Kenneth Nzeh 
Tatjana Patitz, who was born in Germany, raised in Sweden, and later made her life in
California was known as part of an elite handful of “original” supermodels,
appearing in the Michael video along with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista,
Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford.
She was a favorite of fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, who highlighted her
natural beauty in his famous 1988 photo, “White Shirts: Six Supermodels, Malibu,”
and for British Vogue’s 1990 cover — leading Michael to cast the group in his lip-
syncing video, according to Vogue.
The magazine quoted its global editorial director, Anna Wintour, as saying Patitz was
“always the European symbol of chic, like Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti. She
was far less visible than her peers — more mysterious, more grown-up, more
unattainable — and that had its own appeal.”
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In a 2006 interview, Patitz opined 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.”
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.