RIP

Raquel Welch, who paved the way as both an actress and international sex symbol has died ... TMZ has learned.

According to family members, Raquel died this morning after a brief illness.

Welch first rose to fame for her back-to-back roles in "Fantastic Voyage" and "One Million Years B.C." -- both in 1966.

Welch only had a handful of lines in 'B.C.' but it was her wardrobe -- a simple and skimpy deerskin bikini -- that catapulted her to sex symbol status.

From there, Welch's profile blew up, and she was one of the most sought-after female stars throughout the '60s and '70s ... taking home plenty of hardware in the process, including a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her 1974 role in "The Three Musketeers."

Welch was named one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History" in an issue of Empire magazine in 1995 ... and was ranked #3 in Playboy's "100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century."

She also appeared on "The Cher Show" in 1975 and performed "I'm a Woman" with Cher.

Raquel was married 4 times throughout her life -- James Welch ('59-'64), Patrick Curtis ('67-'72), Andre Weinfeld ('80-'90) and Richard Palmer ('99-'04) -- with 2 kids, Tahnee and Damon Welch.

Raquel was 82.

An already emotional scene was ramped up after a man inside the courtroom lunged at Buffalo mass shooter Payton Gendron during the monster's sentencing hearing.

Barbara Massey, who lost her sister, Katherine, during the attack in May 2022 which left 10 dead, addressed the shooter directly Wednesday inside an Erie County Courthouse. Massey exclaimed, "My sister Katherine Massey was a great person, Kat didn't hurt anybody ... You don't know a damn thing about Black people, we're human, we like our kids to go to good schools, we love our kids. We never go in neighborhoods and take people out."

At that point, a man dressed in grey who was standing next to Barbara pushed her aside and lunged at Gendron, only to be restrained by several officers protecting the murderer.

As the incident happened, you can hear several people in the crowd become emotional ... and both Gendron and the man who lunged at him were escorted out.

Gendron, who is white, killed 10 Black people and wounded several others during a mass shooting at a Buffalo-area grocery store.

Gendron live streamed his brutal attack, carrying out the killings with an automatic weapon inscribed with racist words and phrases -- including the N-word and "Here's your reparations."

He's expected to be sentenced to life in prison -- pleading guilty to charges including domestic terrorism motivated by hate and murder.

The hearing resumed after a brief pause to settle the courtroom.

Stanley Wilson Jr. -- a former Detroit Lions cornerback and the son of ex-Bengals running back Stanley Wilson Sr. -- has died after collapsing at a mental hospital earlier this month ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Wilson Jr. had been in police custody following his vandalism arrest back in August ... but according to prosecutors, he was declared incompetent to stand trial and was transferred from county jail to the Metropolitan State Hospital in Los Angeles County on Feb. 1.

But, law enforcement sources tell us during intake at the medical facility -- which specializes in caring for those with mental health issues -- he collapsed and died.

Our sources say foul play is not suspected. Autopsy results are pending toxicology.

Wilson Jr. was just 40 years old.

The former defensive back was taken by the Lions in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft ... and went on to play three seasons for the team -- before suffering a career-ending Achilles injury prior to the beginning of the 2008 season.

After his NFL career had concluded, Wilson found himself in trouble with the law multiple times.

In 2016, he was charged with attempted burglary after he was shot in the abdomen after he allegedly attempted to break into a home in Portland while completely nude. Months later, in 2017, he was arrested after he was accused of walking around a Portland neighborhood while naked. He was arrested a third time in 2017 after another alleged attempted break-in.

In August, he was arrested once again for allegedly breaking into a home and then taking a bath in an outdoor fountain after ransacking the place.

Wilson Jr. played in 32 games in his pro football career, logging eight pass breakups, a forced fumble and 87 total tackles.

"All American"s send off of Taye Diggs' titular character came as a shock to many, with some expressing serious anger online ... but long-running castmate, Bre Z is breaking down the meaning behind the loss of Coach Baker -- and why her character hasn't gotten the boot yet.

We got Bre Z, known for playing Coop on the CW series, at H. Lorenzo in WeHo Tuesday ... saying there's an incredible writing team behind the show, and the loss of Coach Baker is going to open up even more great storytelling post-death.

ICYMI, Monday's episode was a massive shocker ... and despite Taye previously talking about his decision to leave the series, it was never specified how his character would go out. The show even teased a life-changing episode ahead of Monday's big reveal.

Fans online were FURIOUS over the loss of Taye's character -- with some calling the death premature and nonsense ... some even flooded Taye's IG comments with major concern.

Some folks even said Coop should've been the one to go instead ... we talk to Bre Z about that too, but she doesn't think she's goin' anywhere.

