Deadly beauty: 12 models who committed suicide
The fashion world is cruel and dangerous. And it is not just words. Endless castings, constant pressure from agents and designers, fierce competition - all this falls heavily on the shoulders of young girls and boys who decide to connect their lives with the fashion industry. Reality is not much like the fairy tale that many people imagine when looking at beautiful photographs in glossy magazines.
Girls demonstrating the latest collections and posing for glossy magazines are subject to severe stress, depression, and mental disorders do not bypass them. Some manage to cope with all this, others, alas, do not.
Date of death: March 31, 2017.
The owner of the “most beautiful eyes” in the world fashion industry was found dead in her student dormitory room. The reasons that prompted the girl to commit suicide still remain unknown.
Despite the official results of the investigation, the father of the 21-year-old model believes that his daughter was killed.
Rauda Atif.
Date of death: June 25, 2010.
Another representative of the Indian fashion industry, model and famous Bollywood actress Viveka Babaji, was found dead in her apartment in Mumbai.
Entries found in the model’s personal diary, as well as testimony from members of her family, indicate that the cause of the tragedy was unhappy love.
The last entry in the girl’s diary reads: “Gautam, you killed me...” These words referred to her boyfriend, stockbroker Gautam Vohra, with whom Viveka’s relationship had not been going well lately.
Viveka Babaji.
Date of death: June 18, 2010.
The case with Tom became the most discussed on the network. The young man committed suicide on the eve of men's Fashion Week in Milan, during which he was supposed to take part in shows for Versace, Giorgio Armani and other brands.
Police suspect that the 22-year-old model committed suicide for personal reasons: a few days before his death, he broke up with his girlfriend.
Tom Nikon starred a lot for GQ and Vogue, was a favorite of Donatella Versace and Kim Jones, responsible for the men's line of Louis Vuitton, and was also the face of the House of Burberry.
Date of death: November 19, 2009.
By the age of 20, the girl, who began her modeling career at the age of 13, suffered from chronic depression, emotional instability and insomnia. Shortly before Dol committed suicide in her Paris apartment, she called one of her closest friends and shared that it was hard for her and she did not know how to live on.
What's also shocking about Dol Kim's story is that doctors suspected she had a split personality.
Dol Kim was called the “Asian Kate Moss”, and her career was as dizzying as that of the British model.
Dol Kim has appeared on the covers of many famous magazines, and in her homeland, South Korea, she twice became the main character of Vogue. Since the fall of 2007, she has participated in every Chanel show: Karl Lagerfeld called her his muse.
Some fans are inclined to believe that her name, which can be translated as “a lot of sadness,” played a special role in the girl’s life.
Date of death: May 20, 2009.
The official reason for suicide is the girl’s reaction to the suicide of her close friend, after which she was depressed.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lucy Gordon starred in many commercials and collaborated with designers. The latter loved her for her appearance, ideally suited to the main trends of the time - androgyny and minimalism.
Lucy was in demand not only in modeling, but also in the film business. The girl played in the films “Spider-Man 3: Enemy in Reflection”, “Russian Dolls”, “The Four Feathers”, and her last film work was the role of Jane Birkin in the autobiographical drama “Gainsbourg. The love of a bully."
Date of death: June 28, 2008.
Many people know the tragic story of Ruslana Korshunova - a few days before her 21st birthday, the girl fell from the window of her Manhattan apartment from a height of the 9th floor.
Many of Ruslana’s friends and fans are still tormented by the question of what really happened that day - suicide or murder. According to relatives, shortly before the incident, the girl returned from Paris, where she took part in shows, and looked very happy.
American designers of those years considered Korshunova the main star, and fashion journalists called her “Rapunzel.”
One of the most famous campaigns with Ruslana’s participation was a photo shoot for advertising the Nina fragrance from Nina Ricci.
There is a version that the girl decided to give up her life after attending personal growth trainings.
Ruslana Korshunova.
Date of death: October 11, 2008.
Haley Mary Caul cannot be called the one whose name was known to the whole world. However, in the 2000s she was a very popular model.
The reasons for Hayley’s suicide are unknown: she starred a lot for glossy magazines, took part in shows, and a few months before the incident she moved to live in Milan, where she signed a lucrative contract with one of the modeling agencies.
Haley Marie Cole.
Date of death: July 23, 2001.
One of the first plus-size models, Natasha Duncan, according to media reports, suffered from psychological disorders and emotional instability. The girl's body was discovered by her flatmate.
According to the brother of the deceased, shortly before her death she complained to him about problems with her boyfriend.
The owner of red hair and green eyes had every chance of becoming a real plus-size supermodel.
Date of death: July 1, 1996.
Margot Hemingway, a famous model of the 70s-90s and the granddaughter of the writer Ernest Hemingway, took her own life the day before the anniversary of her famous grandfather’s suicide.
In those days, a famous surname in the fashion industry did not have much importance. Margot's successful modeling career was thanks to her tall height (180 centimeters) and spectacular appearance. Wide and thick eyebrows were Hemingway’s main pride.
Having become in demand, the girl went through all the circles of hell in the modeling business - she exhausted herself with diets and workouts, subsequently suffered from bulimia and anorexia, and eventually became addicted to alcohol and illegal drugs.
Her photographs graced the covers of major glossy magazines.
She was the first to receive a fabulous fee of $1 million for the filming at that time.
In 1975, Time magazine featured her on the cover and called her “the face of a generation and America’s most desirable model.”
The star status of the fashion model was also indicated by the fact that she was always on the list of welcome guests at the most high-profile social events.
Having conquered the fashion industry, Margot Hemingway decided to become a star in the world of cinema. Alas, several films with her participation were received extremely negatively by critics. Failures in this area, poor health, as well as two dysfunctional marriages negatively affected the mental state of the fashion model and led to the events known to us.
When recalling the story of Margot Hemingway, journalists like to quote the words of their colleague Dean Bart Petitclerc, who said: “She never believed in the transmigration of souls. But I am sure that somewhere on the African prairie there is a cheetah with the eyes and heart of Margo.”
Date of death: November 15, 1987.
If you delve deeper into history, you cannot help but remember the name of Regina Zbarskaya. One of the most famous Soviet fashion models died in a psychiatric hospital at the age of 52. The third suicide attempt was successful.
Many people spoke about the reasons for what happened, but most agreed that the betrayal of a loved one and lack of demand in the profession were to blame.
Or maybe it’s all about the book “One Hundred Nights with Regina Zbarskaya,” which became a real sensation abroad? Its author was Zbarskaya’s last lover, a Yugoslav journalist who did not hesitate to publish the confessions of his beloved woman that she had to write denunciations against her colleagues, dilute them with intimate details and accompany the text with candid photos.
All this affected Regina’s modeling career, and she lost her title of “queen of the catwalk.”