Supermodel Tatjana Patitz Dead at 56

The modeling world is mourning one of the original supermodels.

Tatjana Patitz, one of the top models of the ‘80s and ‘90s has died, her agent Corinne Nicolas, confirmed to the Associated Press on Jan. 11. She was 56.

While the agent noted to the outlet that Tatjana died following an illness, a cause of death has yet to be revealed.

The German-born model launched her career in the mid-‘80s, where she met longtime collaborator, photographer Peter Lindbergh, who captured Tatjana often throughout her career, including in his famed 1988 photo “White Shirts: Six Supermodels, Malibu” as well as the 1990 British Vogue cover—also featuring Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington—all of whom are referred to as the “original supermodels.”

It was this iconic cover of the five—dubbed the “original supermodels”—that led to George Michael casting them in his “Freedom ’90” music video that year. Throughout her career, Tatjana modeled for brands such as Chanel, Donna Karan and Vivienne Westwood, and took to the runway for her last show at Milan Fashion Week in 2019. She walked for fashion house Etro, for their Autumn/Winter 2019/20 collection.