some hot model killed herself in NYC yesterday

Ruslana Korshunova plunges to her death in New York
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
Last updated: 10:32 PM BST 29/06/2008
A 20-year-old model who appeared on the covers of fashion magazines and graced international catwalks has died after apparently leaping from her ninth floor flat in New York.

Ruslana Korshunova was found dead outside her downtown Manhattan building on Saturday afternoon after eyewitnesses described seeing a body plunge from a balcony.

Police reported no sign of a struggle inside the apartment of the model from the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan, who was three days shy of her 21st birthday. Friends, however, said there were no signs the model had been suicidal.

"There's no way she would have killed herself," Kira Titeneva, a friend from Korshunova's home town, told the New York Daily News. "She loved life so much."

Titeneva described Korshunova as "my best friend" and "like an angel."

Another friend told the New York Post that Korshunova, who would have earned around $5,000 (£2,500) for a catwalk show and had been sending money home to her family, was "one of the sweetest, nicest people you'll ever meet."

"I'm still in shock. The world lost a great person." He added she had just returned from a modelling job in Paris and seemed "on top of the world".

"There were no signs. That's what's driving me crazy. I don't see one reason why she would do that."

But in emotional postings on a social networking website, the 5 ft 8 in, long-haired model who appeared on the covers of French Elle and Russian Vogue and modelled for designers including Betsey Johnson and Jill Stuart, hinted at personal struggles.

"I'm so lost. Will I ever find myself?" Korshunova wrote three months ago. In January, she commented: "It hurts, as if someone took a part of me, tore it out, mercilessly stomped all over and threw it out."

Korshunova's death is the latest to rock the fashion world, an industry often criticised for the pressures and demands it can place on models.

In February, the body of Katoucha Niane, the former supermodel muse of Yves Saint Laurent, was found in the Seine near Paris after an apparent suicide. Over the past two years, a number of South American models have died of suspected malnutrition, prompting international debate about eating disorders and "size zero" models.

But industry observers urged caution in assuming Korshunova's job was to blame for her death.

Life as a young model in a city like New York "can be a carousel ride or it can be a decent into hell," said Michael Gross, bestselling author of Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women.

"People generalise about fashion models to their own peril. We can't draw conclusions about one from the last. The occupational hazards of modelling are well known - there are substance abuse, body issues and self-esteem issues. But we don't know why this girl jumped out of a window. It could be it had nothing to do with modelling.

"People always want to blame the fashion industry or magazine editors," he added. "They certainly deserve a certain amount of generalised criticism but without facts to back it up, I don't think that there's anything here other than a sad story."

Zach Eichman, a spokesman for Korshunova's agency, IMG, which also handles Heidi Klum and Kate Moss, said "she was one our very good working models. She did a lot of shows and successful campaigns.

"Everyone I have spoken to is very surprised and the feedback I am getting from people is that there was little indication that there was something troubling her and that she was always very happy."

A former boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, 24, said he dropped Korshunova off at her apartment several hours before her death after they watched the Demi Moore film Ghost together. "She was a good person," he told the New York Post.

Korshunova had appeared in advertisements for Nina Ricci, DKNY, Vera Wang and Christian Dior and was described as "a face to be excited about" in a profile in Vogue three years ago. She broke into international modelling after a booker from Models 1 spotted her picture in an in-flight magazine article about her hometown of Almaty.

"She looked like something out of a fairytale," Debbie Jones, the booker, told Vogue. "We had to find her and we searched high and low until we did."

A former boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, 24, said he dropped Korshunova off at her apartment several hours before her death after they watched the Demi Moore film Ghost together. "She was a good person," he told the New York Post.

JaysonAych wrote:She'd have died of starvation in another 6 hours anyway.

Ascona wrote:

JaysonAych wrote:She'd have died of starvation in another 6 hours anyway.

i don't know, really. . . if you look at the picture added with the article,' there's quite alot of meat still on the bones . . . she's got some reserves, if you know what i mean

Ascona wrote:

JaysonAych wrote:She'd have died of starvation in another 6 hours anyway.

i don't know, really. . . if you look at the picture added with the article,' there's quite alot of meat still on the bones . . . she's got some reserves, if you know what i mean

Aristotle wrote:

dunnas wrote:I'd say ban you both and let god sort it out. But I don't believe in god so that would be silly.

Honor Kleinberger wrote:

dunnas wrote:I'd say ban you both and let god sort it out. But I don't believe in god so that would be silly.

i dont think anyone does anymore, really

Ascona wrote:also, i've no idea what you mean with "having first hand experience" here. . . . i mean, sure, i've seen alot skinnier girls. so yeah, i've got experience?


besides, i've nowhere on this af said i like super skinny girls. it's just you venting your insecurities and projecting them on somebody else.



it's time you got banned.

Honor Kleinberger wrote:

dunnas wrote:I'd say ban you both and let god sort it out. But I don't believe in god so that would be silly.

i dont think anyone does anymore, really

dunnas wrote:You also believe asscone fucked his dead girlfriend.

Ascona wrote:WTF?

The_Edge wrote:

Ascona wrote:WTF?

I wish I kept all chat logs like you psycho. Do the words "I gave her a last passionate goodbye" ring a beel you sick fuck?

Ascona wrote:dude, i did her before she died. . .

dunnas wrote:

The_Edge wrote:

Ascona wrote:WTF?

I wish I kept all chat logs like you psycho. Do the words "I gave her a last passionate goodbye" ring a beel you sick fuck?

You're an idiot if you think any of us are going to believe that he told you anything of the sort.

Maybe he did use the words in your quote but I know it would mean nothing like you're suggesting it does. :whatever: