Tatjana Patitz dies at age 56: The Vogue model who was in George Michael's Freedom video

Tatjana Patitz, one of the original supermodels, has died aged 56. 

Her agent confirmed the news to DailyMail.com, but the time and cause of her death is unknown.

Hamburg-born Patitz starred alongside Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford on the cover of British Vogue for the January issue in 1990. 

It has become one of the most iconic fashion images of all time, with Patitz making the cover of US vogue on her own in the same month as the original crew.

She also starred in a George Michael music video, ‘Freedom!’ from 1990, with the same group of models from the infamous British Vogue cover. 

Patitz told The New York Times in 2016 that Michael was one of her ‘first teenage crushes,’ so she was starstruck when she first met him.

The pair worked together on a few occasions, although she never met him in the flesh for her portion of the music video – fluing in and out in one day.

She said: ‘I was in my own zone. 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 lounge 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.’

The stunning model appeared in British Vogue’s’ 1985 October issue and appeared on the cover six times before the infamous supers cover, which was captured by Peter Lindbergh.

She was shot by the famous photographer many times over a 30-year period and appeared on Vogue’s October covers with Helena Christensen and Karen Alexander in 2016.

After appearing on the famed January 1990 issue, she also worked on campaigns for Chanel, Calvin Klein and Versace.

Anna Wintour, chief content officer of Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue, said: ‘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.’

Creative director of Vogue Grace Coddington regarded Patitz as one of the original supermodels, she wrote in her  2012 memoir.

Patitz was born in Hamburg to an Estonian mother and German father, with the family making a move to Skanör in Sweden. 

In a 2020 interview, Patitz said that she ‘never sold her soul’ and competed regularly as a horse rider as a teenager.

At the age of 17 in 1983 she entered an Elite Model Contest in Stockholm. She placed third in Sweden. The prize was a trip to Paris and a limited-time contract. 

The contest did not immediately shoot her to fame, with Vogue writing in 1988 that ‘a star was not quickly born. Tatjana found no work for a year.’

The siren went on to model for Versace and Chanel, often appearing in print ads and on runways. She was also on many magazine covers for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Marie Claire.

After she starred in Freedom with Cindy, Christy, Naomi and Linda, the girls were dubbed the ‘supermodels of the 1990s’ and often worked together thereafter. 

The supermodel never appeared to be part of ‘the pack’ making her home in California where she could be closer to her beloved animals – and was an ambassador for the American Wild Horse Sanctuary.

Her last post on Instagram was in august, of her dog, celebrating National Dog Day with two sweet snaps of her pups, Matilda and Gatsby.

She said in 1998: ‘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.’ 

Tatjana had also starred in the film for Duran Duran’s song Skin Trade, and even tried her hand at making movies, featuring as a murder victim in 1993 Sean Connery flick Rising Sun. 

In 2000, she appeared in the Korn music video for the song Make Me Bad. She also worked for 30 years with acclaimed photographer Peter Lindbergh. 

In his book, 10 Women, Lindbergh wrote, ‘I admire Tatjana because she always stays herself. She’s very soft, but at the same time she’s very strong and knows how to stand up for what she thinks, and it’s always very enriching to be with her. It’s impossible not to admire her and over the years not to be just a little bit in love with her.’

The star worked up until recent years: In 2019 she stormed Milan when she walked the runway for Etro.

Patitz was an avid equestrian who learned to ride horses at age seven. She said, ‘I have been riding since I was a small child. For me, it means freedom, connectedness, and dedication. Horses transform stress and worry for me. They are genuine and spiritual. They make me happy and relaxed, especially if I feel pressured or tense.’

The beauty used to date Heidi Klum’s ex Seal former Bond star Pierce Brosnan and before that Nick Kamen.

She is survived by her son Jonah Johnson. The star was wed to Jonah’s father Jason Johnson from 2003 until 2009.

The model was reunited with her supermodel peers for a denim shoot by Annie Leibovitz and also allowed Vogue to capture her and her son Johan at their ranch in Santa Ynez Valley.

Patitiz described her son John as her ‘source of happiness’ last year, after appearing in a Tina Barney portfolio.