Paris Hilton leads tributes to Presley Gerber: 'I'm completely heartbroken, I still can't believe this is real'

Dubai: Cindy Crawford’s son Presley Gerber dies at 27. News of his death broke at around 7.25am UAE time on Monday. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's records show he died at a rehab facility in Los Angeles. The cause and manner of death have not been released, and the medical examiner's investigation is ongoing.

Who was Presley Gerber?

Presley Walker Gerber was born in California in July 1999, a year after his parents married. He was the older brother of model and actor Kaia Gerber, who most recently appeared in Ryan Murphy's The Shards.

He followed his mother into fashion early. IMG Models signed him at 15, and he made his runway debut for Moschino at 16. Over the following years he walked for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan, as well as Burberry, Bottega Veneta, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren. His campaign work included Calvin Klein, Celine, Pepsi and Omega, and he appeared in GQ Style and The New York Times Style Magazine.

His early twenties played out in public. In 2019 he was charged with driving under the influence and sentenced to three years' probation. In 2020 he drew attention for a face tattoo reading "Misunderstood", which he later appeared to have removed.

Paris Hilton: 'I still can't believe this is real'

The first named public tribute came from Paris Hilton, a longtime friend.

Hilton posted on her Instagram Stories almost two hours after the news became public. "I'm completely heartbroken. I still can't believe this is real," she wrote.

She had left a comment on his final Instagram post several hours before his death was reported. "Love you bro," she wrote beneath it, with a heart-face emoji and heart hands.

That final post went up on 5 August. It showed him modelling for Vuori, a clothing brand the family has partnered with over the past year. He had not posted to his main feed since.

His comments section, now a memorial

By Monday, Gerber's Instagram profile was filling with tributes from fans. The account is the same place he had used to document his mental health and his use of sedative medication, and many of the messages referenced exactly that.

The family's words

Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber and Kaia Gerber have so far spoken only through a representative, Allie Jenkins.

"The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time," the statement read.

Crawford had marked her son's birthday in July with a post expressing her pride in him, writing that however much he grew, he would always be her little boy.

'A lot of loss, in many different forms'

Gerber first spoke publicly about his use of prescription medication in an Instagram video last December, describing taking antidepressants and Xanax for panic attacks. He said his use fluctuated depending on what was going on in his life.

"Unfortunately I've had a lot of loss, in many different forms recently," he said in the video.

Crawford responded publicly at the time, reminding him that the family's love and support were unconditional.

It was not his first attempt at candour. In 2024 he ran a social media series called Mental Health Mondays, detailing his own progress week by week. He had spoken about treatment before that too, after being charged with driving under the influence in 2019.

What Kaia Gerber said in August

The fullest account of what his openness meant to the family came from his sister, weeks before his death.

In an interview with American Vogue published on 11 August, Kaia Gerber spoke about her brother's decade-long struggle with drug addiction, and about what it did to everyone around him.

"When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone," she said. "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."

She told the magazine she was deeply proud of him for going public. "There's only so much you can hide from the world," she said.

Her argument was against silence as a family strategy. "Trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you're ashamed of them," she said.

And she described the shift he had forced on a household that had kept everything private for decades. "My parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn't share anything," she said. "And now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, 'I'm gonna be very human for everyone.'"

A career that started at 15

Before any of that, he was a working model. IMG signed him at 15, and he made his runway debut for Moschino at 16, going on to walk for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan and front campaigns for Calvin Klein and Celine.

He is survived by his parents and his sister.

What is still not known

The medical examiner has not released a cause or manner of death, and an autopsy had not been completed at the time of reporting. The family has not commented beyond its request for privacy.