Presley Gerber, Son of Cindy Crawford, Dies at 27

“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” Kaia Gerber said in an August interview with Vogue, speaking about her older brother Presley’s struggle with addiction. She described how she had come to see herself as the sibling who should be easy to care for and had hesitated to ask for help herself. The interview was published just over a month before Presley’s death.

Presley Gerber, the son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, died Sunday, September 20, at age 27. He was at a rehabilitation facility, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. His cause of death has not been determined.

Kaia’s comments offered a rare account of what her brother had been going through and how it affected their family. She told Vogue that she was proud of Presley for speaking publicly about his experiences, calling him “an absolute teacher.” For a family accustomed to keeping personal matters private, she said, his willingness to be open had changed the conversation.

Presley had used his own platform to discuss mental health. In a 2023 podcast interview, he spoke about experiencing depression and said he hoped sharing what he had been through might help other people. He later started posting videos intended to encourage more candid conversations about mental health.

Long before those conversations, Presley was known for his work in fashion. He signed with IMG Models at 15 and made his runway debut at a Moschino show in Los Angeles. He went on to appear in campaigns and walk for brands including Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana. In 2018, he appeared alongside Crawford in a Pepsi commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.

He and Kaia shared an understanding of what it meant to enter the industry young, with a famous parent whose career was already part of fashion history. Kaia recalled a more ordinary side of their childhood in her Vogue interview: Presley would go surfing before school and arrive carrying his board, still in his wetsuit.

Following his death, a representative for the family asked for privacy. The medical examiner has deferred a determination on the cause and manner of death while additional testing is completed. Until that work is finished, the circumstances of Presley’s death remain under investigation.