He was featured on a Rolling Stone cover with his father soon after he was born, and went on to work as an actor, model, and musician.

Ethan Zane Browne, the oldest son of singer songwriter Jackson Browne, has died. He was 52.

Ethan’s passing was confirmed on Browne’s Instagram through a statement that read, “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. We ask for privacy and respect for the family during this difficult time.”

No cause of death was provided, and Browne’s statement said the family would not be sharing any additional information.

Ethan was born on Nov. 2, 1973, and six months later appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in his father’s arms. In the feature story, Browne talked about his rising career and the early days of becoming a parent, saying at one point, “I wanted a baby ’cause I wanted to be a baby. I play with [Ethan] all the time; there’s something pure about it. Look at all those expressions he’s got. He’s a real kick in the ass.”

In 1976, when Ethan was three, his mother Major, whom Browne had married the previous year, died by suicide. In 1981, Browne married model Lynne Sweeney, and the couple welcomed another son, Ryan, in 1982.

As he got older, Ethan pursued modeling and took on a few acting roles. He appeared in the 1995 film Hackers, made a one episode appearance on the television series Birds of Prey, and had a small role in the 2004 romantic comedy Raising Helen.

Ethan later moved toward music. He created a record label called Spinside Records and teamed up with multi instrumentalist Cat Colbert to form a duo named Alain Zane. The pair released their first album, Right Before Your Eyes, in 2022 through Spinside.