Presley Gerber, the model and son of fashion icon Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber, has died. He was 27.
Gerber passed away on Sunday, Sept. 20, at a rehabilitation facility, according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner obtained by PEOPLE.
A representative for Crawford, Gerber, and Presley’s sister, model-actress Kaia Gerber, issued a brief statement: “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.” An official autopsy report remains pending.
Born in Beverly Hills in 1999, Gerber was signed to IMG Models at age 15, swiftly stepping into the high-fashion spotlight alongside his younger sister. By 2016, he was walking major runways for Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana, while starring in high-profile Calvin Klein campaigns.
He recalled those early days with self-aware candor, telling W magazine in 2016 that his primary focus on the runway was straightforward: “Don’t fall.” He added, “That’s all. I was like, ‘Please don’t trip, just make it to the end.’ . . . I get sidetracked really easily, so if I just think about what I’m doing, then I can do it better.”
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2018, Gerber reflected on the comfort of navigating the fashion industry alongside Kaia, noting it made the experience “a lot less lonely.” Though he excelled academically in high school, he ultimately chose to forego higher education to pursue his blossoming career. “I wanted to go for a minute, and then I just started working. And now I’m having so much fun, it’s like: Don’t fix it if it’s not broken,” he said.
Behind the glamorous facade, however, lay a complex and increasingly public struggle with mental health and substance dependency. In recent years, Gerber pivoted toward public advocacy, sharing his personal journey across social media in hopes of demystifying addiction.
“Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person or a hundred people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do,” Gerber shared during an appearance on the Studio 22 podcast.
“[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,” he continued. “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.”
He added, “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.”
Through series like his “Mental Health Mondays” on Instagram, Gerber regularly engaged with followers about recovery circles, personal growth, and reclaiming physical wellness. In a July 2025 video, he reflected on how leaving behind childhood sports like surfing and water polo for work impacted his well-being, noting it took “10 years” to realize he needed to reconnect with physical activity to rebuild his quality of life.
By late 2025, Gerber spoke with raw vulnerability about his prescribed treatment regimen—which included Buprenorphine, Xanax, and Valium for severe panic disorder—and the emotional weight he carried.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of loss in many different forms recently, so that is not an excuse, but it’s the reason why I am where I’m at now,” Gerber expressed in a December 2025 video, hoping his honesty would bridge isolation for others. “A. So you feel like you’re not alone, because that is how I feel most of the time, and I have a feeling that if I say all of this, a lot of people will at least know that there’s someone else going through it. And the second thing is, hopefully, I find some people out here… willing to help or know someone that can help.”
In the September 2026 issue of Vogue, Kaia Gerber offered a poignant glimpse into her brother’s journey and its impact on their family dynamic, describing his “decade-long struggle with drug addiction.”
“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” Kaia shared, noting how she initially adopted the role of “the easy one” to minimize her family’s stress. “I think that’s also why I started to self- identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help. Because it felt like too much to have two children who were needing.”
Yet, she deeply admired her brother’s refusal to hide his truth. “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,” she said. “And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”
Presley Gerber is survived by his parents, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, and his sister, Kaia.
