Presley Gerber, son of Cindy Crawford, dies at age 27

Presley Gerber, son of supermodel Cindy Crawford, has died at the age of 27. The news was reported by People magazine, which had access to documents from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office and was confirmed by the family to the same publication. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Presley, son of the well-known model and businessman Rande Gerber, and brother of model and actress Kaia Gerber, was in a detox facility. Allie Jenkins, Crawford's representative, asked that the family's privacy be respected "during these difficult and painful times."

Image from the 2018 Calvin Klein Jeans campaign

Presley himself worked as a model at age 18 and was the face of Calvin Klein Jeans' global advertising campaign, alongside his sister, Kaia.

Just three years later, his addiction problems became public after he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI). The young man was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to complete a DUI awareness program.

A long history of battling addiction

Presley had already opened up to the media about his mental health issues and drug addiction before his death. On the Studio 22 podcast three years ago, he said:

“Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I can help one person, or a hundred, get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do” he said.

Mental health is an issue. It is such a big part of my life. It’s a 24/7 job, and there’s so much to it. That’s really what I want to do: help people, whether you’re depressed, you’re struggling with something that is having a negative effect on your body. I mean it could be anything, and there’s no judgment.

I’ve seen a lot of stuff and I’ve learned a lot of things. What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for some other people, so they don’t have to make the same mistakes that I made.”

In one of his last posts on Instagram before his death discussed the treatment he was receiving: "I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself. We shall see…. Praying it’s the last time I have to come back. Next time I’d like to choose."