Australia's Next Top Model contestant Lucy Markovic had a promising career as an international catwalk model and was aged just 27 - no-one had expected her to die. However, in March 2025, she made a huge health announcement on Instagram, confirming she'd been diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
The rare condition, involving abnormal tangles of blood vessels in the brain, can be fatal - and Lucy had revealed that her AVM was the size of a "golf ball". She underwent emergency surgery but tragically fell into a coma and never recovered.
Her partner broke the bad news on Instagram today (April 11), confirming: "Dear friends and family, I regret to inform you that Lucy has passed. She was at peace. Me, her mother and my mother were present with her. We ask you to please give us space in these hard times. May Lucy rest in peace."
If left untreated, the condition can sometimes cause severe headaches, seizures, muscle weakness, difficulty seeing and speaking and even fatal brain haemorrhages.
However, surgery can have its risks as well, as Lucy's tragic case proved.
Her management company, Elite Model Management NYC, released a statement confirming: "We are heartbroken to share that Lucy Markovic has passed away after a brave battle with a brain AVM.
"Lucy was a bright shining light, and had an incredible dry sense of humor. Her smile and laughter could light up a room, and draw you closer to her. She loved to dance, she really shined."
"Modelling was one of Lucy's dreams, and we are deeply honored to have been part of that journey with her.
"She brought elegance, strength, and beauty to her work. But more than that, she brought herself—her warmth, her laughter, her light," the emotional statement concluded.
Famous names from the fashion world have already come forward to pay tribute to her, including Donatella Versace, who wrote: "Rest in peace, beautiful girl!"
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