FYI -- Taye thanked his fans for all their support after the episode aired, shouting out his cast for their "energy and unrivaled talent."

George Kittle's wife revealed on Tuesday she suffered a miscarriage last month ... calling it one of the hardest moments of her life -- and one where she felt like her soul had been ripped from her body.

Claire Kittle made the announcement in an emotional post for Valentine's Day -- saying she and George found out about the pregnancy on Christmas ... just three weeks before the Niners began their run in the playoffs.

Claire showed the couple -- as well as all of their immediate family members -- were stoked for the news ... but less than a month later, four days before George and S.F. played the Seahawks in the Wild Card round, she said a routine checkup at the doctor led to a terrifying discovery.

"The nurse giving my ultra sound went silent for awhile and I asked 'I’m still early there's probably nothing to see yet right?'" Claire said. "She responded with 'I see a pregnancy here it's just not in the correct place, it’s ectopic."

"I felt my soul leave my body," she added.

Claire went into surgery hours later ... and lost the pregnancy.

"The point of sharing this is not for pity but to acknowledge something extremely personal, hard & emotional that has taken place in our life," she wrote in her social media post, which included multiple loving pictures of her and George.

"To simply talk about it because I felt alone when I got the news, I never knew anyone else who had an ectopic pregnancy before. So here's my direct line to you, i've had one, you're not alone. It sucks, It's hard, be strong."

The All-Pro tight end's wife said she leaned on George and family members in the coming days and weeks to get through the difficult time.

George, meanwhile, played in all three of the Niners' playoff games while dealing with the heavy heart -- catching 10 passes ... as S.F. fell just short of making the Super Bowl.

Jerry Jarrett, one of the greatest promoters in wrestling history and the father of current AEW star Jeff Jarrett, has passed away. He was 80 years old.

Jerry got his start in the business in the 1960s and 1970s ... working as a referee and wrestler, holding several regional National Wrestling Alliance belts during his career.

In 1977, Jerry defected from the NWA ... and founded his own promotion, the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, where he rose to stardom with Jerry Lawler.

Jerry and Lawler were quite the duo ... and enjoyed success working together, eventually forcing the promotion of NWA Mid-America to sell their territory to Jarrett.

Jerry was influential in the careers of Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin ... giving both superstars a chance to make a name for themselves under his CWA promotion.

Jeff's father's legendary career as a promoter includes stints with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he worked as a consultant.

After WWF purchased WCW ... and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) went bankrupt, Jerry launched Total Nonstop Action (TNA) with Jeff in 2002.

Jerry was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2009.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin says the latest mass shooting in Michigan has her full of rage -- and she's hoping this one is the tipping point for Congress to pass common sense gun laws.

We talked to the Congresswoman -- who represents Michigan's 7th district, encompassing Michigan State University, where 3 students were gunned down Monday -- and she said, sadly, it was like déjà vu. She cited the 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School, also in her district.

Rep. Slotkin told us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" ... although her community has experienced this in the recent past, the same gut-wrenching feelings were sparked anew as she and her team got reports of the gunman.

Obviously, she's working with her constituents as they process this tragedy -- but in terms of where to go from here ... Rep. Slotkin says she's still in favor of pushing through bills that'd hopefully help deter such shootings.

She says the fact this shooter -- Anthony McRae -- was a convicted felon who clearly had issues is a red flag that should've popped up in background checks, and he never should've had a gun. The congresswoman also says most Americans are on board with this idea -- realizing that enforcing these kinds of policies doesn't infringe on the 2nd amendment.

The congresswoman also fielded a truly hard question -- what to do about people who are out for vengeance and hell-bent on using a gun? In other words, if bad people are insistent on doing bad things -- legally or illegally -- can we really fight this phenomenon???

It's a tough situation, but Rep. Slotkin still believes this type of festering anger in people -- which leads them to such heinous acts -- can be weeded out from the ground up.

Pharrell Williams has certainly served as a fashion icon over the years, but that title will now hold some new weight, cause he's taking over as Louis Vuitton's new men's creative director ... a spot previously held by Virgil Abloh.

The move was announced Tuesday by LV Chairman & CEO Pietro Beccari … who welcomed The Neptunes producer with open arms and praised his past collaborations with the brand.

Pharrell's first collection with LV will debut next June during Men's Fashion Week in Paris.

Pharrell’s acquisition makes for historic news -- Virgil, who died in November 2021 after a bout with a rare cancer, was the first Black American to be a lead designer for a European luxury house, and Skateboard P is now the second!!!

