EXCLUSIVE: Terence Stamp's 'Cause of Death' Revealed After Details of his Heartbreaking Final Role Emerge
Terence Stamp's cause of death has been revealed.
Aug. 28 2025, Published 7:50 p.m. ET
Terence Stamp's last film performance – shot in the gardens of his care home shortly before his death at the age of 87 – is fueling speculation the British screen icon was killed by dementia, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Oscar-nominated star, who died on August 17 in a Bickley, Kent, care facility, was said to have worked with his family earlier this summer on a documentary that explored both his life story and the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
A source told us: "The project's content has prompted questions about whether the same condition may have contributed to his death."
Stamp filmed his final role in the gardens of his care home.
Another insider familiar with the footage added: "What Terence filmed wasn't just about his extraordinary career. It dealt with memory loss and the struggles of living with dementia.
People who have seen it believe it was his way of speaking openly about what he was going through."
And another claimed: "The documentary is being taken as a clue that he had Alzheimer's, and that it could have played a part in Terry's decline."
Stamp's family confirmed his death in a statement that read: "He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer, that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come. We ask for privacy at this sad time."
The project explored his life story and the impact of Alzheimer’s disease.
Born in Stepney, east London, in 1938, Stamp grew up in modest circumstances before finding acting fame.
He attended Plaistow Grammar School and worked at an advertising agency before enrolling at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.
Early in his career, he shared a flat with Michael Caine, and by 1962 was propelled to international recognition with Billy Budd, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.
A defining figure of Swinging London, Stamp's romances with Julie Christie and Jean Shrimpton secured his reputation as one of the era's key faces and biggest womanisers.
He later admitted to struggling once the decade finished, saying: "When the 1960s ended, I just ended with it. I remember my agent telling me, 'They are all looking for a young Terence Stamp.'"
He later played General Zod in 'Superman' and starred in 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.'
By the late 1970s, he returned to prominence with the role of General Zod in Superman and Superman II.
Other notable appearances followed in Young Guns, Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, in which he played Bernadette, a transgender woman – a performance hailed for its sensitivity to this day.
He later featured in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and, more recently, in Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho in 2021.
Stamp was twice nominated for a Bafta, first for Billy Budd in 1962 and later for A Song for Marion in 1995.
His career spanned six decades, marked by both acclaim and candid admissions about the realities of acting life.
"I'm always amazed there's another job," he once said about his business. I've done crap, because sometimes I didn't have the rent. But when I've got the rent, I want to do the best I can."
His extraordinary career spanned six decades and inspired generations.
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The actor never had children and was married only briefly, at the age of 64.
He is survived by his two younger brothers and a sister, as well as a wide extended family of nieces, nephews and their children.
