The actor and model “was found unresponsive in his home” in November 2025

Ethan Browne and dad Jackson Browne.Credit : SGranitz/WireImage

A cause of death has been revealed for Jackson Browne’s son, Ethan Browne, who died on Nov. 25 at 52.

The actor and model died due to the effects of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and lidocaine, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Ethan’s manner of death was ruled an accident.

The 77-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter and political activist shared a statement to Facebook on Nov. 26, confirming his eldest child died the day before.

Jackson Browne and son Ethan Browne at the Los Angeles premiere of Batman Returns, June 1992.Ted Dayton/WWD/Penske Media via Getty

“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,” the statement read. “We ask for privacy and respect for the family during this difficult time. No further details are available at this moment.”

Ethan was just a toddler when his mother, who married the “Somebody’s Baby” singer in 1975, died by suicide.

In a May 1974 interview with Rolling Stone, in which Jackson discussed “writing, performing and fatherhood,” the outlet wrote that “Jackson played with his baby for a moment” after a show during his interview.

“I love it when he laughs,” the artist, who was 25 at the time, said of Ethan. “His little voice. His little throat.”

He also shared what inspired him to become a father.

“I wanted a baby ’cause I wanted to be a baby. I play with him all the time; there’s something pure about it. Look at all those expressions he’s got. He’s a real kick in the a–,” the “Running on Empty” singer said in 1974.

The newborn was featured on the magazine’s cover with his father.

As an adult, Ethan found his footing in Hollywood, becoming an accomplished model who appeared in campaigns for designers like Isaac Mizrahi, according to producer Mark Ronson’s memoir Night People.

Ronson, 50, felt that Ethan was made to be famous, describing him as “the real deal — with an angular face and soulful gaze that seemed to reveal his deepest truths, even from a glossy page.”

Jackson Browne and Son Ethan Browne during “Roxanne” Los Angeles Premiere.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

He also wrote that Ethan had the “sharp cheekbones” of his late mother, and the “soulful eyes” of his dad.

In addition to modeling and founding Spinside Records, an imprint on Browne’s independent label Inside Recordings, Ethan also made it to the big screen. He starred alongside Kate Hudson in the 2004 film Raising Helen.

Jackson also praised his son’s skills as a father in a 2022 interview with Tru Rock Revival.

“Ethan is a great father. He’s a great son, a great man,” Jackson said. “I love seeing him with his kids. 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.”

Jackson also has a son, 43-year-old Ryan, with his ex-wife Lynne Sweeney.