30 beloved stars who died in 2016

Carrie Fisher in "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back."Lucasfilm

We lost a lot of legends in 2016, and we're not going to forget them soon.

As we settle into 2017, Business Insider has compiled a list of some of the most influential, important, and prized figures in entertainment who died last year — from towering music stars (Prince, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard, George Michael) to film legends like Carrie Fisher and Alan Rickman.

It's by no means an exhaustive list, but one that hopefully helps pay tribute to the talents who have left us as we move forward.

Here are 30 stars we said goodbye to in 2016:

January 10: David Bowie (1947-2016)

YouTube

English rock artist

January 14: Alan Rickman (1946-2016)

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English theater and movie actor

January 26: Abe Vigoda (1921-2016)

Andrew Kelly/Reuters

American actor

February 19: Harper Lee (1926-2016)

Harper Lee, author of 'Go Set a Watchman' and the Pulitzer-prize winning 'To Kill a Mockingbird'Chip Somodevilla/Getty

American novelist

March 6: Nancy Reagan (1921-2016)

POOL New/Reuters

American actress and First Lady of the United States

March 8: George Martin (1926-2016)

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English record producer, "fifth Beatle"

March 24: Garry Shandling (1949-2016)

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American comedian and actor

April 6: Merle Haggard (1937-2016)

In this Oct. 8, 1977 file photo, Merle Haggard performs at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tenn.Mark Humphrey/AP Photo

American country singer-songwriter

April 20: Chyna (1969-2016)

YouTube/WWE

American professional wrestler

April 21: Prince (1958-2016)

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

American musician

May 17: Guy Clark (1941-2016)

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American singer-songwriter

June 3: Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

AP Photo/File

American boxer

June 19: Anton Yelchin (1989-2016)

Thomson Reuters

Russian-born American actor

July 2: Michael Cimino (1939-2016)

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American screenwriter and director

July 2: Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)

Charles Dharapak/AP

Romanian-born American author and activist

July 4: Abbas Kiarostami (1940-2016)

Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images

Iranian film director

July 19: Garry Marshall (1934-2016)

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American film director, producer, and actor

August 29: Gene Wilder (1933-2016)

Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.""Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory"/Paramount Pictures

American actor and writer

September 11: Alexis Arquette (1969-2016)

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American actress

September 16: Edward Albee (1928-2016)

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American playwright

September 20: Curtis Hanson (1945-2016)

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American film screenwriter and director

September 25: Arnold Palmer (1929-2016)

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American golfer

November 7: Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)

Leonard Cohen's 2014 song "Nevermind" was decades in the making.Valentin Flauraud/Reuters

Canadian singer-songwriter

November 13: Leon Russell (1942-2016)

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American musician

November 24: Florence Henderson (1934-2016)

AP Images

American actress

December 13: Alan Thicke (1947-2016)

Alan ThickeRichard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Canadian actor

December 18: Zsa Zsa Gabor (1917-2016)

Associated Press

Hungarian-American actress

December 25: George Michael (1963-2016)

Columbia Records

English pop star and singer-songwriter

December 27: Carrie Fisher (1956-2016)

AP

American actress and writer

December 28: Debbie Reynolds (1932-2016)

In this May 21, 2013 file photo, actress Debbie Reynolds poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, Calif.