Photo Credit: Getty Images
Jackson Browne is mourning an unimaginable loss after announcing the death of his son, Ethan Browne, at age 52. The singer-songwriter shared the news in a somber statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday, Nov. 26, confirming that Ethan was found unresponsive in his home the previous morning.
"It is with deep sorrow that we share that on the morning of November 25, 2025, Ethan Browne, the son of Jackson Browne and Phyllis Major, was found unresponsive in his home and has passed away," the statement read. "We ask for privacy and respect for the family during this difficult time. No further details are available at this moment."
Ethan, who built a multifaceted career as an actor, model, and musician, was the only child of Browne and actress Phyllis Major. Major died by suicide in 1976, when Ethan was still a toddler — a tragedy Browne has spoken about with profound honesty over the years. In 1974, when Ethan was just a few weeks old, he appeared with his father on the cover of Rolling Stone, captured in an intimate photograph that showed the young musician nuzzling his infant son.
As an adult, Ethan stepped into the entertainment world with quiet confidence. He appeared in the 2004 Kate Hudson film Raising Helen and modeled for designers including Isaac Mizrahi. Producer Mark Ronson recalled Ethan in his memoir Night People as "the real deal — with an angular face and soulful gaze that seemed to reveal his deepest truths." Ronson also noted Ethan's striking resemblance to both parents, writing that he carried his mother's cheekbones and his father's eyes.
In addition to his work onscreen and on the runway, Ethan founded Spinside Records, an imprint on Browne's independent label Inside Recordings, further cementing his place in the creative world that shaped him.
Browne, now 77, has often reflected on fatherhood as his greatest grounding force after Major's death. In a 2021 interview, he said raising Ethan became his "main focus," adding that balancing music and parenting defined his life. In 2022, he proudly described Ethan as "a great father, a great son, a great man."
