"Sahara was an incredibly passionate and kind young woman who loved her family, fashion, her daughter Snow, and surfing."
The Torquay-born swimsuit model Sahara Ray, baby gal of the surfing great Tony Ray and her Santa Cruz-based realtor mama Gretchen, has died aged only 34.
Her family confirmed the death in a statement to TMZ, saying she had died surrounded by relatives. “She was so loved,” the statement said. No cause was given.
Sahara had spent much of the past two years recovering in public.
Two years back, she told her followers she had been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves, after being struck by a car that April and developing an infection during her recovery. At one point she was paralysed from the upper thighs down and using a wheelchair. Within weeks she was posting videos of herself standing again, and she later regained her mobility.
In January she gave birth to a daughter, Snow. Her last Instagram post was devoted to the child. Mama Gretchen wrote in March,
“Two months ago Snow Ray Dow was born at 12:19am on January 27th… Baby was born without complications and has an amazing temperament. I feel so honored to have been invited to be at the birth and to watch Sahara become a mother. Mum and baby have received a steady flow of visitors and are feeling supported and loved.”
Sahara Ray was born in Torquay, her father’s lifelong base. Holding dual Australian and American citizenship, she spent much of her childhood in Santa Cruz, Calif., and later described to GQ an upbringing organised around surfing and travel.
She studied at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and in 2014 founded Sahara Ray Swim, a label she promoted to an Instagram audience that eventually approached 900,000 followers.
In 2015 she was linked to the Australian singer Cody Simpson, and in August 2016 she posted a video of herself and Justin Bieber swimming nude in Hawaii, setting off a round of tabloid coverage.
“Sahara was an incredibly passionate and kind young woman who loved her family, fashion, her daughter Snow, and surfing,” mama Gretchen told media. “We’re feeling the love that is pouring in from her cherished friends, fans and the many communities that she was part of around the world.”
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There is no hospital in Torquay so unless she was born in a home birth she was probably born in Geelong.
So many implant
That is crazy sad.
Condolences to her family and friends.
Such a fucking sad thing to read and all my love and support sent to all of her family and friends