Police investigate Presley Gerber's death at 27 as suspected overdose

Presley Gerber, a model and the son of the supermodel Cindy Crawford, died Sunday at 27 at a Santa Monica rehabilitation facility, and Santa Monica police are investigating the death as a suspected overdose.

Officers were sent to a report of a possible overdose at about 9:35 a.m. and found a deceased male, the Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement. Detectives are investigating the death as a suspected overdose, and the department said there is no indication of foul play.

The medical examiner's office said death was pronounced at 09:45 hours on September 20 by responding paramedics, and named the Santa Monica Police Department as the investigating law enforcement agency, according to a statement it released to TMZ. Online records of the office state that Gerber died at a rehab facility, and the examination was carried out on Monday.

What the family said

A representative for Crawford, her husband, Rande Gerber, and their daughter, Kaia Gerber, confirmed the death to TMZ on Sunday. "The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time," the representative said. The statement did not address the circumstances of the death.

No cause of death has been released. The office said its investigation is still ongoing and that limited information is available. TMZ reported that an autopsy had not been completed.

Gerber was the eldest child of Crawford and Rande Gerber, a businessman, who married in 1998, according to NBC News. He and his younger sister, Kaia, are both professional models and have been featured in campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein.

At 18, Gerber appeared alongside his mother in a 2018 Pepsi advertisement that recreated the 1992 Super Bowl commercial she had made for the brand.

He was born Presley Walker Gerber on July 2, 1999, in Greater Los Angeles, the first child and only son of the couple. His father is a hospitality entrepreneur and a co-founder of the Casamigos tequila brand.

From IMG to the runway

Gerber signed with IMG Models at 15 and walked fashion week runways for Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana, ABC7 reported, and he had a campaign with Calvin Klein. His runway debut came in 2016, at the Moschino Resort 2017 show in Los Angeles, and he also worked with Tommy Hilfiger. He also appeared in fashion and advertising projects alongside his mother and his sister.

In 2023, Gerber spoke about working toward a real estate license while developing ideas for a business centered on mental health and community.

In 2020 he had the word misunderstood tattooed across his cheekbone and had it removed roughly a year later. His other tattoos included barbed wire on one hand and his sister's name on his arm.

Gerber was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence in January 2019. Later that year he was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to complete a DUI program and two days of community service, TMZ reported. He later spoke candidly about treatment, according to ABC7.

A series called Mental Health Mondays

Gerber started a program he called Mental Health Mondays on his Instagram account, where he wrote about depression and addiction and said he hoped to "spark real conversations about the stuff most people hide," according to NBC News. In November 2025 he wrote that he had to step back and take care of his own mental health for a bit.

Speaking on the Studio 22 podcast in February 2023, he said that whether he helped one person or a hundred get out of the place he had once been in, that was all he needed to do. He called mental health a 24/7 job, and said he hoped he had made his mistakes so that other people would not have to make the same ones.

In a series of Instagram posts in December 2025, Gerber listed the medications he was then taking, including one milligram of buprenorphine twice a day, Valium in the morning and Xanax for panic attacks. Buprenorphine is often used to treat opioid use disorder and pain. He said his benzodiazepine use had fluctuated, and said he had had a lot of loss in many different forms recently.

He worked with A Sense of Home, a Los Angeles charity that creates first homes for young people aging out of foster care, and supported it through a clothing collaboration.

Tributes from friends

Paris Hilton wrote on an Instagram Story that she was "completely heartbroken" and still could not believe the news was real, and said Gerber had "a beautiful soul" and was "so sweet, sensitive, kind and genuine," according to NBC News. She wrote that she would miss him more than words could say. Brooklyn Peltz Beckham wrote in his own Instagram Story that Gerber was "the kindest" and that he would be missed.

Where the investigation stands

Santa Monica police said detectives were investigating the death as a suspected overdose and that the official cause and manner would be determined by the medical examiner's office. The department said there is no indication of foul play. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner carried out its examination on Monday and deferred the cause and manner of death pending further testing. Online records of that office listed the location of the death as a rehab facility.

For her son's 27th birthday in July, Crawford posted two images, one of Gerber as a child and one as a young teenager, NBC News reported. She wrote: "I'm so proud of the man you've become, but I'll always see you as my little boy! Love you."

What his sister told Vogue

Kaia Gerber discussed her brother's struggle with addiction in an interview with Vogue published on August 11. She described a childhood in Malibu in which he would go surfing and then walk up to school in his wetsuit, barefoot, with his surfboard, and said there were no Ubers there, so parents drove their children to parties and picked them up.

When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone. I think that's also why I started to self-identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help.

She said their parents had for most of the children's lives been "very, very private" and had not shared anything, and that her brother had become "this absolute teacher" who told the world he was going to be "very human for everyone." Putting a lid on something, she said, makes a person feel you are ashamed of them.

In a family interview with TODAY in May 2025, Kaia Gerber said of her mother, "She has never lived vicariously through us," and told her, "You are so not a stage mom," according to NBC News.

Jason Kennedy, the E! News anchor, who posted a video of Gerber discussing his mental health, wrote that the news made him feel sick to his stomach and that Gerber had been open about his struggles because he knew it would help others. He remembered him as someone with a huge heart and said he was heartbroken for the family.

Santa Monica police said the investigation remains ongoing, and the medical examiner has not said when its findings will be published. Anyone struggling or in emotional distress can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. SAMHSA runs a free, confidential helpline at 1-800-662-4357.