Ronald Fenty, the father of global pop icon and entrepreneur Rihanna, has died at the age of 70 following a brief illness, according to Barbados-based Starcom Network News. Though the official cause and exact date of death remain unconfirmed, reports indicate he passed away surrounded by family.
Fenty’s death comes at a significant personal moment for Rihanna, who is currently expecting her third child with rapper A$AP Rocky. She and her younger brother Rajad were reportedly seen arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles shortly before news of their father’s passing broke.
Though best known to the public as the father of one of the world’s most famous artists, Ronald Fenty’s relationship with Rihanna — born Robyn Rihanna Fenty — was layered with love, conflict, and reconciliation.
Their strained bond was thrust into the public eye following Rihanna’s 2009 assault by then-boyfriend Chris Brown. Fenty spoke to the press without her consent, an act she later criticized. “You grow up with your father, you know him… and then he does something so bizarre,” she told Vogue in 2011.
She also spoke candidly in a 2012 Oprah interview, revealing that her father had been abusive during her childhood, yet said they had since reconciled.
However, in 2019, their relationship hit another low point when Rihanna filed a lawsuit accusing him and his business partner of exploiting her name for a talent agency called Fenty Entertainment. She eventually dropped the suit in 2021, opting for a private resolution.
Ronald Fenty was a father of six. In addition to Rihanna, Rajad, and Rorrey — whom he shared with ex-wife Monica Braithwaite — he also had three children from earlier relationships: Samantha, Kandy, and Jamie. The family was raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, where Rihanna lived until launching her music career in the U.S. at age 16.
Fenty’s life was a mixture of private challenges and public attention, shaped in part by his daughter’s superstardom. As Rihanna now grieves, his passing marks not just a familial loss, but the end of a turbulent yet meaningful chapter in her personal history.
