Jennifer Finch, founding bassist of pioneering feminist rock band L7, has died aged 59 following an aggressive form of brain cancer. Her diagnosis was made public only earlier in the week, alongside a GoFundMe campaign to cover in-home nursing, therapy and medical equipment, before her bandmates announced her death late on Saturday, 18 July. Her passing marks the loss of a defining figure in the LA underground and riot grrrl-adjacent scene of the late 1980s and 90s.

Finch joined L7 in 1986 alongside Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, having previously played in Sugar Babydoll with Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland, and went on to feature on all five of the band's albums between 1988 and 2019. Though self-admittedly rudimentary on bass at first, she compensated with a fierce stage presence and sharp industry instincts that helped push L7 from local clubs to slots such as Lollapalooza 1994; she also wrote several of the band's songs. She left in 1996 but rejoined for L7's 2014 reunion and remained a member until her death, with close to $400,000 raised via the GoFundMe at the time of publication.