Presley Gerber, Cindy Crawford's son, dies at 27 - USA Today

Presley Gerber, the only son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber, has died. He was 27.

Presley Gerber, who followed in his mother's modeling footsteps as a teenager, died Sunday, Sept. 20, at a rehab facility, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records. TMZ first reported the news.

Crawford's publicist confirmed his death to USA TODAY, providing the following statement: “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.”

An autopsy is pending completion, according to TMZ.

Presley Gerber was born in Beverly Hills, California, in 1999. He was the older brother of Kaia Gerber, the model and actress, and grew up in a high-profile family.

Presley Gerber signed with IMG Models at age 15 and entered the fashion world alongside his sister. He made his runway debut for Moschino in Los Angeles at 17 and later walked for major houses like Dolce & Gabbana. He also appeared in international campaigns for Calvin Klein and Celine.

By 2019, the rising model stepped away from the business to focus on himself, though he still faced personal and legal challenges. That year, he was arrested and charged with a DUI in Beverly Hills and later pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to three years' probation and had to complete a DUI program and two days' community service.

In 2020, he got a tattoo on his face that read "MISUNDERSTOOD." “If I thought this was going to ruin my face or I didn’t want this, I wouldn’t have done it. I think that’s a pretty obvious thing,” he also told viewers in the video, Page Six reported at the time. “It says misunderstood, because that’s how I felt my entire life.”

He apparently removed the ink work a year later.

In a February 2023 appearance on the Studio 22 podcast, Presley Gerber spoke candidly about his ongoing personal battles with mental health and substance misuse.

“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," he said, describing mental health as a "big part of my life" and a "24/7 job."

Later in the sit-down, Presley Gerber expressed his desire to help others overcome their own mental health struggles. “That’s really what I want to do: help people," he said. "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."

In 2024, Presley Gerber used social media to spread mental health awareness, covering sensitive subjects like depression and finding "common ground" with others amid recovery as part of his "Mental Health Mondays" video series.

In December 2025, Presley Gerber revealed in a since-deleted video that he had to take various depressant medications – Buprenorphine, Xanax and valium – to manage his mental health symptoms and treat panic attacks.

“The doctors say a lot of different things, so it's kind of scary, but hopefully between my research and their research … and God, we can figure this out,” he said of his medication regimen at the time, according to People magazine. “The things that scare me are the things you need to take … if you don't take them, something not good happens. And there's a spectrum there on how intense the withdrawal from certain medications is.”

In one of Presley Gerber's last Instagram posts, published March 26, the model wrote about undergoing a treatment involving ibogaine (a plant-based psychoactive compound) for his addiction. The experience challenged him to let go of control and confront what he described as fears and struggles he had been "running from," adding that he hoped it would help him find his way back to himself.

The "Shards" actress has also spoken frankly about her brother's "decade-long struggle with drug addiction" and the impact it had on the family.

“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” she told Vogue in her September 2026 cover story. “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 added, “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. And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”