Rob Lowe and Family Are Rallying Around Chad Lowe and Wife Kim After a Devastating Loss

Rob Lowe and the Lowe family are standing beside Chad Lowe and Kim Painter after the devastating death of their 13-year-old daughter, Fiona. The family had already endured the loss of their home before facing an even more heartbreaking blow.

The Lowe family is facing a heartbreaking loss after Chad Lowe and Kim Painter announced that their 13-year-old daughter, Fiona, had died.

Days later, as more details emerged, Rob Lowe and the rest of the family were quietly closing ranks around Chad and Kim during an unimaginably difficult time. Chad and Kim announced Fiona's death on Sept. 29, sharing the devastating news in a statement to PEOPLE.

Chad and Kim Announced Their Daughter’s Death

"We are deeply heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Fiona," the family said. They remembered the teenager as "a loving young girl who was smart, creative, and loved to dance." Fiona was the second of Chad and Kim’s three daughters. She is survived by her older sister, Mabel, 17, and younger sister, Nixie Barbara, 10.

The family also made clear just how deeply Fiona was loved at home. "She was adored by her sisters, and she was deeply loved by her parents," they said. "In fact, she was the light of our lives."

The family asked for prayers and privacy as they grieved, while also sharing information for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. At that point, they had not publicly detailed what had happened to Fiona.

Then the Medical Examiner Revealed More

Two days after the family announced Fiona's death, the medical examiner released additional information. According to the office, Fiona was pronounced dead at 1:14 a.m. on Sept. 29 at a local hospital. On Oct. 1, the medical examiner ruled her manner of death a suicide. The development brought a painful new dimension to the family's loss, particularly because Fiona was only 13.

The family had initially chosen to focus on who Fiona was rather than how she died — a smart, creative girl who loved dance and was cherished by her parents and sisters.

Rob Lowe and the Family Are Now Rallying Around Chad

As Chad and Kim deal with the loss, Chad's brother, Rob, and the rest of the Lowe family have stepped in around them. According to a source who spoke with PEOPLE, Rob and Chad are especially close. "Rob and Chad are very close. Their family and friends have rallied around Chad and Kim," the insider said. "Everyone's heartbroken."

The source also pointed to another painful chapter the family had already endured. "They already went through so much with losing their home last year," they continued. "Right now, the focus is on being there for them in any way they can."

That detail makes the family's support especially poignant. Following Fiona's death, her grandfather, Chuck Lowe, shared a tribute.

Fiona's Grandfather Had His Own Way of Saying Goodbye

He posted a photograph of his granddaughter swimming and kept his message heartbreakingly simple: "Rest in peace, sweet Fiona." The short tribute offered another glimpse into the family's grief, while Fiona’s school community was also mourning her.

According to PEOPLE, those who knew Fiona outside the spotlight remembered her as "sweet, quiet and kind." A source described dance as her biggest passion and said she had "a very artistic soul."

"She was always kind to other students," the source added. "Many of her friends are out today grieving." The school community was described as close and artistic, with parents heavily involved in school life. The Lowe family was reportedly among those parents who regularly attended school functions.

But Fiona's Final Hours Contained a Troubling Detail

As more information about Fiona's death emerged, the circumstances surrounding her final hours became part of the story. Fiona died at the family's home on Sept. 29, and authorities were called to the residence shortly after midnight.

Later reporting revealed another difficult detail: drugs were found around Fiona when she was discovered. That information was not part of Chad and Kim's initial announcement. Instead, the family's first statement centered on Fiona herself and the place she held within their family — a daughter who was loved by her parents, adored by her sisters and remembered for her creativity and love of dance.

The circumstances surrounding her death would emerge gradually, after the family had already asked the public for privacy.

Fiona Had Only Recently Become a Teenager

Just months before her death, Chad had celebrated Fiona reaching another milestone. In November 2025, he marked his daughter officially becoming a teenager with a heartfelt Instagram post. "Celebrating Fiona officially becoming a teen today!!" he wrote.

