News broke on Wednesday night of the death of German supermodel Tatjana Patitz, aged just 56. The news agency reports it ap.
In front of the AP, her agent, Corinne Nicolas of the Coop Model Agency, confirmed the model’s death. She says Patitz had been ill, but she did not provide further details about the cause of her death.
Dead on Vacation: “I love you”
Patitz lived in California and is survived by one son.
She was born in Germany but grew up in Sweden. She eventually moved to the United States, specifically to California.
The former model is best known for being among the elite group of models dubbed the “big five”, or the “original supermodels”, along with Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell.
In addition, she was also one of the models who starred in George Michael’s music video “Freedom! ’90”.
According to the AP, she was a favorite of fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, who photographed her famous 1988 photo, “White Shirts: Six Supermodels, Malibu,” as well as a 1990 British Vogue cover photo.
Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour (73) previously said the following about Patitz:
– We’re devastated
– She has always been the European symbol of elegance, like Romy Schneider meets Monica Vitti. She was far less visible than her peers—more mysterious, more grown-up, more unattainable—and that had her charm about her, she said.
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