BREAKING NEWS: Rihanna’s Father, Ronald Fenty, Passes Away at 70 in Los Angeles After a Brief Illness

Rihanna’s Father, Ronald Fenty, Passes Away at 70 in Los Angeles After Brief Illness

Los Angeles, CA – June 1, 2025 – Ronald Fenty, the father of global superstar Rihanna, has passed away at the age of 70, leaving behind a complex legacy intertwined with his daughter’s meteoric rise to fame. According to an exclusive report by TMZ, Ronald died in Los Angeles at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, surrounded by family, including Rihanna and her brother Rajad Fenty, following a brief and undisclosed illness. The news, announced on June 1, 2025, has sparked an outpouring of condolences from fans and a reflection on the tumultuous yet significant relationship between Ronald and the pop icon.

A Life Rooted in Barbados

Born in 1954 in Saint Michael, Barbados, Ronald Fenty was a warehouse supervisor of Barbadian descent with African, Irish, English, and Scottish ancestry, as noted in Rihanna’s Wikipedia entry. He married Monica Braithwaite, an Afro-Guyanese accountant, and together they raised their family in a modest bungalow in Bridgetown, Barbados—a street now famously renamed Rihanna Drive. The couple had three children, including Robyn Rihanna Fenty, born on February 20, 1988, who would later become the world-renowned artist known as Rihanna. However, Ronald and Monica’s marriage was marked by turbulence, largely due to Ronald’s struggles with addiction, which Rihanna later discussed in a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey. The couple separated when Rihanna was young and officially divorced in 2002 when she was 14, as detailed in a People article about Rihanna’s parents.

Despite the challenges, Ronald played a pivotal role in shaping Rihanna’s resilience. In a 2012 Oprah Winfrey interview, Rihanna reflected on her father’s influence, noting how his struggles taught her strength and perseverance. She shared memories of their life in Barbados, where she learned to cook in their small kitchen and shared a room with her mother and brother. Ronald’s pride in his daughter’s success was evident over the years, particularly when Rihanna announced her pregnancy in 2023—an achievement he celebrated publicly, according to additional context provided.

A Complicated Father-Daughter Relationship

The relationship between Ronald and Rihanna was far from straightforward. While there were moments of reconciliation—such as Rihanna repairing her relationship with her father, as she revealed to Oprah in 2013—their bond was often strained by personal and legal conflicts. In 2019, Rihanna took her father to court in a high-profile trademark dispute, accusing him of exploiting her name and Fenty brand for financial gain through his company, Fenty Entertainment. According to a BBC report