She was the daughter of actor Marlon Brando by his third wife Tarita Teriipaia, an actress from French Polynesia whom he met while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962.

"[4] Cheyenne eventually dropped out of high school and began taking drugs including LSD, PCP, marijuana, and tranquilizers.

Marlon Brando flew Cheyenne to Los Angeles to undergo extensive reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.

[6][7] On 16 May 1990, Drollet was fatally shot by Cheyenne's elder half-brother Christian at their father's home.

[10] The prosecutors of the case attempted to subpoena Cheyenne to testify at Christian's trial as they felt her account of the night's event was crucial in proving the shooting was premeditated.

On 22 December 1990, Cheyenne was declared "mentally disabled" by a French judge and was deemed unable to testify in her brother's trial.

[11][12][13][14] Without Cheyenne's testimony, prosecutors felt they could no longer prove that Drollet's death was premeditated.

In an interview given after his release, Christian stated that he doubted Cheyenne's accusations of physical abuse against Drollet due to her mental instability.

[16] In the years following Drollet's death and her half-brother Christian's arrest, Cheyenne's mental health steadily declined.

[17] Cheyenne was later formally diagnosed with schizophrenia,[18] became isolated from her former friends, and ultimately lost custody of her son, Tuki, to her mother, who raised him in Tahiti.