Rihanna's father died of cancer and other serious illnesses

According to a death certificate obtained by TMZ, Ronald's death certificate listed acute respiratory failure, pancreatic cancer and aspiration pneumonia - a bacterial lung infection - as well as two kidney conditions, acute renal failure and acute tubular necrosis.

As well as Rihanna, Ronald is also survived by the singer's mother Monica Braithwaite - whom he split from in 2002 - and other daughters Kandi, 54, and Samantha Fenty, 44, and 35-year-old son Rorrey Fenty.

Prior to their divorce, Ronald and Monica had raised their children in Bridgetown, Barbados where he worked as a warehouse supervisor and she was an accountant.

Rihanna had endured a rocky relationship with her father when she was growing up, and was at the centre of a public battle with him when he spoke to the press after she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009.

However, the in the years that followed, she noted that she had "repaired" her relationship with her father and had to learn to "come to terms" with things that had gone in in the past.

She told Oprah Winfrey: "He taught me everything, and as awful as he was to my mom, at times, it didn't compare to how great he was as a father.

"And I had to come to terms with that, and I was able to close that gap with him."

Despite this, in 2019, Rihanna sued her dad for allegedly exploiting her name for financial gain but elected to dismiss the complaint just weeks before it went to court.

The 'Diamonds' songstress is currently expecting her third child with rapper A$AP Rocky - with whom she already has RZA, two, as well as 22-month-old Riot - and Ronald previously shared how much he approved of his daughter's relationship.

He told PageSix in 2023: "He's such a cool guy. Very respectable. He's taking to fatherhood very well."