Who Is Arne Naess Jr.? 5 Things to Know About Evan Ross's Late Dad and the Love of Diana's Life

By Monica Sisavat Solís

Evan Ross and his wife, Ashlee Simpson, currently star in their own self-titled reality TV show on E!, and the series has sparked renewed interest in Evan's family — specifically his late father, Arne Naess Jr. On Sunday night's episode, the 30-year-old actor and singer opened up about his father's untimely death as he battled his fears of climbing. "I feel like one of the biggest things I got from my father growing up was, 'You can face certain fears,' and no matter what, I can push through," he said. Evan was just 15 years old when Arne passed away during a climbing accident in 2004.

  1. Arne was born in Germany on Dec. 8, 1937. He was the son of ski-jumping coach August Oskar German and physiotherapist Kiki Naess.
  2. Arne was a Norwegian shipping tycoon. Arne built a shipping empire that was worth around $500 million at the time of his death.

  1. He was an experienced climber. In 1985, Arne and a group of Norwegian climbers led one of the most successful expeditions to Mount Everest.
  2. He was once married to Diana Ross. Arne and Diana first met in Barbados in 1985, and they got married the following year. They welcomed two sons together, Ross and Evan, and Diana became a stepmother to his three children, Katinka, Christoffer, and Leona. They also shared Diana's three older kids, Tracee, Rhonda, and Chudney. In 2000, the pair divorced, and four years later, Arne passed away. Diana has referred to Arne as the "love of my life."

  1. Arne passed away on Jan. 13, 2004. The 66-year-old businessman died while mountain climbing near Cape Town, South Africa. Evan recently opened up about his father's passing on his reality TV show. "You wanna make sure you remember everything. You don't want it to become a distant memory," he said. "I would've liked him to have met my wife and my daughter . . . he was good with women and he was special."