Supermodel Tatjana Patitz, best known for appearing in George Michael’s video for his smash hit Freedom ’90, has died at the age of 56. She died of breast cancer on January 11, her agent confirmed.
German-born Patitz was considered one of the original supermodels. At the age of 17 she took part in her first modeling competition in Stockholm and took third place. But a subsequent session with fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh launched the bulk of her career.
Singer George Michael saw her in British Vogue in 1990 and then cast her in his music video “Freedom ’90” alongside Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista.
“I was in my own zone,” she said of filming the Freedom ’90 video, in which she didn’t even meet Michael. “I had to slide up and down the wall for part of the day. The set feel was so run down, this big loft vibe. There was another setup where I was lying on a chaise longue with a black tuxedo jacket. I think I might have been wearing a bustier. And I even smoked. People still smoked in videos and even in movies back then.”
No information about survivors or a memorial was immediately available.