- Sahara Ray, model and rumored ex of Justin Bieber, has died at 34.
- The Australian swimwear designer was also the daughter of surfing legend Tony Ray.
- “She was so loved,” the family said of Ray, who gave birth to a daughter in January 2026.
Sahara Ray, model formerly linked to Justin Bieber, has died at the age of 34.
The Australian was the daughter of surfing legend Tony Ray and recently became a mother herself with the January 2026 birth of daughter Snow.
“She passed away last night surrounded by her family at the hospital,” Ray’s family told TMZ in a statement. “She was so loved.”
The cause of death has not been confirmed.
Sahara Ray/Instagram
In 2024, Ray opened up about her battle with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that left her partially paralyzed and unable to walk following a serious car crash with a suspected drunk driver at 80 mph.
“I’m so overwhelmed by what’s happening to me,” she said in a since-deleted TikTok video, according to Australia’s 7News. “Basically right now I’m paralyzed from the top of my thighs down to my feet. I can’t walk at all…I’m mostly in a wheelchair and I have a walker.”
In 2016, Ray was linked to Bieber after posting a photo of the two vacationing with friends in Hawaii.
Sahara Ray/Instagram
The model and swimsuit designer used Bieber’s song, “Everything Hallelujah,” to accompany an Instagram post announcing the arrival of her daughter. “Baby snow hallelujah,” Ray captioned the sweet video showing the new mom cuddling the newborn and introducing her to her social media followers.
Ray’s last Instagram post on July 19 was an ode to her daughter, who she described as “my whole heart.”
Born in Australia, Ray grew up “mostly in Santa Cruz” and spent her winters in Hawaii with her father, she said. GQ.
Tony Ray was ranked No. 11 in the world in 1992, the year after Sahara was born. “I used to travel all over the world with him while he competed in the pipe masters (and) big wave competitions,” she said.
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Sahara was living in Los Angeles when she gave birth to Snow, according to Ray’s mother, Gretchen Gia Bach. But she hoped to raise her children at home.
“Australia is where I want to end up and I want to have children here,” Sahara revealed in an interview with The Sun Herald. “It’s more relaxed and relaxed and even on set it’s more about quality than quantity.”
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