.
Elizabeth Taylor Saw White Light and Reunited With Late Husband
Back in 1992, Elizabeth Taylor celebrated her 60th birthday on the Oprah Winfrey show. The legendary actress detailed a time in her life when she died for five minutes. When she was declared legally dead, Taylor says she experienced a welcoming out-of-body experience that felt like floating in liquid mercury.
During the experience, Taylor was introduced to angelic figures--including her late third husband. He told her it wasn't her time to die yet, and that she needed to go back. When Taylor awoke she no longer feared death.
Comedian Tracy Morgan Takes a Trip to Heaven
In June 2014, Tracy Morgan was involved in a horrific 6-car accident that left him severely injured, and killed one of his friends. The actor was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery on his injuries, and slowly rehabbed back to health.
The actor spoke with Oprah on Super-Soul Sunday, explaining how the accident changed his life in many ways. The comedian claims that he went to heaven following the accident, and was met by his late father who passed away when Morgan was a teen.
Experiencing a near-death encounter has made Morgan truly cherish all that he has in life, telling Oprah, "Something's different. The way I am with people, something's just different. I find myself saying 'I love you' 200 times a day to strangers, I don't care – I don't gotta know you to love you, I love you!"
Burt Reynolds Sleeping Pill Addiction Prompts Out of Body Experience
While actor Burt Reynolds was filming 1984's City Heat he developed an addiction to sleeping pills. He grew so dependent on the sleep aid that he reportedly took up to 50 pills a day.
After using the drug for four years, Reynolds decided to quit cold turkey. Abruptly halting use of the drug sent him into a coma, and the actors told TV Guide he had an out-of-body experience as the doctors revived him. He could hear the doctors saying that they were losing him, but luckily he returned to stable health.
Donald Sutherland's Trip to Italy Leads to Other Worldly Encounter
Actor Donald Sutherland visited Venice, Italy in 1968 to shoot a movie. While there, Sutherland contracted pneumonia and almost died. He wrote about the near death experience in Smithsonian Journeys magazine, detailing how he felt out of his body at the time of his illness.
He wrote, "Standing behind my right shoulder, I’d watched my comatose body slide peacefully down a blue tunnel. That same blue tunnel the near dead always talk about. Such a tempting journey. So serene. No barking Cerberus to wake me. Everything was going to be all right."
Nikki Sixx Overdoses and Is Pulled to the Light
Motley Crue rock star Nikki Sixx had a love affair with heroin for a majority of his career. He overdosed multiple times while using the drug, and one time he was declared legally dead. The incident occurred in December of 1987, and Sixx passed out after injecting himself with heroin.
He describes nearly dying in his book "The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band," saying, "I tried to sit up to figure out what was going on. I thought it would be hard to lift my body. But to my surprise, I shot upright, as if I weighed nothing. Then it felt as if something very gentle was grabbing my head and pulling me upward. Above me, everything was bright white. I looked down and realized I had left my body. Nikki Sixx -- or the filthy, tattooed container that had once held him -- was lying covered face-to-toe with a sheet on a gurney being pushed by medics into an ambulance."
Following the overdose, Sixx cleaned his act up.
Sharon Stone Sees the Afterlife After Having a Stroke
In 2004, actress Sharon Stone sat down with Oprah to discuss her life and career. The discussion touched upon Stone's near-death experience in 2001, when she learned she had had a stroke.
Stone described getting an MRI at the hospital and seeing a "white light." The actress insists that she actually experienced the afterlife, and it felt very peaceful.
Jane Seymour's Out of Body Experience after Going into Shock
Jane Seymour, famously known as "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman," claims to have had an out-of-body experience in 1988. While filming a movie in Spain, the British actress became extremely sick and was rushed to the hospital.
While at the hospital, Seymour was given too much of an antibiotic and went into anaphylactic shock. She has stated that in that moment she could feel herself leave her physical body, and see the doctors treating her below.
She explained to Britain's Sunday Express, "Mercifully I was resuscitated, but there was a period where I left my body and clearly saw this man screaming on the telephone, and my naked body lying on the bed with syringes in my backside."
The out-of-body experience is not the only paranormal activity the actress has experienced in her life. She has also experienced multiple premonitions, which she detailed in the TV series "The Extrordinary."