Rihanna is mourning the loss of her father, Ronald Fenty, who has passed away at the age of 70.
According to Starcom Network, he died in Los Angeles after a “brief illness.” While the exact cause and date of his death have not been made public, loved ones were reportedly by his side in his final moments. Rihanna's younger brother, Rajad Fenty, was photographed arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on May 28 in images obtained by TMZ. Rihanna, who is currently pregnant with her third child, was reportedly in the same vehicle.
Born in Barbados in 1988 to Ronald Fenty and Monica Braithwaite, Rihanna — now a global music and fashion icon — was raised in the capital city of Bridgetown. The family lived in a modest bungalow on a street later renamed Rihanna Drive in honor of her global achievements.
Ronald and Monica, who also share sons Rajad and Rorrey, separated during Rihanna’s childhood and officially divorced in 2002 when she was just 14. Rihanna also has three half-siblings from her father’s previous relationships — sisters Samantha and Kandy, and brother Jamie.
Over the years, Rihanna’s relationship with her father was a complex one, filled with both reconciliation and conflict.
After the traumatic 2009 incident in which Rihanna was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, Fenty drew criticism for speaking to the media without his daughter’s consent. Rihanna later reflected on the situation in an interview with Vogue, calling it “really strange.”
"You grow up with your father, you know him, you are a part of him, for goodness' sakes!" she told Vogue, as quoted by Billboard. "And then he does something so bizarre that I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it."
Despite their public falling out, Rihanna shared with Oprah in 2012 that she and her father had worked on rebuilding their relationship. Still, their bond remained turbulent. In 2019, the singer filed a lawsuit against Ronald, accusing him of using her name to promote his own talent agency, Fenty Entertainment. The suit claimed he falsely posed as her manager to solicit business deals. Rihanna eventually dropped the lawsuit in 2021, just weeks before it was set to go to trial.
Ronald Fenty’s passing closes a complicated but deeply personal chapter in Rihanna’s life — one marked by love, pain, reconciliation, and family ties that, despite the ups and downs, remained part of her story.