Songwriter Jackson Browne announced that his son Ethan Browne has died at the age of 52.
“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,” read a statement shared via Jackson’s Facebook on Wednesday, November 26. “We ask for privacy and respect for the family during this difficult time. No further details are available at this moment.”
A cause of death was not revealed.
Jackson, 77, welcomed Ethan with late wife Major in 1973. Major died by suicide in 1976 at age 30. Jackson found a second chance at love with model Lynne Sweeney whom he wed 1981. The pair welcomed son Ryan the following year before divorcing in 1983.
Ethan and his dad had a close relationship that grew stronger following Major’s death. Jackson previously shared how his “main focus” in life was being there for his children while also balancing his music career. (Jackson rose to fame writing for the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and the Byrds before embarking on a solo career.)
“I only had two things that I hoped I could fit together: being a songwriter and a father. And I looked at it like this, if I have to only be a father, I hope I’ll know it, and just do that,” the “These Days” songwriter said in an interview with Route magazine in June 2021. “But life’s not like that and you don’t get a notice in the mail saying you’re blowing it as a parent. You think you have the advice and the help you need, and sometimes you don’t, or you don’t heed it.”
Jackson continued, “The mistakes I’ve made as a parent are still with me. I think about them fairly often. It’s not that you’re not trying the whole time. It’s not that I wasn’t trying then. You’re just distracted by other things and some things don’t occur to you. Or maybe you ignore advice that you should have taken, because you’re overconfident.”
Much like his father, Ethan pursued a career in the entertainment industry as an actor. He made his film debut in the 1995 film Hackers. He also made appearances on the 2002 TV series Birds of Prey and in the 2004 film Raising Helen, which starred Kate Hudson, John Corbett and Joan Cusack.
Several celebrity children have inherited their famous parents’ acting genes. Busy Philipps’ eldest daughter, Birdie, appeared alongside the actress in two episodes of Cougar Town and on the Prime Video series With Love. Philipps shares daughters Birdie and cricket with ex-husband Marc Silverstein. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a […]
Ethan also pursued a modeling career. He previously worked with designer Isaac Mizrahi.
In 2022, Jackson opened up about how proud he was to see Ethan start a family of his own after welcoming a daughter.
“Ethan is a great father. He’s a great son, a great man. I love seeing him with his kids,” Jackson gushed in a May 2022 interview with Tru Rock Revival. “When I see him in his movies, modeling, with his daughter, and being such a great dad, it makes me very proud. It makes me feel I’ve done something really right in my life.”
