'The Light of Our Lives': Chad Lowe's Family Mourns Daughter Fiona, 13, in Heartbreaking Statement

Some tributes cannot be written by journalists; they must be carried in the family's own words. When the family of Chad Lowe announced on Tuesday, Sept. 29, that his daughter Fiona had died at just 13 years old, they offered the world a portrait in a handful of sentences and then, rightly, asked to be left alone with their grief.

"We are deeply heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Fiona," the family said in a statement to PEOPLE. They remembered her as "a loving young girl who was smart, creative, and loved to dance."

"She was adored by her sisters, and she was deeply loved by her parents," the statement continued. "In fact, she was the light of our lives."

A father who found his purpose in his daughters

For those who have followed Lowe's public life, the depth of this loss is impossible to separate from the way he spoke about fatherhood. The 9-1-1: Lone Star actor, 58, the younger brother of Rob Lowe, 62, shares daughters Mabel Painter, 17, and Nixie Barbara, 10, with his wife, Kim Painter. In a 2024 appearance on the Still Here Podcast, he described being a girl dad as nothing short of transformative.

"I'm a girl dad," he said at the time. "I feel like having daughters is such an incredible privilege." He explained how parenthood had converted knowledge into conviction: "I know that there are struggles. And now it's taken what I've known intellectually, and it's put it in my heart because I now have three daughters. And so, I look at the world from really their perspective, and I see the world and a lot of the injustices in the world from their perspective."

His reflections extended to his hopes for the future his daughters would inherit. "It's not all doom and gloom. Society is changing," he said. "I see how we're really becoming conscious of the role of women. We may, who knows, have the first female president. [We're] really empowering women and seeing how much women have to offer. I personally think that if women were in charge of nations, we'd be a lot more peaceful."

"Keep dancing through life"

Lowe's affection for Fiona, known affectionately as "FiBear," was a recurring presence on his social media. Last year, he marked her entry into her teenage years with an Instagram post that now reads as unbearably tender: "Celebrating Fiona officially becoming a teen today!! Keep dancing through life, FiBear! Love you soooo much!!"

The family statement also carried a note aimed at others in crisis, directing those struggling with mental health to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available by call or text.

Loss upon loss

The tragedy arrives after a period of profound hardship for the Lowe family. In early 2025, they lost their home in the Pacific Palisades Fire. In February of that year, Chad shared that his daughters had finally been able to return and see what remained of the house where all three girls grew up.

"The way they've handled this whole devastating experience is nothing short of remarkable. I am in awe of their spirit and resilience," he wrote at the time. "Helping them navigate these tough times is my sole purpose. Being their dad is my life's greatest joy and privilege."

That a family which faced the ashes of its home with such grace should now face a grief of a wholly different order is the kind of sorrow that resists comprehension. The family closed their statement with a simple, plaintive request: "Her passing is devastating for our entire family and we ask for prayers and privacy at this time."

In the words he offered the world over the years, Chad Lowe gave voice to what fatherhood meant to him a privilege, a purpose, a life's greatest joy. Today, that voice belongs to a grieving family, and the most meaningful response the public can offer is the privacy they have asked for and the keeping of Fiona's memory: a young girl who was smart, creative, loved to dance, and was the light of their lives.