Liam Payne of One Direction Dies at 31 After Falling from Hotel Balcony in Argentina

Liam Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony. He was 31 years old.

The former One Direction member was pronounced dead after falling from several floors at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday, October 16, the Policía Federal Argentina confirmed to PEOPLE. Argentine news channel TN was the first to report the news.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the circumstances surrounding Payne’s death, local police told PEOPLE, adding that an autopsy will be performed.

In a statement translated from Spanish, Alberto Crescenti (head of SAME, Buenos Aires’ public emergency medical system) told TN that Payne fell in the inner courtyard of the hotel.

The SAME team arrived at the hotel and confirmed the death of the man, later identified as Payne, around 5:11 p.m. local time, Crescenti said, adding that the musician’s injuries were so severe that “there was no possibility of resuscitation.”

Payne leaves behind a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey, with former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.

Liam Payne died on October 16, 2024 at the age of 31.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty

The British singer started playing music The X factor 2010, after the judges teamed him up with fellow solo contestants Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson to form One Direction. Although the group did not win the show, they still rose to superstardom and became one of the most prominent boy bands in history.

The pop-rock band released four highly successful studio albums and amassed a huge global fan base — with Payne co-writing hits like “Midnight Memories,” “No Control,” “Steal My Girl” and “Night Changes” — before departing Member of the Malik Group in 2015.

Liam Payne’s life in photos

After the release of the last album in Made in the morning without Malik, One Direction announced in 2016 that the band would go on an indefinite hiatus, with all remaining members – Payne, Styles, Horan and Tomlinson – embarking on solo careers.

Payne began his career as a solo singer-rapper in 2017 with the hit “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo, which has more than a billion streams on Spotify. He released his first solo EP, The first time2018, and his first and only studio album, LP1next year.

One Direction in London in December 2010.

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In her personal life, the One Direction alum has been dating The X factor judge Cole — formerly of Girls Aloud — who started dating in late 2015 and welcomed son Bear in 2017. Since announcing their split in July 2018, the exes are still parents to Bear.

Payne previously told PEOPLE that he “always wanted to be a young dad,” but it wasn’t easy. During a later interview in December 2020, he talked even more about how he had to “learn” to be a parent over time.

“I had a son when I was little and you think it’s going to be a magical thing, that one day you’re going to grow into the person you’re supposed to be,” the singer told PEOPLE at the time. “But it took me a long time to find my footing. I thought, Dad takes care of everything, that’s what he does, so my thing was to cook.”

Liam Payne attends One Direction bandmate Niall Horan’s show in Argentina with reunion plans: ‘We need to talk’

Two years after his split from Cheryl, the “Strip That Down” singer got engaged to model Maya Henry in 2020 before the couple called off their engagement the following year. They later rekindled their relationship and got engaged a second time before splitting again in May 2022.

At the time of his death, Payne was dating Kate Cassidy, with whom he was first seen in October 2022.

Liam Payne in London in November 2016.

Mike Marsland/WireImage

Throughout his career, the singer has also been open about his alcohol addiction, which he said was fueled by his One Direction superstardom. “It’s hard when you have the level of fame that we had in the band,” he said Men’s Health Australia in 2019

“There were a lot of people with mental health issues who didn’t really get the help they needed, and I think that’s a bit of a problem in our industry,” he continued. “It’s the same s— that happens to everybody, it’s been happening since the ’70s. You know what the pitfalls are and if you’re lucky enough, like me, to be able to get out of that scenario and get back to a sense of normalcy, then you know it’s a little bit different.”

Liam Payne in Birmingham in October 2019.

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However, the star’s struggles with alcohol continued, and in July 2023 he revealed that he had been sober for six months and had spent almost 100 days in rehab. “I just feel like I have more control over life and everything that was getting away from me, I just feel like I have more control over it,” Payne said in a YouTube video titled “I’m back…”

“I just needed to take some time for myself really because I’ve become someone I don’t really recognize anymore,” he continued. “And I’m sure you didn’t either. I was in a bad way up until that point and I was really happy to put life and work on hold in some way.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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Source: HIS Education