Presley Gerber, son of Cindy Crawford, dies at 27
The model and brother of fellow model Kaia Gerber had publicly shared his mental health struggles with addiction
Presley Gerber, a 27-year-old model, died on Sunday in Los Angeles, California. Gerber was the son of the famous 1990s model Cindy Crawford, who turned 60 in January, and the tequila and beer entrepreneur Rande Gerber, a business partner of George Clooney. He was also the brother of the popular model and actress Kaia Gerber. The news was reported by U.S. outlets such as People and TMZ late Sunday afternoon.
Gerber had struggled for years with addiction and mental health issues. According to Los Angeles County medical records, which EL PAÍS also obtained, the young man died while at a rehabilitation facility. The autopsy has not yet been completed and the case remains open. “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time,” is all a spokesperson for the Gerber-Crawford family has said so far in a statement sent to TMZ.
Although not as widely known as his sister, the hugely famous Kaia Gerber—who fronts brands, appears in TV series and films, and is the partner of actor Lewis Pullman, son of actor Bill Pullman—Presley had also carved out a place for himself in the fashion world. Born in 1999, he began appearing in runway shows and fashion editorials while still a child, and signed with the prestigious agency IMG Models at just 15.
He posed for brands such as Calvin Klein and Celine, and walked for Moschino and Dolce&Gabbana. Kaia and Presley also appeared together in an editorial for Vogue Paris and in Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book. The family also did a campaign together for Omega and, just over a year ago, starred in a campaign for clothing brand Vuori Clothing, with photos of the four of them on idyllic beaches.
His personal life was also in the public limelight. In January 2019, at age 19, he was arrested for driving under the influence and sentenced to three years of probation, two days of community service and completion of a rehabilitation program. He was still under the legal drinking age in the United States at the time.
In February 2020 he drew attention when he showed with a tattoo on his right cheek reading the word misunderstood. “If I thought this was going to ruin my face or I didn’t want this, I wouldn’t have done it. I think that’s a pretty obvious thing. It says misunderstood, because that’s how I felt my entire life,” he explained then in an Instagram story on his popular account. Later, the tattoo was removed.
For several months he often sat in front of his camera and recorded what he called Mental Health Mondays to talk about himself and with other people about mental health and related struggles. Last December, Gerber opened up in depth on his Instagram account, which had roughly 140,000 followers, about how misunderstood he felt in that regard. “The thing that scares me are the things you need to take,” he said then. “If you don’t take them, something not good happens. And there’s a spectrum there on how intense the withdrawal from certain medications is.. I’d like doctors to be like, ‘Take this three times a day,’” he said. “But every psychiatrist I’ve had — and I’ve had 15 — are like, ‘Here’s 20 medications and take this if you feel like this, take this as needed…’ and I’m like, ‘No, don’t give me that much freedom.’ I need some guidance.”
The medications he was taking included buprenorphine, Xanax (which he said he used only during severe panic attacks) and Valium (in the mornings), which are tranquilizers, antidepressants, relaxants and sedatives. “I don’t know if it’s a little or a lot, who knows at this point. Doctors have told me many different things, so it’s scary. hopefully between my research and their research and the world and God, we can finally figure this out.”
A few weeks ago Kaia Gerber talked in Vogue about “Presley’s drug problems,” saying they had lasted “a decade.” “When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” she said, adding that she was glad her brother was so open about his struggles. She said seeing Presley be so candid about his life was refreshing. “My parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn’t share anything—and now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, ‘I’m gonna be very human for everyone.’ There’s only so much you can hide from the world. And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”
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