Val Kilmer, star of Batman Forever and Top Gun, passes away at 65 after long health battle
Hollywood star Val Kilmer, known for his roles in some of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 1990s, including Batman Forever and Top Gun, passed away at the age of 65. His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed the news of his death in an email to The Associated Press. According to her email, Val Kilmer passed away in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, due to pneumonia. He was reportedly surrounded by his family and friends at the time of his passing.
Mercedes also detailed his father's cause of death and his health situation in the years past. She also mentioned that, back in 2014, the Hollywood actor was diagnosed with throat cancer, but he has since recovered from it after undergoing two tracheostomies.
According to the BBC, the tracheotomy surgeries affected Kilmer's voice, which took him out of show business for a while. However, he returned to the big screen to reprise his role as Iceman and reunite with Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, which came out in 2022.
Val Kilmer's passing comes after a history of health issues
As his daughter Mercedes Kilmer said in the press statement confirming his death, Val Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. However, per Newsweek, the actor denied the cancer diagnosis publicly. It wasn't until several years later, in 2017, that he finally opened up about his health issues. He reportedly confirmed his diagnosis in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017.
Also, according to People, he revealed to The Hollywood Reporter how his throat cancer had "taken its toll" on his family, forcing him to get a tracheostomy, which made his voice raspy. Shortness of breath was another side effect of the procedure that the Mindhunters actor experienced, per the outlet.
Val Kilmer also released a documentary titled Val, chronicling the highs and lows of his personal and professional life. It debuted at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and featured recordings made over the past 40 years, according to the BBC. The documentary also showed rare footage of the actor speaking with a voice box after his tracheostomies.
He also got candid about the effects of his cancer treatment on his website. In a 2022 entry, per NBC, Kilmer gave a health update but also admitted the difficulties he was experiencing. He reportedly wrote:
"It isn't easy to talk and be understood. I am improving all the time, but am not able to be out in the world the same way I had become accustomed."
The New York Times Magazine also cited Val Kilmer's memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry, in 2020, where he reportedly said that Cher cared for him after he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Kilmer and Cher were reportedly dating at the time, and she was by his side even after his cancer treatment. Cher also told People in 2021 that she saw how sick the Top Gun: Maverick actor was:
"He was at my house a lot of the time he was sick... He was brave the whole time."
Val Kilmer is survived by his two children, Mercedes and Jack, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Joanne Whalley. The Heat actor married Whalley in 1988, but they divorced in 1996.
