BREAKING NEWS: The Death of David Bowie, 9 Years Later: Inside the Legendary Artist’s Private Cancer Battle and Why Iman Says He Is Still ‘Ever Present’.giang

The world lost a music legend when David Bowie died on Jan. 10, 2016.

The British-born Bowie burst onto the music scene in 1969 with his song “Space Oddity” and spent the next 40 years as one of the most trailblazing artists of the 20th century. Bowie transcended musical genres, pioneered music videos, embraced gender fluidity and debuted multiple colorful alter egos — including Aladdin Sane and Iggy Stardust — throughout his iconic career.

“I am an actor,” he told PEOPLE in September 1976. “My whole professional life is an act. I slip from one guise to another very easily. One guise plays into another, and the extreme comments force it into another direction.”

During his four-decade career, Bowie put out 25 albums, sold hundreds of millions of records and won five Grammy Awards — including four at the 2017 Grammys for his final album Blackstar, which was released on his 69th birthday, Jan. 8, 2016. That album ultimately became Bowie’s swansong, as the legendary musician died two days later on Jan. 10 following a private, 18-month battle with cancer.

From his shocking death to his lasting legacy on the music world and beyond, here’s a closer look at what happened when David Bowie died.

How did David Bowie die?

Bowie died after a private, 18-month battle with cancer. A statement on his official Facebook page announced the devastating news on Jan. 10, 2016.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” the statement read. “While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

The news of Bowie’s death came as a shock, as the music icon only revealed his terminal diagnosis to his innermost circle — mainly family, close friends and a few colleagues.

“Nobody knew.. Nobody even suggested there was anything,” Robert Fox, a friend of Bowie’s for more than 40 years, told The Telegraph in 2016. “And then we woke up on Monday morning and it was on the news. I think that’s the way he wanted it to be.”

Fox continued, “He wanted the minimum of fuss. He was just a private man. And I think he wanted to protect his family from the insanity there would have been … he did it perfectly.”

What type of cancer did David Bowie have?

Not only did Bowie keep his cancer battle largely a secret, but he also never publicly divulged what type of cancer he had (and neither did anyone in his camp following his death).

However, Bowie’s friend Ivo van Hove — a Belgian theater director who worked on the musical production of Lazarus prior to Bowie’s death —  revealed to Dutch news outlets that the legendary artist had reportedly died from liver cancer.

“He told me more than one year and three months ago that he had liver cancer, just after he had been told this himself,” van Hove said, according to the Independent. “He said that because he knew that he may not always be able to be around.”

Despite his diagnosis, Bowie never stopped working — even when he knew the end was near. He attended the opening night of Lazarus in New York in December 2015, debuted his 25th and final album Blackstar two days before his death and was receiving experimental treatment up until the last month of his life.

“Bowie was still writing on his deathbed, you could say,” van Hove said. “I saw a man fighting. He fought like a lion and kept working like a lion through it all. I had incredible respect for that.”

When did David Bowie die?

Bowie died on Jan. 10, 2016 — two days after his 69th birthday and two days after his final album Blackstar was released.

Along with Blackstar, the music video for “Lazarus,” one of the album’s tracks, premiered days before Bowie’s death. The video hauntingly refers to death and rebirth: It features the music legend confined to a hospital bed and lyrics such as “Look up here/I’m in heaven,” leaving fans to wonder if Bowie knew the end was near.

Johan Renck, the director of the music video, later revealed that Bowie reportedly learned that his cancer was terminal while they were filming the video for “Lazarus” (which took place three months before his death).

“I found out later that the week we were shooting is when he found out that it is over …” Renck said in the documentary David Bowie: The Last Five Years. “We’ll end treatment or whatever capacity that means, that his illness has won.”

As a result, both colleagues and fans of Bowie view “Lazarus” as an epic swansong for the legendary artist.

“His death was no different from his life – a work of Art,” Tony Visconti, a music producer who worked with Bowie, wrote on Facebook following Bowie’s death. “He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift.”

Where did David Bowie die?

Bowie died in his Lafayette Street home in New York City. Though the late rocker was born in London, he had lived in New York for more than two decades and considered the city his home.

How old was David Bowie when he died?

Bowie had just celebrated his 69th birthday on Jan. 8, 2016 — two days before his death.

