Sahara Ray’s younger sister has paid tribute to the Australian model following her death at the age of 34, describing her as a “force of nature” and a light whose absence had left the world “impossibly dimmer”.
Ray, the daughter of big-wave surfer Tony Ray, died surrounded by family at a hospital in Los Angeles on Monday. No official cause of death has been released.
In a post featuring photographs of the sisters from childhood and adulthood, Ruby Ray wrote: “My beautiful big sister, Sahara. The most vivacious, intelligent, hilarious, kind, empathetic and breathtakingly beautiful soul.”
“Sahara has moved from this life into another, and I am left trying to comprehend how someone so full of life can no longer be here to live it,” she said.
Ruby said she had looked up to her sister from the moment she was born, describing Sahara as “magic”, “warmth”, “laughter” and “love”.
Sahara Ray remembered by family and friends
Describing her grief, Ruby said: “How cruel it is to love someone so deeply and have nowhere for that love to go.”
“I don’t think there are words in any language capable of holding the weight of this heartbreak,” she wrote. “I don’t know how to make sense of a world that keeps turning when mine feels as though it has stopped.”
She added: “I just want my big sister. I want more time. More laughter. More conversations. More of her.”
“If love alone could have kept you here, Sahara, you would have lived a thousand lifetimes. I will spend the rest of mine loving you.”
Ray found fame on social media before launching her swimwear brand, Sahara Ray Swim, in 2014. She was linked to Justin Bieber after they were pictured together in Hawaii in 2016, and was later linked to Australian singer and Commonwealth Games swimmer Cody Simpson.
She gave birth to a daughter, Snow, nine months ago. The baby appeared in Ray’s final social media post in July, when she described her daughter as “my whole heart”.
In 2024, Ray revealed she had been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves, after being hit by a car. She said at the time that she was paralysed from the tops of her thighs to her feet and was primarily using a wheelchair and walker.
Fashion businesswoman Alana Pallister, the founder of Tiger Mist and I Am Gia, remembered Ray as her “little fairy sister” and said they had worked, travelled and lived together after meeting.
“You were a creative genius and deeply spiritual, you made everyone and anyone feel welcome and loved, you were the original Tumblr model icon and insanely talented designer and creative director,” Pallister wrote.
“Your family and friends love you so very dearly and will always hold that light deep inside our hearts. I love you forever my beautiful girl.”
