The prolific country singer-songwriter and actor died peacefully at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday (September 28), his family said. A statement posted to his official social media pages reads:
"It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all."
Born in Brownsville, Texas, in 1936, Kristofferson began his music career in the mid-1960s. Alongside his success as a solo artist, many of his songs were hits for music icons including Janis Joplin, Gladys Knight and Johnny Cash.
He won three Grammy Awards, the first being in 1972 for Best Country Song with Help Me Make It Through The Night. He also picked up trophies in 1974 and 1976 for his duets From The Bottle To The Bottom and Lover Please with Rita Coolidge, who he married in 1973. They divorced in 1980.
Among multiple awards and lifetime achievement honours, Kristofferson received the Free Speech Award from the Americana Music Association in 2003, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame a year later.
As an actor, he took on numerous roles, and won a Golden Globe Award in 1976 for Best Actor for his role as John Norman Howard in the remake of A Star Is Born opposite Barbra Streisand. He was also nominated for an Academy Award in 1985 for Best Original Score for Songwriter, alongside Willie Nelson.
Between 1985 and 1995, Kristofferson recorded three major label albums with Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings as a supergroup called The Highwaymen. His final solo studio album and 22nd overall, 'The Cedar Creek Sessions', was released in 2016, before his retirement in 2021 after a six-decade career.
He is survived by his wife Lisa, his eight children, and seven grandchildren.
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