R&B Legend Eddie Levert’s 22-Year-Old Daughter Has Died

Legendary R&B singer Eddie Levert is mourning the loss of his daughter, Ryan Levert. The O’Jays singer’s grandchildren, LeMicah and Carlysia Levert, confirmed Ryan’s passing at the age of 22 in separate social media posts last week, according to the Los Angeles Times. Ryan’s cause of death was not disclosed, but she had been battling lupus.

“Whenever you don’t answer the phone I knew something was wrong and now I’m going to have that feeling forever,” LeMicah, the son of Eddie’s late son Gerald Levert, wrote in tribute to his aunt on Instagram. I love you @missryanlevert! I wasn’t prepared for this.” His sister, Carlysia, also paid tribute to Ryan, shared a photo of her aunt on her Instagram Stories along with purple heart and dove emojis. Levert has not publicly commented on his daughter’s passing at this time.

Ryan was the singer’s youngest child whom he shared with his wife Raquel. She was active on social media, where she shared frequent pictures and life updates, including posts about her battle with lupus, though her final Instagram post came a year ago when she rang in 2024 with a post looking ahead to the future, writing, “Happy 2024 praying for good health, more love, and more laughter.” The post now serves as a memorial, the comments flooded with tributes and condolences, including from one person who wrote, “I’m so so sorry for your loss such a Beautiful soul.”

Ryan’s passing follows the deaths of two of Levert’s other children – Gerald, who passed away from a heart attack at the age of 40 in 2006, and Sean, who died at the age of 39 in 2008 after falling ill while carrying out a jail sentence in Cleveland. Reflecting on those tragedies, Levert told The Plain Dealer in 2011, “I wish I could tell you that I had a sense of why, but I don’t.”

“I still wonder: Was it something I did? Maybe that’s why I’ve made so many changes in my life, to better myself and try to be a better father, a better husband, a better friend. Maybe that’s the reason why: for me to come to a better place,” he said. “But I can’t dwell on it. It becomes very emotional for me. I really miss them. It’s just hard. But I can’t get caught up in the fact that it wasn’t supposed to be like this, because it happened. And there was nothing I could do about it.”

He added that his “closeness with God has helped me a great deal. “I’m no holy roller by any means. But I believe. There are only two kinds of people in the world: the believer and the nonbeliever. I happen to be a believer… I read the Book of Job. He lost everything. I didn’t lose everything. I lost two sons. It’s not trivial. But compared to somebody who lost their whole family — do you understand? — I was left something. God is still great.”

Levert rose to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the legendary R&B group The O’Jays. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group is known for their hits like “Love Train,” “Back Stabbers,” and “For the Love of Money.”