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Content warning: This story discusses addiction
This story was last updated September 21 at 6:45 pm.
Presley Gerber, the model son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber, has died at the age of 27.
According to reports initially published by TMZ, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner recorded his passing on Sunday, September 20. While an official autopsy report and cause of death remain pending, Gerber was enrolled at a residential rehabilitation facility at the time of his death.
In a brief statement released via their representative, the Crawford-Gerber family asked for space to process the loss: “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.” Presley Gerber is also the brother of model and actress Kaia Gerber, 25.
Gerber signed with IMG models at the age of 15 and had a successful modelling career, featuring in campaigns for Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Balmain and walking the runway for Dolce & Gabbana and Moschino. Gerber was widely recognised for his raw candour regarding his personal struggles. In recent years, he frequently used his social media platforms — including his “Mental Health Mondays” video series — to document his experience navigating anxiety, severe panic attacks, and substance dependence.
Presley Gerber’s Comments On Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy And Addiction
In a comprehensive Instagram video shared in December 2025, Gerber reflected on his journey navigating prescription medication and psychiatric care, stating that “honesty is the best policy.” He spoke openly about relying on prescribed medications, including benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax alongside Buprenorphine — an FDA-approved treatment commonly prescribed for opioid use disorder — to manage panic attacks and addiction.
Gerber voiced frustration with the complexity of his medical management, saying he worked with over 15 psychiatrists and was prescribed many medications. “I’d like doctors to be like, ‘Take this three times a day… but every psychiatrist I’ve had 15 – are like, ‘Here’s 20 medications and take this if you feel like this’… and I’m like, ‘No, don’t give me that much leeway.’ I need some direction.”
In the same post, Gerber noted that committing to fitness, sobriety, and setting boundaries with social circles had brought him greater stability, but had meant distancing himself from some friends. “As I’ve grown up in Hollywood, there are a lot of people around me that I love to death, but right now I try not to be around them,” he shared.
Presley said that he hoped his video “reaches people in many ways” so that they would know they are “not alone,” but also that he hoped he could find “some people out here… willing to help or [who know] someone that can help.”
In his final months on social media, Gerber revealed he had also sought out alternative, psychedelic-assisted therapies outside formal clinical channels. In one update, he shared that he was undergoing psychedelic drug treatment, an emerging and strictly regulated field of psychiatry. While psychedelic medicine has seen regulatory shifts — such as Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) down-scheduling MDMA and psilocybin for specific mental health conditions in 2023, and the growing popularity of ketamine-assisted therapy in the U.S. — these treatments are administered strictly within controlled clinical environments.
In a March social media post, Gerber shared a video taken just before receiving a “flood dose” of ibogaine, a naturally occurring psychoactive compound derived from the root bark of the West African Tabernanthe iboga shrub. While some studies on ibogaine, like a 2017 report published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse have shown promising results for interrupting opioid dependence, it is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States and remains prohibited in Australia, prompting some individuals to seek treatment at unregulated overseas retreats.
“Quiet moment before everything changed,” Gerber wrote in the caption accompanying the video, describing the intense process. “I was absolutely terrified, and I knew I would be again if I ever had to face something like this.”
Sharing his personal mantras during the treatment, he reflected on the emotional weight of the experience: “Letting go of control didn’t come easy, but I trusted there was something bigger than me guiding it. I knew why I was there. I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself. We shall see.”
Kaia Gerber‘s Comments About Her Brother Presley
In her September cover story for Vogue, his younger sister, model and actress Kaia Gerber, 25, reflected on how her brother’s struggles with addiction had shaped their family, and how his open vulnerability had inspired her.
“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” Kaia shared, noting how she historically adopted the role of the “easy child” to minimise strain on her parents. Reflecting on her own struggles with body image and eating disorders after a lifetime of being compared to her supermodel mother, she said her brother’s candidness had inspired her to be more open about her vulnerabilities.
“My parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn’t share anything – and now we have this absolute teacher in 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.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, addiction, or disordered eating, help is available. You are not alone.
- Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis support)
- Beyond Blue: Call 1300 22 4636 or chat online at beyondblue.org.au (24/7 mental health support)
- National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline: Call 1800 250 015 (free, confidential advice on alcohol and drug support)
- headspace: Call 1800 650 890 or visit headspace.org.au (support for ages 12–25)
- The Butterfly Foundation: Call 1800 334 673 (eating disorder and body image support)
- 13YARN: Call 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)
The post Supermodel Cindy Crawford’s Son Presley Gerber Has Died At The Age Of 27 appeared first on ELLE.
