Tatjana Patitz, one of the original '90s supermodels, dies at 56 - CNN

Tatjana Patitz, who roseate to manner fame successful the '90s arsenic an animal-loving supermodel with a piercing gaze, has died, her cause confirmed to CNN. She was 56.

Patitz died Wednesday from bosom cancer, her cause Corinne Nicolas told CNN. She's survived by her son, Jonah.

The German-born exemplary appeared connected dozens of covers for Vogue and countless different manner magazines opening successful the 1980s. Her astir celebrated cover, which she shared with chap supermodels of her generation, inspired George Michael to formed her successful his euphony video for "Freedom! '90."

Where the different supermodels of her epoch were known for dominating the nationalist eye, Patitz preferred a quieter beingness surrounded by nature, peculiarly chaotic horses and the Western lands connected which they lived. Still, she was impossibly, effortlessly chic, said Anna Wintour, Vogue's planetary editorial director, successful a connection to the magazine.

"Tatjana was ever the European awesome of chic, similar Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti," she said.

Born successful Hamburg, Germany, and raised successful Sweden, Patitz was discovered successful 1983 erstwhile she was a finalist of the "Elite Model Look" competition, successful which Elite bureau heads selected her from a excavation of unknowns. (Cindy Crawford was besides a finalist that year, per Elite.)

Her vocation didn't instrumentality off, though, until the precocious '80s. It was astir this clip that she became the muse of lensman Peter Lindbergh, for whom she'd exemplary until the 2010s. He took a now-iconic 1988 Vogue photo of Patitz and different models connected a formation successful Santa Monica, California, traipsing successful the soil successful matching achromatic shirts.

Then came an iconic 1990 British Vogue cover, besides changeable by Lindbergh -- Patitz, 1 of the "original" supermodels of that era, appeared alongside Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. The representation prompted vocalist George Michael to formed the women successful the video for his azygous "Freedom! '90" which besides became a cultural artifact.

Patitz was, astatine the clip of her ascent, considered "unusual" looking compared to the different ascendant models, according to a 1990 Harper's Bazaar story: "Indeed, Patitz's features astir confuse. Like Garbo oregon the Mona Lisa, the inexplicable gifts of enactment and luminescence defy definition." Her piercing regard gave her a somewhat much otherworldly look, according to observations from those successful the industry.

The lensman Matthew Rolston said of Patitz successful that 1990 story, "There's a depth, an affectional prime successful her that's genuinely extraordinary." Her appearance, she said, wasn't conscionable beautiful; it was memorable and evocative.

Patitz appeared connected much than 130 mag covers successful her life, according to Elite. She was conscionable 1 look among a oversea of supermodels for Vogue's 100th day screen successful 1992, each of them dressed identically successful achromatic jeans and achromatic button-down shirts tied astatine the midriff. And successful 2016, she appeared successful a black-and-white Italian Vogue screen changeable by Lindbergh.

A lifelong carnal lover, she was photographed connected horseback for a 1989 Vogue spread, besides sporting respective wide-brimmed cowboy hats. She besides appeared with her lad Jonah successful a 2012 sprout astatine their California home.

Off the runway, Patitz was passionate astir carnal advocacy, adjacent from her aboriginal modeling days, arsenic noted successful her 1990 Harper's Bazaar profile. She told the Mexican mag Milenio successful 2021 that she was progressive successful California authorities to support chaotic horses and has been progressive with the American Wild Horse Campaign, which works to support nationalist lands. She continued to enactment successful manner passim her 40s and 50s, but she chose her projects "very selectively," she told Mercedes-Benz's 63Magazine in 2016, and connected those projects would effort to "combine my enactment arsenic a exemplary with my vocation arsenic a protector of quality and animals."

Patitz told Milenio she preferred to unrecorded a lower-key beingness than her chap supermodels and enjoyed "being surrounded by nature, distant from factual and noise" with her lad and their animals. She was little contiguous successful the nationalist oculus than her contemporaries, and erstwhile she relocated to California alternatively than modeling hub New York, her bequest wasn't arsenic wide acknowledged arsenic theirs.

"She was acold little disposable than her peers -- much mysterious, much grown-up, much unattainable -- and that had its ain appeal," Wintour told Vogue.

In a tweet, the Peter Lindbergh Foundation, which shares photos from the precocious photographer's archives, saluted Patitz's "kindess, interior quality and outstanding intelligence."