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River Phoenix's Sister Finds Solace in "Death Positive" Movement After Tragic Overdose
1 Nov
Summary
- River Phoenix's sister Rain opens up about his accidental overdose in 1993
- Rain has recently begun learning about the "death positive" movement
- River's ex-girlfriend Martha Plimpton reflects on his challenges with fame and addiction
In November 2025, River Phoenix's surviving sister, Rain Phoenix, is revealing how her brother's accidental overdose in 1993 changed her relationship with and understanding of death. Rain, now 52, wrote in an essay that the experience of losing River at age 23 was "unimaginably painful and traumatic," further compounded by the intense media coverage.
Now, over three decades later, Rain has developed a "deepening curiosity about death, grief and how we as a society process it." She has recently begun learning about the "death positive movement," which encourages open discussions about death, dying and corpses.
River's ex-girlfriend, Martha Plimpton, also opened up about her relationship with the young actor during a recent interview. Plimpton, who dated River for four years, said fame was "really hard" on him, as he was a "very innocent and driven-by-love human being" who struggled with the contradictions of Hollywood. Despite their relationship ending, the two remained close friends until River's untimely death.
