The Six Saddest BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL Deaths

Shortly after marrying her true love, Ridge, in 1990, Caroline (Joanna Johnson) was diagnosed with terminal leukemia. She concealed her illness, determined to live as happy a life with Ridge as she possibly could for as long as she could. In time, he learned the tragic news from Brooke — and though crushed, he assured Caroline, “I’m alive, you’re alive, and as long as we both are, we’re gonna celebrate.” Her disease progressed quickly, and, Caroline’s loved ones gathered for a dinner party at the Forrester mansion. There, Caroline urged a squabbling Brooke and Stephanie to make peace, telling them, “Life doesn’t last forever. When it’s over, you’ll want to remember the love, not the hatred.” Caroline grew weak and collapsed while dancing with Thorne; Ridge scooped her up and carried her home in his arms. In bed, they lay together as she faded. “I can hear your heart beating,” she whispered before taking her final breath on July 18, 1990, as a weeping Ridge embraced her.

Darla met her untimely demise on July 18, 2006. Darla, who had humble beginnings as Sally Spectra’s assistant, had found true love with husband Thorne Forrester and had a daughter, Aly, with him. But in 2006, tragedy struck, and Darla’s happiness was cut short, when Darla met Phoebe on the side of the road to help her with a flat tire. Taylor, who had been drinking, was worried about Phoebe and drove to find her, and wound up striking Darla with her vehicle. Darla was rushed to the hospital with Thorne, Stephanie and Sally by her side. Thorne told a lifeless Darla how he envisioned a bright future together, and then, realizing she wasn’t going to make it, promised he’d take care of their daughter. “You and me, sweetheart. Hand-in-hand, always.… I love you so much,” he told her as she flatlined.

Storm (William deVry) had a tumultuous year leading up to his April 28, 2008 death. First, he shot Stephanie and framed his dad, Stephen, for the crime. Then his girlfriend, Ashley Abbott, found out and dumped him. Storm couldn’t handle the rejection — and all the other baggage he’d accumulated leading up to losing Ashley — and confronted her with a gun! His sister Katie intervened and ended up shot, snapping Storm back to reality. Katie needed an emergency heart transplant, and in one of the show’s darkest moments, Storm decided to take his own life so Katie could have his heart. He left a note for Katie and shot himself in the head, dying with Katie's photo in his hand. Brooke was horrified when she discovered her brother lying on the ground in a pool of blood; Donna entered and screamed in agony. As he had hoped, Storm’s heart saved Katie, who struggled with her brother's decision to end his life so that hers could endure.

Phoebe (Mackenzie Mauzy), Steffy’s twin and the beloved daughter of Ridge (then-Ronn Moss) and Taylor, discovered that Rick had kissed Steffy without consent and angrily confronted him while the pair were in a car she was driving, with Rick in the passenger seat. Distracted, Phoebe lost control of the vehicle and crashed. driven by Rick, with Phoebe in the passenger seat. Ridge rushed to the accident site, where he found his mortally wounded daughter. Disoriented, she begged her father to hear her sing one last time. “I close my eyes and think you’re always there…” she warbled before dying in her brokenhearted father’s arms.

Stephanie (Susan Flannery, l.) was able to partially reconcile with her mother, Ann (Betty White), before Ann was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009. Ann was petrified of dying in the hospital, so on November 23, 2009, Stephanie and her sister, Pam (Alley Mills), took her to Paradise Cove. “Good girls… Sit up straight, Pammy,” Ann told her daughters as she peacefully passed away by the sea. As she died, her spirit (younger and wearing a red dress) walked the boardwalk into the sunset.

In 2012, the Forresters were devastated when matriarch Stephanie’s lung cancer returned. While the family rallied around her, Stephanie decided she didn’t want treatment. After a fun, Irish-themed party, Stephanie surprisingly opted to spend her final moments at the family's Big Bear cabin with longtime archnemesis Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), who she made peace with. Outside the cabin, she took Brooke, “I’ll miss you. Sing me to sleep, baby girl.” Brooke tearfully serenaded Stephanie with “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” as Steph took her last breath.