Lauren Bennett, the British singer who lent her voice to LMFAO's massive 2011 hit "Party Rock Anthem," died May 29 at her home in Meopham, Kent, England. She was 36. The Kent and Medway Coroner Service opened an investigation into her death on June 12, and her cause of death has not been revealed.
Bennett's former bandmates in the girl group G.R.L. announced her passing on Instagram, and Page Six confirmed the coroner's investigation is expected to proceed until an inquest on October 30.
The facts surrounding Bennett's death remain sparse. No official cause has been stated. No arrests or criminal allegations have been reported. What is known is that a young woman with a recognizable career in pop music died in her hometown, and the British coroner system, which investigates deaths that are sudden, unexplained, or otherwise require formal inquiry, has taken the case.
Bennett's path through the music industry was neither short nor simple. She first appeared on "X Factor" in 2007, then joined the Paradiso Girls, a group that disbanded in 2010. Her biggest commercial moment came when she contributed vocals to "Party Rock Anthem," LMFAO's global smash that dominated radio and dance floors in 2011.
By 2013, Bennett had joined G.R.L., a girl group that launched with commercial ambitions. The group lasted roughly two years before tragedy struck. In September 2014, member Simone Battle died by suicide at age 25. G.R.L. broke up in the aftermath.
The surviving members, Paula van Oppen, Natasha Slayton, and Emmalynn Estrada, reunited in 2016 and continued to tour. Bennett, meanwhile, formed a new music project called BENNETT with her brother Ryan Bennett in 2017.
Van Oppen, Slayton, and Estrada issued a joint statement on Instagram after Bennett's death. Their words were direct and personal, as reported by Page Six:
"Our hearts are broken, and we cannot begin to express how much she meant to us. We will forever cherish the love, laughter and countless memories she gave us."
The statement continued with a message addressed to Bennett herself:
"Rest peacefully, sweet Lauren. You will always be in our hearts."
The group described Bennett's impact in plain terms. "Her beautiful spirit touched so many lives, and she will be deeply missed and forever loved," they wrote.
In England and Wales, coroners open investigations when a death is sudden, unexplained, or occurs under circumstances that require public inquiry. An investigation does not imply foul play. It is a procedural step, one that leads to an inquest, a formal hearing where the coroner determines the cause and circumstances of death.
The Kent and Medway Coroner Service opened its investigation on June 12, roughly two weeks after Bennett died. The inquest is expected to conclude on October 30. Until that process plays out, the public will not have an official determination of what caused Bennett's death.
TMZ first reported on the investigation. Page Six independently confirmed the details, including the timeline and the coroner service handling the case.
For G.R.L., Bennett's death is the second time the group has lost a member. Simone Battle's suicide in 2014 ended the group's initial run and left its members publicly grieving a woman they had performed alongside for two years. Now, barely a decade later, the surviving members find themselves writing another tribute to a bandmate gone far too young.
Bennett's career arc, from reality competition contestant to featured vocalist on a global hit to girl-group member to independent artist, reflected a working musician's life. She kept at it through lineup changes, group breakups, and an industry that chews through pop acts with little sentiment.
The most basic question, what caused Lauren Bennett's death, remains officially unanswered. Page Six reported that the cause "has yet to be revealed." No family members beyond brother Ryan Bennett have been named in connection with any public statements. No details about the scope or nature of the coroner's inquiry have emerged beyond the dates and the investigating body.
The October 30 inquest will, in theory, provide the answers that are missing now. Whether those answers come with further questions remains to be seen.
For now, what's left is a 36-year-old woman, a hometown in Kent, a coroner's file, and a group of former bandmates who have already buried one of their own and now must reckon with losing another.
Some stories don't have villains or policy failures. They just have grief, silence, and the slow machinery of official process grinding toward an answer that won't come soon enough for the people who loved her.
