Who is Ethan Browne’s brother, Ryan Browne? All about siblings following the actor’s death

Rock musician and political activist Jackson Browne is mourning the loss of his elder son, Ethan Browne, who died on Tuesday at the age of 52. Jackson announced the death via a social media statement on Wednesday. It appeared on Facebook and Instagram, reading:

“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 further details are available at this moment.”

Ethan Browne has a stepbrother named Ryan Browne, who is a musician, editor, and filmmaker.

While Ethan is the son of model-actress Phyllis Major, Ryan was born to model Lynne Sweeney. They both share the same father, Jackson Browne, 77.

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All you need to know about Ethan Browne and Ryan Browne

Ethan Zane Brown was born in 1973 and raised in Los Angeles. At six months, he famously appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1974 alongside his father, Jackson Browne, who was seen holding his infant son and nuzzling his face.

Ethan’s mother, Phyllis Major, died by suicide from a drug overdose in March 1976, less than a year after her wedding to Jackson Browne. Speaking with Route Magazine in 2021, the rocker shared that after the tragedy, being a single father was his “main focus.”

“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. But life’s not like that and you don’t get a notice in the mail saying you’re blowing it as a parent,” Jackson stated.

He continued, “You think you have the advice and the help you need, and sometimes you don’t, or you don’t heed it. 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.”

Jackson Browne mentioned that despite trying to be a good father to young Ethan Browne, he was often “distracted by other things” or ignored advice he should have taken, without being overconfident.

The Running on Empty crooner added that he had “hired” help to look after Ethan, not because he didn’t care, but because he didn't have enough experience or awareness to balance fatherhood with his career.

Notably, Ethan Browne modelled for designers such as Isaac Mizrahi and appeared in the 2004 movie Raising Helen, alongside Kate Hudson. His other acting credits include the film Hackers and the TV show Birds of Prey. As a DJ and musician, he also founded and ran Spinside Records, which was an imprint of his dad’s independent label, Inside Recordings.

Producer Mark Ronson wrote about Ethan Browne in his memoir, Night People. He recalled meeting the late model-actor in New York City when he was living with Simon Rex. Ronson described Browne as:

“the real deal — with an angular face and soulful gaze that seemed to reveal his deepest truths, even from a glossy page.”

During the four-year-old sit-down with Route Magazine, Jackson Bronw praised Ethan’s dad skills.

“When I look at my son, he’s interacting with his son, like, all the time! It’s like, ‘Wow.’ So, it’s the idea of being absent for big pieces of time, and still thinking that I’m doing it, I’m showing up, I’m there every day, or I take him everywhere I go.”

He reiterated his sentiments during the 2022 interview with Tru Rock Revival.

“Ethan is a great father. He's a great son, a great man. I love seeing him with his kids. When I see him in his movies, modelling, 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,” Jackson mentioned.

Browne Sr is also a father to Ryan Daniel Browne, 43, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Lynne Sweeney.

Ryan is an Australian-American editor, story producer, music video maker, and musician. He has an MFA degree in film direction from the California Institute of the Arts.

Ethan Browne’s younger stepbrother has collaborated with high-profile clients, such as Amazon, Warner Music Group, BMG, Sub Pop Records, NFL Network, and Sony Music.

In 2021, Jackson called Ryan a “terrific parent” while speaking with Route Magazine.

“At times when I’m with them, I reflect on my own parenting, and it makes me kind of blue. I think I could have been a much better parent. But to see somebody who does an incredible job and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I see what you’re doing and it’s just so attentive and focused,’ and he didn’t learn it from me, he got it from his mom,” Jackson added.

Ryan Browne was previously a member of the bands Kelley Stoltz and Sonny & the Sunsets.

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The official cause of death of Ethan Browne was not immediately available. However, Variety cited the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office, which has listed it as “deferred.”