Families are left devastated after a mass shooting at Michigan State University ... and "Flavor of Love" star Deelishis says her niece was among the 3 students killed.

Deelishis first posted Monday night, asking her followers to help locate her niece in the chaos following initial reports of the shooting. She wrote, "My beautiful niece @ariellediamond_ is a student at MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY… she was in her classroom in the same building as the active shooter and we have not heard from her."

She continued, "If you know her whereabouts please dm me … in the meantime my family and I ask for your prayers 🙏🏼❤️‼️ #MichiganStateUniversity #ArielleDiamond"

Unfortunately, her niece Arielle never made it out ... the reality star later pinned a comment by another family member that said, "my sweet beautiful niece... RIP baby girl".

As we reported, a gunman -- identified by police by police as Anthony McRae -- went on a shooting rampage at MSU Monday night ... killing 3 students and critically injuring 5 others.

Hours later, he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Right now, cops are investigating the incident and have not yet found a motive for the tragedy.

Arne Espeel, a Belgian soccer goalkeeper, has tragically passed away after he collapsed following a saved penalty kick during a game over the weekend.

He was only 25.

The terrible incident happened during Winkel Sport B's game against Westrozebeke at Sportpark Terschueren in West Flanders Province on Feb. 11.

When Winkel was up 2-1 in the second half of the game, Espeel saved a penalty kick ... but a few seconds later, according to local reports, he dropped to the ground on the pitch.

Medical professionals tried to save Espeel with a defibrillator, but he was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was scheduled for Monday to determine the cause of death.

Espeel's teammates mourned his loss on Monday ... placing flowers at a goal mount -- while over 1,000 fans, friends, family members reportedly showed up for a walk of silence in Sint-Eloois-Winkel.

"Winkel Sport is in very deep mourning by the sudden death of Arne Espeel," the team said in a statement following his death.

"We wish family and friends of Arne our heartfelt condolences in this heavy loss. Football is an afterthought."

The Michigan State Spartans community is showing an outpour of support for the university as it deals with the aftermath of Monday's mass shooting ... with alums like Magic Johnson, Le'Veon Bell and more sharing their condolences.

"Cookie & I are devastated to hear about the news of a shooting on Michigan State’s campus," Magic tweeted shortly after news broke of the tragedy. "We are praying for the victims, their families, students, faculty, employees & administration."

"This is such a tragic situation & our hearts go out to the MSU community, all of Lansing and East Lansing! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾"

Mat Ishbia, a 2000 national champion with the Michigan State basketball team and owner of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, released a touching tribute ... saying, "Deeply saddened by the horrific tragedy that took place at Michigan State University last night. Sending my love, thoughts, and prayers to all MSU students, the university, and the entire Spartan family."

Bell -- who played at MSU from 2010-2012 -- said, "this is sad. condolences to the victims."

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. -- who played for Sparty from 2017-18 -- also called on his followers to send their prayers.

Pro football player BJ Cunningham was shocked by the report ... saying, "This world is wild," while also sending a positive message to the families and students at his former campus.

Ex-Duke star and current San Antonio Spurs player Tre Jones sent out a statement, saying he's keeping the victims in his thoughts ... while adding shootings of this nature will keep happening until the government does something about it.

Police identified Anthony McRae as the suspect, who opened fire after entering two different buildings on campus ... killing three people and critically injuring five others before taking his own life.

Cops are investigating the tragedy ... but a motive behind the incident has not been reported.

Sharon Stone is tearfully paying tribute to her late brother who just passed away this weekend ... and it has her reflecting on the "tremendous loss" her family's endured recently.

The actress confirmed Patrick's death, posting a video Monday evening with the caption "Godspeed Patrick Joseph Stone." In the short clip, she says he did, in fact, suffer a fatal heart attack ... and noted he's the father of the late River Stone.

River was Patrick's 11-month-old son who died in 2021 after his organs failed -- and Sharon tearfully expresses how difficult these past couple years have been for her family.

SS says she's thankful for all the love and support during this time, and appreciates the condolences she's received as well ... adding that the loss they've endured is just here on earth.

Remember, Sharon lost her grandmother and godmother in 2020 to COVID-19. As she copes with all that death, she's encouraging people to continue being kind to one another.

TMZ broke the story ... Patrick went into cardiac arrest Sunday in Pennsylvania, and for now -- his death is being attributed to heart disease.

As Sharon pointed out, he's survived by his wife and 2 children. Patrick was 57.

A gunman went on a shooting rampage at Michigan State University on Monday night, killing 3 students and critically injuring 5 others before taking his own life.