During his life, the musical pioneer had powerful and poetic thoughts on growing older. He elaborated more on aging and his own mortality in a 2002 interview with BBC.

“It’s not the age itself, you know, age doesn’t bother me,” Bowie said. “So many of my heroes, you know, were older guys. It’s the lack of years left that weighs far heavier on me than the age that I am.”

What were David Bowie’s last words?

Though Bowie’s final words are unknown, actor Gary Oldman shared some of the musician’s final musings while honoring him posthumously at the 2016 Brit Awards. Oldman, a close friend of Bowie’s, revealed that Bowie rarely spoke about his craft in the final years of his life — but when he did, it was profound.

According to Oldman, Bowie said before his death, “Music has given me over 40 years of extraordinary experiences. I can’t say that life’s pains or more tragic episodes have been diminished because of it, but it has allowed me so many moments of companionship when I have been lonely and a sublime means of communications when I have wanted to touch people. It has been both my doorway of perception and the house that I live in.”

In an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2023, Oldman also opened up about his final personal conversation with Bowie. The Harry Potter actor shared how he and Bowie would Skype on Sundays, and during their last video chat, Bowie experienced some technical difficulties while signing off. As a result, his last words to Oldman were, “F— off.”

The expletives, according to Oldman, were “really actually, so wonderfully, David.”

What was the public reaction to David Bowie’s death?

News of Bowie’s death was met with shock and devastation from celebrities, world leaders, fans and even friends of the iconic artist — particularly since Bowie kept his illness hidden from everyone except “a tiny, tiny circle of friends and confidantes,” a source shared with PEOPLE.

“David’s death came as a complete surprise, as did nearly everything else about him. I feel a huge gap now,” music producer Brian Eno, who was friends with Bowie for more than 40 years, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “I received an email from him seven days ago … I realize now he was saying goodbye.”

Elton John felt a similar sense of disbelief after news of Bowie’s death broke, writing on Instagram that he “never saw it coming.”

“I am still in shock,” he added in his caption. “My deepest condolences to Iman and the family. An amazing life. An amazing career.”

In addition to celebrity tributes from the likes of Madonna, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono, memorials popped up throughout London and outside his former apartment in Berlin and his New York home shortly after his death was announced. Fans also celebrated Bowie’s legacy in London’s Brixton neighborhood — where Bowie was born on Stansfield Road — with a vibrant street party, complete with music, food and elaborate costumes and makeup.

Despite these public displays of mourning, Bowie’s family opted not to have a memorial service. Instead, the musician was cremated and his ashes were spread in a Buddhist ritual in Bali — where he honeymooned with Iman in 1992 — in accordance with his will.

“The family is extremely private, just like Bowie,” a source told PEOPLE.

What legacy did David Bowie leave behind?

The legacy that Bowie left on the world of music is difficult to overstate. Considered one of the greatest artists of all time by Rolling Stone, Bowie’s trailblazing style paved the way for other iconic musicians — including Madonna, Boy George, Kanye West and Prince.

“He was one of the geniuses in the music industry, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in the 20th century,” Madonna told a crowd in Houston two days after Bowie’s death. “He showed me it was okay to be different.”

Since his death, Bowie has been memorialized through films (including the 2020 biopic Stardust and the 2022 movie Moonage Dream), tribute concerts and art exhibits. Fans were also treated to the debut of an unreleased album of Bowie’s, Toy, on what would have been his 75th birthday in 2022 — 20 years after the superstar originally recorded it and 6 years after his death.

However, Bowie’s most lasting legacy lives on in his two children, Duncan and Lexi, and his beloved wife of 24 years, Iman. Their epic love story transcended his death, with Iman revealing that the musician is still a constant presence in her life.

“I definitely feel his presence, especially when I look out over the glorious sunsets at our home because David loves sunsets,” she told PEOPLE in 2021. “So in that way he is ever present.”

Iman continued, “Through my memory, my love lives.”

The supermodel also spoke about their enduring love to Instyle in June 2024.

“He is my husband. Not my late husband,” she said about Bowie. “He’s ever present with me. It’s because he has left an impact in my life. He was the perfect person for me and I’m happy that I was able to experience that in my lifetime. And I wish for everybody to have that one time in their life.”