A Brazilian model known as the "Human Ken Doll" has died after a five-month battle with cancer. He was 20 years old.
Celso Santebanes, who spent $50,000 on plastic surgeries to transform himself into real-life version of Barbie's boyfriend Ken, died at Federal University hospital in Uberlandia, Brazil, Thursday after contracting pneumonia, according to the Independent.
Santebanes was buried in his native Sao Paulo on Friday.
"When he was starting to fulfill his dreams, he discovered his illness and his dreams were interrupted. He had plans but God had others," said his father Celia Borges, according to Metro.
He was diagnosed with leukemia last year and was admitted to the hospital May 26 for chemotherapy sessions.
"Today, I start a new cycle of my life," Santebanes told Latin Times in January, after being diagnosed. "I am starting chemotherapy, and I admit I'm a little concerned about some side effects, like hair loss, nausea, my body's rejection [of chemotherapy], among other things, but I am no longer concerned with the issue of aesthetics. For me, that doesn't matter. What matters is my health now, and I will fight for it."
Santebanes began his transformation into a real-life Ken doll after winning a modelling competition at 16, reported the Mirror. He shot to fame after being spotted by a talk show and started to charge up to $10,000 for a VIP appearance. He even launched his own line of Celso Dolls in Los Angeles.
"Everyone who wants to be pretty, who wants to be perfect, to call attention to themselves, [it's] to supplant this lack of... of love, perhaps," he said in an interview, according to Latin Times.
"This is so magical. My life has changed. I feel like the whole of Brazil is supporting me," he said in another interview, according to the Mirror.
