\n<\/aside>\nTatjana Patitz, a Vogue model who appeared on dozens of fashion magazine covers in her 40-year career after skyrocketing to fame in the ’80s and ’90s, has died. She was 56.<\/p>\n
While the cause of death has not been revealed, Vogue confirmed that the model died recently.<\/p>\n
The iconic supermodel was most known for her work in Vogue and also starred in George Michael’s \u201cFreedom! ’90\u201d music video alongside fellow models Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.<\/p>\n
Patitz, who was raised in Sweden by her Estonian mother and German father, launched her modeling career at 17 when she placed third in a contest in Stockholm in 1983. The prize was a trip to Paris with a limited-time modeling contract \u2014 and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
\u201cTatjana was always the European symbol of chic, like Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti,\u201d wrote Anna Wintour, the chief content officer of Cond\u00e9 Nast and global editorial director of Vogue, in remembrance of the cover star.<\/p>\nPatitz first took up an interest in modeling when she was just 17, landing in third place in a Swedish competition.<\/figcaption>Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nShe rose to supermodel status in the ’80s and ’90s as the era of ultrafamous supermodels reached its peak.<\/figcaption>Penske Media via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOriginally raised in Sweden, Patitz found solace in California’s natural beauty, she told the Guardian in 2009.<\/figcaption>WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\t<\/aside>\n\u201cShe was far less visible than her peers \u2014 more mysterious, more grown-up, more unattainable \u2014 and that had its own appeal,\u201d Wintour continued.<\/p>\n
The Post has reached out to Patitz’s agency for comment.<\/p>\n
Although Tatjana was without work for a year following her stint in Paris, she soon became a force in the modeling world, according to Vogue. Coupled with her background in acting, her \u201cspecial\u201d looks took her a long way.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople always said that I looked special; that I didn’t look like anyone else,\u201d she told Vogue in a 1988 profile titled \u201cTatjana: Million Dollar Beauty.\u201d \u201cAnd I was going to make it because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She made a number of on-screen appearances, including music videos for Duran Duran and Korn as well as films and brief television guest spots. <\/p>\nAs a Vogue cover star, her \u201cspecial\u201d look and background in acting took her a long way.<\/figcaption>Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nShe worked with some of the most prolific photographers in the industry, including Peter Lindbergh whose January 1990 British Vogue cover shoot of Patitz, Evangelista, Turlington, Crawford and Naomi Campbell served as the \u201cbirth certificate\u201d of the supermodel era.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply saddened by the passing of Tatjana Patitz, a long-time friend of Peter’s,\u201d the Peter Lindbergh Foundation<\/a> tweeted on Wednesday<\/a>. \u201cWe would like to salute Tatjana’s kindness, inner beauty and outstanding intelligence. Our thoughts go to her loved ones and particularly [her son] Jonah. She will be immensely missed.\u201d<\/p>\nPatitz moved to California, opting for nature instead of the bustling city life of modeling hubs such as New York or Paris.<\/figcaption>Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cPeople always said that I looked special; that I didn’t look like anyone else,\u201d she said in a previous interview.<\/figcaption>Gisela Schober<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDescribed by the fashion magazine as \u201cthe quietest and perhaps the most intense of the original supermodels,\u201d Patitz didn’t flock to Paris or New York like the other aspiring models. Instead, she found solace in the nature of California, and vowed to never sell her soul to the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were glamorous moments, but it was exhausting,\u201d she told the Guardian in a 2009 interview. \u201cThe low points were having to travel so much and being exhausted. I always thought that [fashion and modeling] wasn’t who I was; it was what I did. It didn’t define me. Living out here and coming back to this place was like a sigh of relief in a sense.\u201d<\/p>\nShe appeared alongside Crawford and Evangelista in Michael’s \u201cFreedom! ’90\u201d music video.<\/figcaption>Ron Galella Collection via Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThere were glamorous moments, but it was exhausting,\u201d the model previously said of her career in the industry.<\/figcaption>Clemens Bilan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nShe is survived by her 19-year-old son Jonah, who she described as her \u201csource of happiness,\u201d per Vogue.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n