British supermodel Georgina Cooper, a ‘Cool Britannia’ icon and friend of Kate Moss, died tragically at the age of 46 on a Greek island just months after getting married, MailOnline can reveal today.
Tributes have poured in from other catwalk stars including Jade Parfitt, Erin O’Connor, Jodie Kidd and Helena Christensen, who called her a “ray of light” whose “achievements in the industry were enormous”.
Georgina was staying in Kos at the Marianna Hotel apartments with her husband when she fell ill on October 21 and staff called an ambulance.
She was initially taken to the island’s main hospital, but her condition was so serious that doctors requested an air ambulance to take her to Crete, which has better facilities.
Staff rushed her to intensive care, where she remained for five days before she died and her body was flown back to England last week.
Georgina Cooper on her wedding day earlier this year. The former model has died while she was abroad with her husband, at only 46 years old.
Jade Parfitt revealed that her friend had died on Instagram
Georgina Cooper, center, walks with Julien MacDonald in 2000
Georgina, photographed in 2003, was one of the most famous faces of the 1990s.
Georgina Cooper, photographed in London’s Destiny at the height of her career in the 1990s and more recently, has died aged 46.
A Kos source said: ‘He has been coming here on holiday for over 20 years. Her parents are friends of the hotel owners and she is a good friend of them.
‘She came here in July for her honeymoon and returned in October for a holiday. He got sick the day before his flight home.
‘Georgina loved Greece and always came here, but she had health problems and was sick once when she was here.
‘But this was all very sudden and is a shock to all of us. I was talking about coming back in May because I wanted to find a place to live and maybe start a business. It’s very sad.’
Her former agent, Dean Goodman, told MailOnline today: “She loved Greece and told me she would return to her new husband, but she tragically died there a fortnight ago.”
‘Georgina had not been feeling well during Covid and had developed some health problems and had been in and out of hospital. But she had plans for the future. She had just gotten married and was looking forward to her life. Everyone is devastated. “She was a true superstar.”
Georgina was discovered by a modeling agency at the age of 13 and her first big break came when she appeared in a Bon Jovi music video when she was 15.
Then she became one of the faces of the 1990s and was dubbed London’s “original toothy girl”, working as a muse for celebrated photographer Corinne Day, the biggest names in the fashion world and appearing on the cover of US Vogue and The Face.
George, as she was known to her friends, left the runway to focus on raising her son Sonny. He recently worked in hospitality in Kent.
Jade said she was a ‘ray of sunshine’
His former agent Dean Goodman shared his tribute today and said he and many others are heartbroken.
Friend and fellow model Jade Parfitt told MailOnline: ‘Her friends and family are absolutely devastated, Georgina was a ray of light, a very popular model who was tremendously funny, always laughing and mischievous in the best way. We all wanted to hang out with George backstage. “His achievements in the industry were enormous.”
Georgina had walked down the aisle near her home in Maidstone, Kent, at the reception at the local pub in early June.
The couple then spent their honeymoon in Kos and shared a series of happy photos from their wedding on the island’s Facebook community site.
But at the end of October she returned to the Greek island, where she fell tragically ill.
Goodman added in a tribute on Instagram: “I’m in total shock and spoke to her not long ago about getting together after she just got married.”
‘She was the original gap-toothed girl! I will miss her immensely, rip in peace georgie girl, I will never forget you and will always love you, see you on the other side.’
It is not known how he died. In recent years, Georgina had raised significant amounts of money for various charities, including people with liver and lung diseases.
Her sister-in-law Tracey Wallace described Georgina’s death as a “tragedy”.
Wallace, 45, said: “My partner Shane was Georgina’s brother. It’s a tragedy. I don’t really know what to say other than it’s very sad.”
George was close to fellow Londoner Kate Moss and modeled for many big British brands including Alexander McQueen, Burberry and Stella McCartney.
The mother-of-one was also a regular at shows for fashion houses such as Armani and Versace, and appeared on the cover of fashion bibles such as Vogue and The Face.
She said in 2018: “After having my son, I couldn’t bear to leave him alone and I wanted to be there for him.” I tried to continue modeling but my heart broke when I had to quit to go to work.
“I concentrated on modeling jobs in London, but my life was at a crossroads and I decided Sonny came first.”
1997: Georgina in the Bluemarine Falls show
2000: model Georgina Cooper on the catwalk
2000: Georgina Cooper on the Versace catwalk
Georgina models for Versace. She wore the first collection designed solely by Donatella Versace, after the death of her brother Gianni.
2006: Georgina Cooper during a Roberto Cavalli event at Harrods
2009: Georgina Cooper on the catwalk at the Emporio Armani fall show
Friends described George (pictured) as the life of the party.
Friends and family are “heartbroken” by his death.
Her friend Jade Parfitt, also a model, shared the tragic news of her death on Instagram. Jodie Kidd and Helena Christensen later shared black hearts in tribute.
Supermodel and writer Erin O’Connor also posted a touching message to her friend, praising her bravery.
She said: ‘Beautiful George… Shocked and devastated to hear you’re gone.
‘You were an incredibly kind and funny human being, Georgina. We all admire and love you so much for the warmth, generosity, and gentle mischief you brought to the world.
“It’s been many years since we (our little ’90s Britannia group) hung out together during the crazy carousel era known as ‘show season’, but you ALWAYS stood out to me for being real and proud of who you were.
‘What an almighty life you led… Full of spirit and infinite and inspiring humility. You will never be forgotten. Phenomenal woman, wife, daughter, mother and friend; My thoughts are with your family, especially your beautiful boy.
‘Hugs and condolences to all.. RIP brave heart.’
George entered a modeling contest when he was 13 and never looked back.
She said in 2018: “I started modeling when I was 13 when my mother entered me into the Elite Look of The Year competition in 1992; I came third in the competition; it was an amazing experience and made my parents very happy. “. proud of me.
He continued: “I started working with Corinne Day when I was 15 years old. I went to her apartment to meet her and Tara Hill.
Georgina and her husband Nigel on their wedding day in June
George left the modeling industry because he wanted to raise his son Sonny.
Corinne really loved the way I looked (she especially loved the space between my teeth) and she also liked my personality.
‘The following week we did our first photo shoot for Ray Gun magazine. It was an incredible time, we all had a lot of fun and it was great to work with Corrine.
“I was so young at the time that I didn’t really understand how influential the work we were doing was until I grew up and people were complimenting me on the work we were doing together.”
But after struggling to balance having a baby and modeling, she decided to focus on her family.
“I’m just a girl from south London who enjoyed traveling the world,” Cooper said when asked about her career.
But in a warning to others, he said: “If I could go back and give myself one piece of advice, it would be to invest.” “I would also tell all the new models starting out in this industry to do the same.”