He followed the birthday message with an affectionate description of his daughter and ended with an especially memorable line: "Keep dancing through life, FiBear! Love you soooo much!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" At the time, it was simply a father celebrating his daughter.

Now, those words have taken on a much heavier meaning. Dance was already a major part of Fiona's life, and the people who knew her would later identify it as one of the passions that made her who she was.

Before That, the Family Had Already Lost Almost Everything

Fiona's 13th birthday came less than a year after another devastating event in the Lowe family's life. The Lowes were still dealing with the aftermath of losing their Pacific Palisades home in the January 2025 fires when they were confronted with an entirely different kind of loss.

For Chad, the house represented roughly a decade of family life with Kim and their three daughters. When he later showed what remained, the photographs captured a home reduced to ruins.

"This is what remains of 10 years of building our lives. Our hearts are broken, but we are comforted by all the well wishes and offers of assistance. We are ok and will be ok," he wrote before acknowledging how brokenhearted they were.

Yet the sentence at the center of that first post was almost stubbornly hopeful and selfless, adding, "We have each other. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the other people who are suffering from this unimaginable disaster."

He went on to thank the first responders, "We are incredibly grateful to all the first responders, police, and firefighters, who put their lives on the line to protect all of us. They are truly heroes."

"Home really is where the heart is. Hold those you love close. Take care of each other. This crazy thing called 'life' is so damn precious," his post continued. He signed the post, "Love, Chad, Kim, Mabel, Fiona,& Nixie. Plus 3 cats and 2 fish."

Fiona and Her Sisters Returned to the Ruins

Almost a month after the family evacuated, Chad brought his three daughters back to see what remained of their home. Fiona was 12. The sisters stood together among the ruins, seeing firsthand what the fire had destroyed.

Chad later praised the girls for the way they handled the experience. "The way they've handled this whole devastating experience is nothing short of remarkable," he wrote, adding that, "I am in awe of their spirit and resilience."

He also described helping his daughters, writing, " Helping them navigate these tough times is my sole purpose. Being their dad is my life's greatest joy and privilege ⭐️⭐️⭐️." That perspective makes the family's current grief even harder to separate from everything that came before.

Rob Was There for Chad After the Fire, Too

The brothers' closeness had already been visible during the aftermath of the Palisades fire. After Chad lost so many belongings, Rob helped him replace clothes and shoes, joking that his younger brother was "back to being 15 years old" and receiving hand-me-downs from his older brother.

It was an almost playful moment in the middle of an otherwise devastating period. Now, the nature of Rob's support has changed dramatically. There is no house to rebuild this time. Instead, according to the source, the family is simply focused on being there for Chad and Kim in whatever way they can.

Chad Had Once Called Being a Girl Dad an 'Incredible Privilege'

Years before Fiona's death, Chad spoke openly about how profoundly his daughters had changed him. During a 2024 conversation, he described having daughters as "such an incredible privilege."

He explained that becoming a father had taken things he had previously understood intellectually and made them deeply personal. "It's taken what I've known intellectually, and it's put it in my heart because I now have three daughters," he said.

He also spoke about seeing the world differently because he was now looking at it through the perspective of his daughters. Those comments were made during a much happier chapter of the family's life. Chad was simply a father talking about raising three girls.

Now, his words offer a painful reminder of just how central those three daughters were to the life he had built with Kim.

The Family Album Now Looks Different

For years, Chad's social media had captured the girls growing up in fragments. There were birthdays, outdoor adventures, family gatherings, and glimpses of the sisters together. Fiona appeared in those memories at different ages — first as a little girl, then as one of three sisters navigating childhood, and eventually as the teenager her father celebrated in November 2025.

There was nothing particularly unusual about those photographs when they were taken. That is what makes them so difficult to look at now. They captured a family that had already survived losing its home and believed it was moving forward. Nobody looking at those pictures could have known that another devastating loss was still ahead.

And now, as Chad Lowe and Kim grieve Fiona and her sisters face life without their middle sister, Rob and the rest of the Lowe family are making sure the family does not have to carry that grief alone.

If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).