Tatjana Patitz Trivia | 50 facts about the late supermodel

Tatjana Patitz was a German model and actress who achieved international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s.

Let’s find out more about Tatjana Patitz!

1. Tatjana Patitz was born on 25th of March 1966.
2. She died on 11th of January 2023.
3. She was a German model and actress who achieved international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s.
4. She represented fashion designers on runways and in magazines such as Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue.
5. Tatjana Patitz was one of the five supermodels who appeared in the 1990 music video “Freedom! ’90” by George Michael.
6. She is associated with the editorial, advertising, and fine-art works of photographers Herb Ritts and Peter Lindbergh.
7. In the book Models of Influence: 50 Women Who Reset The Course of Fashion, author Nigel Barker reviewed Patitz’s career during the height of the supermodel era in the 1980s and 1990s, writing that she possessed an exoticism and broad emotional range that set her apart from her peers.
8. In her 2012 memoir, creative director of Vogue Grace Coddington regarded Patitz as one of the original supermodels and a must in photographs and on the catwalk.
9. Harper’s Bazaar wrote, “Indeed, Patitz’s features almost confuse.
10. Like Garbo or the Mona Lisa, the inexplicable gifts of line and luminescence defy definition.”
11. ogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour stated that Patitz had always been one of her favourite models.
12. Tatjana Patitz’s work bridged the eras of the exhibitionist 1980s and the minimalist 1990s in an enduring way
13. Author Linda Sivertsen noted that Patitz is greatly responsible for establishing the acceptance of statuesque and curvaceous beauty in an industry of extreme thinness.
14. Tatjana Patitz was an avid horsewoman who continued her lifelong passion for animals and the environment by campaigning for ecological causes and animal rights.
15. Her self-described eclectic and bohemian design aesthetic for residential architecture and home design in her adoptive home state of California was recognised internationally.
16. Patitz was born in Hamburg, Germany.
17. She was raised in Skanör, Sweden.
18. Her father was German and his job as a travel journalist allowed his family to travel and live in different countries
19. Patitz’s mother was an Estonian dancer who performed at the world famous Le Lido in Paris.
20. Patitz’s parents met at a wine tasting in a bodega in Spain where her mother was a student travelling with a modern dance company, and said that her parents’ romance was a case of two people falling in love and spending the rest of their lives together.
21. Tatjana Patitz learned to ride horses at the age of seven.
22. During the summers, she found respite at her family’s summer vacation home on the island of Mallorca, where she participated in horse camps.
23. About her love of horses, Patitz said, “I have been riding since I was a small child. For me, it means freedom, connectedness, and dedication. Horses transform stress and worry for me. They are genuine and spiritual. They make me happy and relaxed, especially if I feel pressured or tense.”
24. In 1983 at the age of 17, Patitz entered and became a finalist in the Elite Model Look (formerly known as Elite Models’ “Look of the Year” contest).
25. Based on a Polaroid, she was placed third by Elite Model Management founder John Casablancas.
26. Patitz won a contract and moved to Paris to begin working as a model.
27. Though not an immediate success by 1985, Patitz worked regularly and at the end of that year.
28. She then modelled for the cover of British Vogue, her first major cover.
29. Her body type was hourglass.
30. Her zodiac sign was Gemini.
31. In the final months of 1989, Patitz was photographed with her peers in two group portraits that would become defining images of the forthcoming supermodel era of the 1990s: Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood by Herb Ritts, and Peter Lindbergh’s cover of the January 1990 issue of British Vogue.
32. The international press began recognising supermodels as the icons of the day, noting that female ideals were no longer only dictated by fashion editors or reflective of male fantasies – but representative of where women stand now and what they aspire to.
33. Settled in Los Angeles, Patitz continued to manage her modelling career while studying acting.
34. She worked with Ritts, Lindbergh and Maser but was sought after by the industry’s leading female photographers such as Peggy Sirota, Ellen Von Unwerth, Pamela Hanson and Sheila Metzner as well as new photographers such as Mario Sorrenti and Juergen Teller.
35. Los Angeles-based photographers Phillip Dixon and Matthew Rolston also frequently photographed Patitz for Harper’s Bazaar.
36. In the 2010s, the scope of Patitz’s work focused on issues relating to inclusivity,^[126] HIV awareness, LGBTQ rights, ageism, and gender equality while remaining in the pages and on the covers of Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle.
37. Notably, Patitz’s work and career were examined in articles by a new generation of distinguished writers such as Chloe Malle and Janelle Okwodu who recognised Patitz for her enduring legacy in projecting different representations of women.
38. Patitz was married to a businessman Jason Randall Johnson
39. In 2004, gave birth to her son, Jonah Johnson.
40. Her son joined his mother on many editorial shoots including “The Great Escape” for American Vogue’s August 2012 issue, and “Family Matters” in the December 2019 issue.
41. On 11 January 2023, Patitz died of metastatic breast cancer, in Santa Barbara, California, at age 56
42. In 1987, she appeared in the Duran Duran music video for “Skin Trade” which charted on Billboard’s Hot 100.
43. In 1988, she appeared in the Nick Kamen music video for “Tell Me”.
44. Patitz then starred in George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” music video with Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell in 1990, regarded as one of the greatest videos of all time
45. In 2000, she appeared in the Korn music video for the song “Make Me Bad,” a top 10 hit on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart.
46. Patitz has appeared in international television commercials for Cartier, Revlon, Le DuPont Luxura, Pantene, Dockers, Ralph Lauren and the iconic Vauxhall Corsa commercial directed by Tarsem Singh and starring supermodels Campbell, Turlington, Evangelista, and Kate Moss.
47. Her first major film appearance was as a murder victim in Rising Sun (1993).
48. Following this, Patitz had appearances on television series such as The Single Guy and The Larry Sanders Show.
49. Her largest role was in the 1999 thriller Restraining Order.
50. Along with Michael J. Fox, she appeared in the 2011 Carl Zeiss AG calendar, photographed by Bryan Adams in New York City in the summer of 2010.