Rihanna's Dad Ronald Fenty, 70, Dead Following 'Brief Illness'

Rihanna’s father, Ronald Fenty, reportedly died early in the morning on Saturday, May 31, in Los Angeles, where his family members gathered to say goodbye.

An exact cause of death is unknown — however, Ronald battled a “brief illness” before his passing.

On Wednesday, May 28, Rihanna’s brother Rajad Fenty was pictured arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills. Though the entertainer was not photographed, a source revealed to a news outlet that she was in the car with her brother.

The death of the superstar’s father comes weeks after she announced she was pregnant with her third child.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky revealed their pregnancy at the 2025 Met Gala, where the songstress’ photographer Miles Diggs shared the first snapshot of the star and her baby bump.

While on the red carpet at the iconic New York City gala, A$AP Rocky told reporters, “It feels amazing,” when asked about welcoming their third child.

“It’s time that we show the people what we was cooking up,” he joked. “And I’m glad everybody’s happy for us ’cause we definitely happy, you know.”

Though Rihanna comes from a divorced family, she told a news outlet in 2023 that she hopes to “break generational curses” and raise her children “in love” and “better” than she and her siblings were raised.

While she’s one of the richest musicians in the industry, Rihanna’s upbringing wasn’t all glitz and gold. She left her home in Barbados when she was 16 years old after experiencing “abuse” in the household.

Over the years, she and her father have had a rocky relationship, much due to his alcohol and drug use.

After it was reported that Rihanna was physically assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, Ronald spoke to the media without her permission. Two years later, his daughter addressed the matter in an interview.

“You grow up with your father, you know him, you are a part of him, for goodness’ sakes!” she said. “And then he does something so bizarre that I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it.”

The following year, Rihanna told Oprah Winfrey that she and her dad had “repaired” their relationship, noting that she was desperately trying to separate who her dad was as a father versus a husband.

“He taught me everything, and as awful as he was to my mom at times, it didn’t compare to how great he was as a father,” she shared. “And I had to come to terms with that, and I was able to close that gap with him.”

In 2019, the hitmaker was back in poor spirits with her dad after he used her name for financial gain by claiming he was her manager. Rihanna sued her dad but dismissed the claim in 2021, just weeks before the trial.

Though they’ve had their ups and downs, Ronald was over the moon about becoming a grandfather after RZA, 3, was born in May 2022.

“She’s loving it. She’s a very overprotective mother,” the patriarch told a news outlet at the time. “Everybody says [the baby] looks like me. But you know, babies change, faces change. He [resembles] a lot of Rihanna and Rocky together.”