Cindy Crawford, mother of Presley Gerber, in London in October 2009 (archive photo). Credits: Ian Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The American model Presley Walker Gerber, son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, died on Sunday, September 20, 2026, in Santa Monica, California. Police are investigating a possible overdose, while the medical examiner is awaiting additional tests before reaching a conclusion. His family is asking for privacy. He began walking runways as a teenager and spoke publicly about his mental health struggles.
An Open Investigation, No Official Cause Established
In its September 21 statement, the Santa Monica Police Department says officers responded the previous day at around 9:35 a.m. after a possible overdose was reported. The response took place in the 1000 block of Berkeley Street. Officers found a deceased man there, later identified as Presley Gerber, 27.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office lists the time of death as 9:45 a.m. on Sunday morning. A deputy medical examiner conducted an examination on Monday, September 21. However, the office has deferred its conclusions, as additional tests or studies are needed to determine the cause and circumstances of death for legal-medical purposes.
In its statement, the department says it cannot disclose the nature of those tests during the investigation. It notes that cases with deferred findings can take several months. No timeline specific to this case has been announced. The cause of Presley Gerber’s death therefore remains undetermined.
Investigators say they have found no signs of criminal involvement at this stage. The possible overdose remains a police hypothesis: it is not a medical conclusion and does not identify any substance.
According to the medical examiner’s records reviewed by The Associated Press, the model was in a treatment facility for addiction. The police statement, for its part, gives the area of the response without identifying the facility involved.
The Family Requests Privacy
The death was also confirmed by Allie Jenkins, a representative for Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. In an email sent Sunday evening to The Associated Press, she asked that the family’s privacy be respected during this particularly painful time.
Presley Gerber was the older of the couple’s two children. His younger sister, Kaia Gerber, is also a model and actress. Both grew up in Malibu, California. Their mother is among the iconic models of the 1990s; their father has built several businesses in restaurants and spirits.
From Early Runways To A Campaign With His Sister
Signed by IMG Models at 15, Presley Gerber made his runway debut at Moschino in Los Angeles in June 2016. He was 16 at the time. Jeremy Scott was heading the Italian fashion house’s collections.
In an interview with Vogue, published on June 10, 2016, he said he enjoyed working in fashion more than he had expected. He said he had first felt inexperienced, then ready to walk the runway. Before that first runway appearance, he had already modeled for photographers such as Collier Schorr and Bruce Weber.
He was also interested in what happened behind the camera. In the same interview, he said he photographed his sister in his free time and shared the images on social media. He described his fondness for compact cameras and for everyday details that others walked past without stopping. Photography thus had a place in his plans beyond his work as a model.
In January 2018, Calvin Klein unveiled a campaign featuring Presley and Kaia Gerber for its jeans line. Photographed by Willy Vanderperre, they appear in the “Our Family. #MyCalvins” project. The images, created for the spring 2018 season, place the brother-sister bond at the center of the campaign.
That same year, Presley appeared with Cindy Crawford in a Pepsi ad aired for the Super Bowl. The spot echoed the one his mother had filmed for the brand in 1992. These family collaborations marked a path that began very young, between runway shows, photo shoots, and advertising. After IMG, he had joined DNA Models.
Speaking About Mental Health To Help Others
In recent years, Presley Gerber had been open about some of his struggles. In a 2023 interview on the Studio 22 podcast, he discussed his experience with depression, among other things. He said he wanted to help other people get out of a situation similar to the one he had gone through, even if his story could help only one of them.
In 2024, he shared a series of videos on Instagram titled “Mental Health Mondays.” In them, he discussed his own experiences with substance use and stays in specialized treatment centers. These posts were personal testimony about his journey.
In an interview published by Vogue on August 11, 2026, Kaia Gerber praised this willingness to speak openly. She described a family that had long been private about its personal life and said she was proud to see her brother show himself without hiding his struggles. This statement came before his death and reflects how she viewed his approach at the time.
These disclosures shed light on part of his story. They do not establish the cause of his death: that falls under the medico-legal investigation, which is still ongoing.
In France, people affected by drug use, as well as their loved ones, can contact Drogues info service at 0 800 23 13 13, every day from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. The call is anonymous and free; the service offers confidential support and appropriate guidance.