Country star Kris Kristofferson ‘A Star Is Born’ lead, dies at 88

Kris Kristofferson, a big name in the country music and Hollywood film and TV industry, died at the age of 88.

According to Variety, the singer-songwriter and actor passed away peacefully while surrounded by family on Saturday at his residence in Maui, Hawaii.

No cause of death has been shared yet.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him,” Kristofferson's family said in a statement.

“Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all,” they added.

A Star Is Born leading man and Blade actor is survived by his wife, Lisa and their eight children, Tracy, Kris Jr., Casey, Jesse, Jody, John, Kelly and Blake; and his seven grandchildren.

The CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Kyle Young, also paid tribute to the late star.

“Kris Kristofferson believed to his core that creativity is God-given, and that those who ignore or deflect such a holy gift are doomed to failure and unhappiness. He preached that a life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and then he created a body of work that gave voice not only to his soul but to ours,” he said in a statement.

“Kris’s heroes included the prize fighter Muhammad Ali, the great poet William Blake, and the ‘Hillbilly Shakespeare,’ Hank Williams. He lived his life in a way that honoured and exemplified the values of each of those men, and he leaves a righteous, courageous and resounding legacy that rings with theirs.”