Supermodel Tatjana Patitz Dead at 56

The fashion world is mourning the death of supermodel Tatjana Patitz.

Vogue announced the 56-year-old’s passing on Thursday, and People later confirmed she died of breast cancer.

Patitz launched her career in the 1980s and famously starred in George Michael’s “Freedom ‘90” music video alongside Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista.

She graced the cover of Vogue six times and modeled for Chanel, Donna Karan, and others.

Patitz hit the runway a final time in 2019, as she walked for Etro at Milan Fashion Week.

Vogue Global Editorial Director Anna Wintour told her publication, "Tatjana was 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."

In 2016, Patitz opened up to The New York Times about making the “Freedom ‘90” video and meeting George Michael.

“I was in my own zone,” she said of the David Fincher-directed music video. “I had to kind of slide up and down the wall for part of the day. The feel of the set was so run-down, this big, loft kind of vibe. There was another setup with me laying on a chaise longue with a black smoking jacket. I think I may have had a bustier on. And I was smoking, even. People still smoked in videos then and even in films.”

Michael wasn’t on set the day she filmed, but she said of the other times she did meet him, “George was very nice, almost a little shy. Maybe that’s the wrong word. He was mellow and kind. I was quite starstruck at the time because I grew up with Wham! and their music; he was one of my first teenage crushes. In the five or so times I met him, he was always very pleasant and sweet but timid, not one of those vivacious, out-there people who take a room by storm.”