British supermodel Georgina Cooper – an icon of ‘Cool Britannia’ and a friend of – has tragically died at the age of 46 on a Greek island just months after she married, MailOnline can reveal today.
Tributes have poured in from fellow catwalk stars including Jade Parfitt, , and , who called her a ‘ray of light’ whose ‘achievements in the industry were huge’.
Georgina was staying in Kos at the Marianna hotel apartments with her husband when she was taken 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 doctors arranged for an air ambulance to fly her to Crete which has better facilities.
Staff rushed her to intensive care where she stayed for five days before passing away and her body was flown back to England last week.
A source on Kos said: ‘She has been coming here on holiday for more than 20 years. Her parents are friends of the hotel owners and she is a good friend of theirs.
‘She came here in July for her honeymoon and she came again in October for a holiday. She was taken ill the day before she was supposed to fly home.
‘Georgina loved Greece and was always coming here but she had health problems and was ill once before when she was here.
‘But this was all very sudden and it is a shock for all of us. She was talking about coming back in May because she wanted to find somewhere to live and maybe start a business. It’s so sad.’
Her former agent, Dean Goodman told MailOnline today: ‘She loved and told me that she was going back with her new husband – but she has tragically died there a fortnight ago.
‘Georgina had been unwell 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 married and was looking forward to her life. Everybody is devastated. She was a genuine superstar’.
Georgina was spotted by a modelling agency at the age of 13 and her first major breakthrough came when she appeared in a Bon Jovi music-video when she was 15.
She then became one of the faces of the 1990s and was dubbed London’s ‘original gap toothed girl’, working as a muse for celebrated photographer Corinne Day, the biggest names in the world of fashion and appearing on the cover of US Vogue and The Face.
George, as she was known to friends, quit the catwalk to focus on raising her son Sonny. She most recently worked in hospitality in Kent.
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 riotous fun, always laughing and being naughty in all the best ways. We all wanted to hang out with George backstage. Her achievements in the industry were huge’.
Georgina had walked down the aisle near her home in Maidstone, Kent, with the reception in the local pub in early June.
The couple then honeymooned in Kos, sharing a set of happy pictures from their wedding on the island’s community site.
But she had returned to the Greek island at the end of October, where she tragically fell ill.
Mr Goodman added in an tribute: ‘I’m in total shock, and talked to her not long ago to meet up 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 always love you, see you on the other side’.
It is not known how she died. In recent years Georgina had raised significant amounts of money for various charities including for people with liver and lung illnesses.
Her sister-in-law Tracey Wallace has described Georgina’s death as a ‘tragedy’.
Ms Wallace, 45, said: ‘My partner Shane was Georgina’s brother. It’s such a tragedy. I don’t know what to say really other than it’s very sad.’
George was close to fellow Londoner Kate Moss and modelled for many great British brands, including Alexander McQueen, Burberry and Stella McCartney.
The mother-of-one was also a regular at shows for fashion houses including Armani and Versace – and featured on the cover of fashion bibles including Vogue and The Face.
She said in 2018: ‘After I had my son I just couldn’t bear to leave him alone and I wanted to be there for him. I tried to continue modeling but it broke my heart when I had to leave him for work.
‘I focused on modeling assignments in London but my life was at a crossroads and I decided that Sonny came first’.
Friends and family are ‘heartbroken’ over her death.
Her friend Jade Parfitt, also a model, shared the tragic news of her passing on Instagram. Jodie Kidd and Helena Christensen then shared black hearts in tribute.
Supermodel and writer Erin O’Connor also posted a moving message for her friend, praising her bravery.
She said: ‘Gorgeous George…. Shocked and devastated to hear you are gone.
‘You were an incredibly kind and funny human-being, Georgina. I/we all admired and loved you so much for the warmth, generosity and gentle mischief you brought to the world.
‘Many years have passed since we (our little 90’s britannia pack) hung out together during the mad carousel era known as ‘show season’ – but, you ALWAYS stuck out to me for keeping it real and being proud of who you were.
‘What an almighty life you led.. Full of spirit and endless, inspiring humility. You will never be forgotten. Phenomenal woman, wife, daughter, mum and friend; my thoughts are with your family, especially your beautiful boy.
‘Hugs and condolences to all.. RIP brave heart’.
George entered a modelling competition when she was 13 and never looked back.
She said in 2018: ‘I got into modeling when I was 13 when my mum entered me in the Elite Look of The Year contest in 1992—I placed third in the competition—it was an amazing experience and it made my mum and dad very proud of me.
She went on: ‘I started working with Corinne Day when I was 15. I went to her flat to meet her and Tara Hill.
Corinne really loved my look—she particularly loved the gap in my teeth—and she liked my personality too.
‘The following week we did our first shoot for Ray Gun magazine. It was an amazing time—we all had so much fun—and Corrine was brilliant to work with.
‘I was so young at the time I didn’t really understand how influential the work we were doing was until I got older and people would compliment me on the work we did together’.
But after struggling to balance having a baby and her modelling, she decided to concentrate on her family.
‘I’m just a South girl who enjoyed traveling the world’, Ms Cooper said when asked about her career.
But in a warning to others she said: ‘If could go back and give myself one piece of advice it would be to invest. I’d also tell all the new models starting out in this industry to do the same thing too’.