Model and swimwear designer Sahara Ray has died at the age of 34. Her family confirmed the death in a statement, saying she passed away surrounded by family at the hospital. No cause of death has been given.
Family statement and career
Ray, who welcomed a baby girl in January 2026, was best known for her modelling career and for launching her own swimwear brand, Sahara Ray Swim. She made headlines when she was photographed on holiday with Justin Bieber, 32, in Hawaii in 2016, after the pair dated briefly that year. She was also previously linked to Australian singer Cody Simpson.
The family's statement read: "She passed away last night surrounded by family at the hospital. She was so loved."
Health battle and car accident
In 2024, the Australian model spoke publicly about her battle with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves. Ray received the diagnosis after a car accident left her partially paralysed and wheelchair bound.
In a TikTok video, she said: "I honestly don’t even know how to start this video, I’m so overwhelmed with what’s going on with me. So basically, right now I’m paralysed from the tops of my upper thighs all the way down to my feet. I can’t walk at all. I am primarily in a wheelchair and I have a walker."
Ray admitted she could "barely walk" despite the aid of the walker, adding: "So I have an autoimmune disease that showed up a few weeks ago called Guillain-Barre syndrome. This is really hard to deal with, I’ve been trying to keep a good attitude and be hopeful that my feeling comes back, but there’s always a chance it just stays like this."
Accident details and fan reaction
She went on to share details about the car accident that brought on the autoimmune disease. "So I was hit by a car April 8, the car was going 80 miles (128 km) an hour, it was a drunk driver," she recalled. "It basically set my body into shock which sent my body into this crazy sickness and I got really, really sick for a week-and-a-half to two weeks."
Describing her body as "weak", Ray said she struggled to eat during that period "because I couldn’t keep it down". Five days after the sickness began to wear off, she experienced "tingling and numbness" in her feet that then progressed up her legs. "Basically, I couldn’t walk within a week and a half," she added.
Fans expressed shock over her sudden passing, with one writing: "Sahara ray passed away?? Is that true???? I thought she was doing better since she had her daughter. That’s heartbreaking." Another commented: "Omg Sahara Ray… what a sad news," while a third wrote: "Sahara ray passed??? this is so sad in general but even more so because she just had a daughter earlier this year."
