Australian model and swimwear designer Sahara Ray has died at age 34, her family confirmed in a statement.
Ray passed away in a hospital setting with relatives present, according to the family’s announcement. “She passed away last night surrounded by family at the hospital. She was so loved,” the family wrote in their statement. Her cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
The model had recently entered a new chapter of her life, having welcomed her first child just months earlier. Daughter Snow Ray was born on January 27, with Ray announcing the arrival on Instagram in late January.
Ray’s connection to mainstream fame crystallized during a widely photographed period in 2016. She was linked to pop star Justin Bieber through mutual friends in the modelling industry, and the two were spotted together on holiday in Hawaii in August of that year.
Beyond her high-profile associations, Ray had built her own brand in the fashion space as a swimwear designer. Her work in that arena ran parallel to her modelling career, establishing her as a creator in her own right within the industry.
The timeline of Ray’s final months traces a sharp arc from joy to loss. The January birth of Snow Ray came mere months before her death, leaving the infant without a mother. The family has not indicated whether additional details about circumstances or memorial arrangements will follow their initial statement.
Ray’s Hawaii holiday with Bieber in 2016 generated significant media attention at the time, with photographs of the pair circulating across celebrity news outlets. The connection was brief by most accounts, but it introduced Ray to a broader audience beyond her Australian base and modelling portfolio.
The family’s confirmation of her death arrived without elaboration on medical circumstances or whether Ray had been publicly known to be in declining health. The statement’s emphasis on her being “so loved” framed the announcement around emotional bonds rather than biographical detail.