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

Victor Nwoko
1 day ago
2 min read

Ronald Fenty, Rihanna’s father, reportedly died at age 70 on Saturday.

Ronald Fenty, the father of global music icon Rihanna, has died at the age of 70. He passed away early Saturday morning in Los Angeles following a brief illness. An official cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.

Family members reportedly gathered in California to commemorate his life. Photos show Rihanna’s brother, Rajad Fenty, arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to visit their father on Wednesday. Rihanna was reportedly present as well, although not seen in the images.

The news follows Rihanna’s third pregnancy announcement earlier this month

Ronald Fenty’s death comes during a significant moment in Rihanna’s personal life, as the singer is currently expecting her third child with longtime partner A$AP Rocky. The singer, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, recently revealed her pregnancy at the Met Gala earlier this month.

Ronald and Rihanna had a long and complex relationship over the years. The two experienced periods of estrangement, largely stemming from Ronald’s struggles with alcohol and drug abuse and his separation from Rihanna’s mother, Monica Braithwaite, when the singer was 14.

As of now, the singer has not issued any public statement regarding her father’s death

In a 2011 interview, Rihanna described their dynamic as “really strange,” expressing confusion over his actions and saying, “You grow up with your father … you are a part of him for goodness sakes! And then he does something so bizarre that I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it.”

The relationship appeared to heal in 2012, when Rihanna told Oprah Winfrey she had learned to separate his role as a husband from his role as her father. “As awful as he was to my mom, at times, it didn’t compare to how great he was as a father,” she said.

The patriarch, who reportedly struggled with addiction issues, divorced Rihanna’s mother when the pop star was 14

However, the bond was tested again in 2019 when Rihanna sued her father, accusing him of misusing her name for personal gain through his company, Fenty Entertainment. She claimed he falsely represented that the business was affiliated with her. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2021 just weeks before it was set to go to trial, and Ronald Fenty later claimed the two had reconciled.

In more recent years, Ronald spoke fondly of his daughter and his role as a grandfather to her son, RZA, born in May 2022. He shared that Rihanna had brought her son to Barbados twice and praised her as a devoted and protective mother.

Rihanna has not yet publicly commented on her father's passing. The investigation into the cause of death is ongoing.