The suspect, identified by police as Anthony McRae, entered two buildings on campus, turning both into shooting galleries as students ran for cover and heavily armed police officers stormed the area looking for the assailant.

Hours later, law enforcement caught up with McRae, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, cops said. During the manhunt, police released surveillance images of McRae walking inside a building while gripping an unknown object in one hand. Police later recovered a weapon.

MSU Interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman discussed the attack at a news conference ... "I can’t even begin to imagine what that motive would be. That will obviously be part of our investigation."

Rozman added, "we are unsure of any affiliation that the suspect had to the University."

The deadly assault marked the 67th mass shooting in the country so far this year. A mass shooting is defined as 4 or more people killed or wounded in a single violent incident, not including the gunman.

Rozman said police first started receiving 911 calls of a shooting at Berkey Hall around 8:18 PM ET. When cops arrived at the building, they found two students dead.

Soon after, Rozman said, officers responded to another shooting at the nearby student union building, where they discovered the third student deceased.

Rozman confirmed that 5 other victims were listed in critical condition at a local hospital.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer described the MSU community as "reeling" from the shooting. She also said, "We mourn the loss of beautiful souls today, and pray for those who are continuing to fight for their lives."

Key Glock isn't worried he'll run out of Young Dolph verses anything time soon -- he says they recorded so many he can't even ballpark the number.

Mr. Glizock was chillin' in AZ after Super Bowl LVII when the Memphis rapper confidently told TMZ Hip Hop he has unlimited verses with his late cuzzo Young Dolph in the stash.

The Paper Route Empire team released Dolph's first posthumous album last December -- "Paper Route Frank," which Glock appears on, and he assures us Dolph's catalog will be refreshed for years to come!!!

Glock has a busy year ahead; his Glockhoma Tour kicks off next month with special guests TiaCorine, Kenny Muney, Jay Fizzle and BigXThaPlug ... and while he was tight-lipped on giving us album features other than Dolph, he did reveal a new project in the works.

Austin Majors, who made his mark as a child star on the hugely successful "NYPD Blue" has died ... TMZ has learned.

Austin died Saturday night while staying at a homeless housing facility in Los Angeles.

A source with direct knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his death tells us there's no foul play suspected ... but it is believed he may have ingested a fatal amount of fentanyl. We're told an autopsy is set to be completed Monday, with final toxicology results expected in the next few months.

Austin's family issued a statement on his death, telling us he, “Was a loving, artistic, brilliant, and kind human being. Austin took great joy and pride in his acting career. He was an active Eagle Scout and graduated Salutatorian in High School. He went on to graduate from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a passion of directing and music producing."

The statement continues, "Austin’s younger sister, Kali, says her fondest memories with Austin were growing up on set with him, volunteering at events with “Kids With a Cause”, and backpacking together. Austin was the kind of son, brother, grandson, and nephew that made us proud and we will miss him deeply forever.”

Austin will best be remembered for his role as Theo Sipowicz for 7 seasons on "NYPD Blue." Theo was the son of the show's main character, Detective Andy Sipowicz, played by actor Dennis Franz.

There was a controversial scene from the show involving Austin back in 2003 when his character walked in on a naked Charlotte Ross in the restroom before she was about to shower.

The scene led to a ton of complaints against ABC and resulted in a $1.4 million fine from The FCC.

Austin took home some hardware during his career as well -- taking home the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Television Series in 2002 for "NYPD Blue". He was also nominated for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role for his work on "Treasure Planet" the following year.

He also worked on other projects, including, "An Accidental Christmas", "Volare", and the 2000s show "According to Jim".

He was just 27.

Drake is trying to put the kibosh on getting deposed in the XXXTENTACION murder trial — and he's making some legal moves to try to get out of it.

The rapper filed a motion, through his attorney Bradford Cohen, asking the judge to set aside the subpoena requiring him to sit for a private deposition in late February.

As we reported, the judge was persuaded by arguments made by defense attorney Mauricio Padilla to call Drake as a witness in the case. Padilla represents Dedrick Williams, one of three defendants charged with killing XXX. The murder trial for the 3 men began last week.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Padilla sent Drake a ZOOM link for the deposition without putting it under seal, which could have compromised Drake's security given that he’s an international star.

Several days later, the docs say Padilla filed a notice with the court but failed to include details on how the ZOOM interview with Drake would be conducted. As a result, Drake says the subpoena was procedurally defective.

Per the motion, Drake also claims his name never appeared in the investigative files and there's nothing to suggest he has any relevant knowledge about the case ... he believes it's unreasonable to ask him to sit for a deposition and says doing so is just an attempt to "add more layers of celebrity and notoriety to a tragic and unfortunate event."