Tatjana Patitz: 90s supermodel who appeared in George Michael’s Freedom video dies aged 56
Model Tatjana Patitz, who rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s and starred in George Michael’s Freedom music video, has died aged 56.
Patitz’s New York modelling agency confirmed on Wednesday that she had died in California.
Her agent Corinne Nicolas said the cause of death was illness but did not give further details.
Born in Hamburg, Germany, Patitz rose to prominence as a high-fashion model in the 1980s and 1990s.
She was part of an elite handful of “original supermodels” and starred in the music video for Michael’s 1990s hit Freedom! ’90, alongside fellow models Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell.
She also featured in several other music videos, including the video for Duran Duran’s Skin Trade and Nick Kamen’s music video for Tell Me.
Crawford, who appeared in Michael’s video alongside Patitz, posted a picture of the two of them on Instagram, writing that she was “so sad” to hear of the passing of her friend.
“We were babies together in the fashion industry and I feel like we grew up together,” she wrote.
“I found her soft-spoken, sensitive, kind, inquisitive and, who could ever forget those piercing eyes. Her love of animals and nature was infectious. Sending my condolences to her family – especially the son she adored. RIP.”
Chief operating officer of Conde Nast and global editorial director of Vogue, Anna Wintour, has remembered Patitz as the “European symbol of chic, like Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti”.
She told Vogue.com Patitz was “far less visible than her peers, more mysterious, more grown-up, more unattainable, and that had its own appeal”.
In a 2006 interview, Patitz claimed that the golden age of supermodels was over.
“There was a real era, and the reason that happened was because glamour was brought into it,” she was quoted as saying in Prestige Hong Kong magazine.
“Now the celebrities and actresses have taken over, and the models are in the backseat completely.”
Peter Lindbergh’s ‘White Shirts – Class of 88’ featuring Tatjana Patitz (second from right). Pic: AP
She also noted that models from her era had healthier physiques.
“Women were healthy, not these scrawny little models that nobody knows their names anymore,” Patitz said.
As part of the 30-year long “we’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaign, run by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation, Patitz posed nude alongside Emma Wiklund, Heather Stewart-Whyte, Fabienne Terwinghe and Naomi Campbell in 1994.
Tweeting the campaign image of the supermodels, the charity wrote that it will remember her as an “international icon” and “compassionate advocate” for the ethical treatment of animals.
During her career, she worked with a number of high-profile fashion photographers including Peter Lindbergh, whose 1990 British Vogue cover included the biggest models at the time, including Patitz.
Following the news of her death, the Peter Lindbergh Foundation paid tribute to the model on its official Twitter account, describing her as a “a long-time friend of Peter’s”.
Tatjana Patitz at Berlin Fashion Week in 2015. Pic: AP
“We would like to salute Tatjana’s kindness, inner beauty and outstanding intelligence,” the statement read.
“Our thoughts go to her loved ones and particularly Jonah.
“She will be immensely missed.”
Patitz is survived by her 19-year-old son Jonah Patitz.
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John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.
“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.
“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.
“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”
The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.
“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix
Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.
He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.
“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.
“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”
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The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.
It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.
The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.
Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.
“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.
“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”
The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.
“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.
“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.
“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.
“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”
The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.
Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.
It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.
A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.
Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.
“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”
The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.
Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.
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Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.
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