Tatjana Patitz grew up in Sweden and started her modeling career in 1983 when she was 17 years old. She competed in a modeling competition in Stockholm and placed third, winning her a trip to Paris with a limited modeling contract. That ended up leading to a long career in the modeling industry. In fact, she became one of the OG supermodels.
Unfortunately, Patitz’s life was cut short. According to her agent, Corrine Nichols, Patitz lost her battle with breast cancer on Wednesday January 11, 2023. She died at her home in Santa Barbara, California, at the age of 56.
Vogue announced the news of Patitz’s death explaining her cause of death (metistatic breast cancer), the highlights of her life and who she was as a person. She loved nature and animals, and for those reasons, she chose to live in California instead of Paris or New York like other models. She preferred to keep her life private instead of seeking the spotlight.
Upon hearing the news of Patitz’s death, fellow supermodel Cindy Crawford shared a photo of the two of them from their younger modeling days. She wrote, “So sad to hear of the passing of the beautiful @tatjanapatitz. We were babies together in the fashion industry and I feel like we grew up together.”
Besides Crawford, Patitz also modeled alongside Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington on the 1990 cover of British Vogue. Then, she appeared in the George Michael music video “Freedom! ’90” along with Crawford, Turlington and Evangelista.
Patitz is survived by her 19-year-old son, Jonah Johnson. Just last year, she told Vogue, “Jonah is my source of happiness.” In October, she made her final red carpet appearance alongside her son in Germany at the Tribute to Bambi in Berlin.
[Image credit: Wikipedia]
[Image credit: Deposit Photos]