Tatjana Patitz Cause of Death Revealed; Iconic Supermodel Was 56

Tatjana Patitz is a member of an exclusive group of renowned supermodels who adorned magazine covers in the 1980s and 1990s and starred in George Michael's 'Freedom! '90' music video has passed away at the age of 56.

Corinne Nicolas, her New York agent at the Model CoOp agency, verified Patitz's passing in the Santa Barbara, California, region. Nicholas stated that illness was the cause but provided no other information.

Tatjana Patitz Cause of Death

Patitz, born in Germany, reared in Sweden, and subsequently made her home in California, was considered one of the "first" supermodels, starring alongside Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford in a Michael Jackson music video.

She was a favorite of fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, who featured her natural beauty in his iconic 1988 shot, 'White Shirts: Six Supermodels, Malibu,' and on the cover of British Vogue in 1990 - inspiring Michael to cast the group in his lip-syncing video, according to Vogue.

Anna Wintour, the global editorial director of the publication, was reported as saying that Patitz was "always the European icon of elegance like Romy Schneider meets Monica Vitti. She was far less visible than her friends and more enigmatic, mature, and unapproachable, adding to her allure.

Per AP News, Tatjana Patitz stated in a 2006 interview that the golden age of supermodels was finished.

She was reported in Prestige Hong Kong magazine as saying, "There was a true era, and the reason that happened was that glamor was infused into it." Now that celebrities and actresses have taken over, models are entirely in the background.

In addition, she remarked that models from her era had better bodies. Patitz stated, "Women were healthy, unlike these skinny models whose names are no longer known."

The fashion magazine mentions in the article that Patitz was born in Hamburg, Germany, before migrating to Skanor, Sweden, with her family when she was young. The model's career began at age 17 when she entered an Elite Model Contest.

However, as stated by Vogue, Patitz's career began slowly, with the supermodel only becoming a cultural icon after being photographed by Peter Lindberg. George Michael placed the German-born supermodel in his 'Freedom '90' music video alongside Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista shortly after the photographs were taken.

Tributes For Tatjana Patitz

Per The Independent, Patitz subsequently modeled for companies such as Chanel, Donna Karan, and Vivienne Westwood, with the model's final catwalk walk being in 2019 for Etro's Autumn/Winter 2019/20 show.

The global editorial director of Vogue, Anna Wintour, stated: "Tatjana was always the epitome of European chic, a cross between Romy Schneider and Monica Vitti... She was far less visible than her peers, was more mysterious, sophisticated, and unsociable, and this had its appeal."

The Peter Lindbergh Foundation praised Tatjana Patitz's generosity, inner beauty, and exceptional intelligence.

"She will be greatly missed," the Foundation tweeted upon her passing. Patitz's most recent catwalk outing was in February 2019 during the Etro show during Milan fashion week, according to BBC.