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Tatjana Patitz, a Vogue supermodel who rose to popularity in the 1980s and 1990s and went on to appear on several fashion magazine covers during her 40-year career, has passed away at 56 years old.
At her Santa Barbara, California, home, the legendary catwalk stunner's representative, Corrine Nichols, confirmed on Wednesday that she had passed away from breast cancer.
Patitz was perhaps most recognized for her work in Vogue. She also appeared with Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista in George Michael's "Freedom! '90" music video.
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The chief content officer of Condé Nast and the global editorial director of Vogue, Anna Wintour, remembered Tatjana as "always the European symbol of chic, like Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti."
"She was far less visible than her peers - more mysterious, more grown-up, more unattainable - and that had its own appeal," Wintour continued.
A force to be reckoned in the modeling world
After her time in Paris, Tatjana was unemployed for a year, but, according to Vogue, she quickly rose to prominence in the modeling industry. Her "unique" appearance and acting experience helped her succeed in many ways.
In a 1988 story titled "Tatjana: Million Dollar Beauty," she stated that "people always said that I looked special; that I didn't look like anyone else."And I was going to make it because of that."
She appeared in several films and brief television guest spots in addition to music videos for Korn and Duran Duran.
She collaborated with some of the most well-known photographers in the business, including as Peter Lindbergh, whose cover photo for British Vogue in January 1990 featured Patitz, Evangelista, Turlington, Crawford, and Naomi Campbell and served as the "birth certificate" of the supermodel era.
According to Vogue, she is survived by her 19-year-old son Jonah, whom she referred to as her "source of happiness."
