Model Stella Tennant Has Passed Away Aged 50

Tennant’s family confirmed the news in a statement via PA News which reads: ‘It is with great sadness we announce the sudden death of Stella Tennant on 22 December 2020.

‘Stella was a wonderful woman and an inspiration to us all. She will be greatly missed. Her family ask for their privacy to be respected. Arrangements for a memorial service will be announced at a later date.’

Born in Scotland, the mother-of-four started her career in the fashion industry in the 1990s, posing for the likes of Steve Meisel and Bruce Weber. Over the years, she became the face of luxury brands including Chanel, Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga and posed for numerous international magazine covers.

‘Granddaughter of Deborah Mitford, the Duchess of Devonshire, Stella exudes aristocratic class and a playful, eccentric sense of style,’ Avril Mair, ELLE UK’s luxury fashion director, previously said of the model.

‘She’s an English rose with an edge, clever and artistic. Powerfully, she’s also allowing herself to age gracefully and naturally.’

Tennant won the Model of the Year award at the British Fashion Awards in 2011 and was a key figure in the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, walking alongside the likes of Kate Moss, Lily Cole and Naomi Campbell.

Last year, she spoke to the Guardian about the dangers of fast fashion, noting: ‘It’s going to take us a long time to change our habits, but I think that this is so obviously a step in the right direction.

‘At my age I think it’s probably quite normal you’re not that interested in consuming, [and not] loving shopping as much as when you’re much younger. We all need to think a little bit harder.’

In 2012, she was inducted into the Scottish Fashion Awards Hall of Fame. ‘I started this job thinking it would last one season, so God knows how I am still lucky enough to be doing this,’ she said after receiving the accolade.

Following a brief period away from the catwalk, Tenant returned to the runway in 2019 in a camel-toned look at Burberry during London Fashion Week. She also walked in the Saint Laurent’s show at Paris Fashion Week wearing a fitted suit and sheer shirt, and a white linen dress at Sarah Burton’s Alexander McQueen SS20 show.