Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber and Kaia Gerber broke their silence on Sunday with a tribute to Presley Gerber, posting on Crawford’s Instagram after his death in September at age 27. The family said they were beyond heartbroken, ending a public farewell to the son and brother they called a sweet, beautiful soul.
The post was the first clear public response from the family since Presley Gerber died at a rehab facility, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records. A cause of death was not immediately known, and a representative said the family was asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.
In the tribute, the family said they felt blessed to have had Presley in their lives for 27 years and that they were proud of how he showed up in the world with kindness and vulnerability. They thanked people for the outpouring of love and support, from those who knew and loved the family to strangers who felt their pain, and closed with the line, “Til we meet again our sweet boy. We love you forever, Mom, Dad and Kaia 🪽.”
Presley Gerber had built a public profile long before the family’s tribute. He began modeling at 15, signed with IMG Models, appeared in a Calvin Klein campaign, walked the Moschino runway and appeared in a Pepsi ad alongside his mother. He was also open about mental health and addiction, and in 2019 he was arrested and charged with a DUI in Beverly Hills before being sentenced to three years' probation.
Kaia Gerber has previously described what that openness meant inside the family, saying that when something like that happens, it kind of levels everyone. She also said Presley acted as an “absolute teacher” by choosing to be very human for everyone, and warned that trying to hide pain can make a person feel ashamed of it. The family’s Sunday post brought that private struggle into public view one last time, but it left the central question unanswered: what exactly caused his death.
