Tatjana Patitz, the star of the Freedom music video, passed away at the age of 56 on Jan. 11 due to breast cancer, as confirmed by her agent.
On Wednesday, Patitz’s modeling agency in New York announced her passing in California.
There was no immediate information about survivors or a memorial. Her representative Corinne Nicolas stated that her illness led to her passing but did not give any further details.
Tatjana passed away on Jan. 11, 2023, according to the agent of the late model at the Model CoOp in New York City, who informed the media. However, the specific cause of her death has not been disclosed.
Model Tatjana Patitz, who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, appeared in George Michael’s Freedom music video.
Like fellow fashion icons Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington, Tatjana featured in George Michael’s iconic music video for his hit song Freedom in 1990; Cindy paid homage to her late colleague this evening.
Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, paid tribute to Tatjana today as the fashion industry’s top publication broke the news, describing the Hamburg-born beauty as the epitome of elegance in Europe.
Patitz was considered one of the first supermodels from Germany. At the age of 17, she participated in her first modeling competition in Stockholm, finishing third.
But her career took off after a photo shoot with fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh.
She didn’t even get to meet Michael while filming the Freedom ’90 video, but she later said, “I was in my own zone.”
‘At some point during the day, I had to kind of lean against the wall. The set had this large, loft-like atmosphere that was really run-down. I was lounging on a chaise sofa and donning a black tuxedo jacket in another shot. I think I was wearing a bustier as well. Additionally, I was smoking. Even in older movies and videos, smoking was still prevalent.’
This evening, supermodel Cindy posted a throwback photo of herself posing with Tatjana and shared with her Instagram followers, ‘So sad to hear about the passing of the wonderful @tatjanapatitz.’
View this post on Instagram
