It's not something we think very much about, but our daily meals have a big impact on our lives - and I don't just mean how big your waistline is. It turns out that what we eat, where we eat it and how we eat it can change history. Don't believe me? Look back at some of Hollywood's most famous celebrities and history's biggest names. Their last meals - which they certainly didn't realize would be their last - tell a story about who they were and what they were doing, sometimes just moments before the end.
You can learn a lot about your favorite star by discovering what their final meal was, so dig into this list of last dishes enjoyed by 11 celebs!
1. Ernest Hemingway - July 2nd, 1961
The famous author of The Sun Also Rises and For Whom The Bell Tolls didn't do anything halfway, and that applied to his meals. Hemingway had a famous appetite, as well as a thirst for alcohol. He was known for taking his daiquiris with "twice the rum, and no sugar." Before taking his life because of depression, the author enjoyed a hearty meal including a New York strip steak, a baked potato, Caesar salad and Bordeaux.
2. James Dean - September 30, 1955
James Dean was just 24 years old and a rising star in Hollywood when he drove his infamous death car to Tip's Coffee Shop, outside of Santa Clarita, California. The actor enjoyed a classic American combination: warm apple pie and a cold glass of milk. Some fans dispute this story, but you have to admit it would be a perfect ending for the Rebel Without a Cause star.
3. Julia Child - August 13, 2004
Did you know that this TV chef had a top-secret research job during the Second World War? While her past is classified, she's famous for bringing classical French cooking to American TV, so it's fitting that her last meal was a bowl of French onion soup. Child died of kidney failure just days before she would have turned 92 years old.
4. Abe Lincoln - April 14, 1865
Honest Abe was known for enjoying rich food, including oysters, bacon and gingerbread. So it's no surprise that he treated himself to mock turtle soup, roast Virginia fowl with chestnut stuffing, baked yams and cauliflower with cheese sauce before heading to the play where he would be assassinated. For my money, Lincoln had the best final meal on this list. The only question is how did he keep his slim figure when he ate so much?
Click the next page for more celebrities, including the King himself!
5. John F. Kennedy - November 22, 1963
Another American president with an untimely death, Kennedy's last meal was at the Hotel Texas in Forth Worth. The chef told reporters he prepared coffee, orange juice, a pair of hard boiled eggs (5 minutes each) and toast with marmalade for the president. Kennedy was on his way to a 1pm lunch in Dallas, but didn't survive past 12:30.
6. John Belushi - March 5, 1982
The TV funnyman known for starring on SNL and in Animal House was on one of his famous benders when his friends took him to L.A.'s Rainbow Bar and forced him to eat a bowl of the restauraunt's famous lentil soup, hoping it would calm him down. Belushi took a fatal dose of drugs later that night.
7. John Lennon - December 8, 1980
John Lennon and Yoko left their New York recording studio the night of his death, after hearing the good news that their latest album had gone platinum. Yoko wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate, but John insisted on going home to see their son Sean. The musician was shot outside his home by a crazed fan, making the corned beef sandwich he had for lunch his last meal.
8. Marilyn Monroe - August 5, 1962
The star's favorite dishes were as indulgent as the rest of her life. While fans still debate whether her death was an accidental overdose or a suicide, her last meal is undisputed: stuffed mushrooms and meatballs from a local Mexican buffet, with Dom Perignon champagne to wash it down.
Click the next page to find out what Princess Diana's last meal was!
9. Elvis Presley - August 16, 1977
The King couldn't settle down to bed the night he died, so he wandered into the Graceland kitchen for a midnight snack: 4 scoops of ice cream and 6 chocolate chip cookies, yum! Later that night indigestion sent him to the bathroom, where he had a fatal heart attack. Do you think it was something he ate?
10. James Gandolfini - June 19, 2013
The Sopranos star treated himself to a gourmet dinner at the Boscolo Exedra Roma hotel in Italy before he died, living it up with two orders of fried king prawns and a plate of foie gras. Sadly, he died from a heart attack later that night, passing away at just 51 years old.
11. Princess Diana - August 31, 1997
The People's Princess and her new flame, Dodi Al Fayed, were tired of being hounded by the paparazzi and planned to cut their trip to Paris short. The night before their fatal accident, they dined at the Espadon restaurant at the Ritz hotel, where Diana ordered a mushroom and asparagus omelette, Dover sole and vegetable tempura.
Share this list with someone you know!