Australian model Lucy Markovic died from complications with a rare brain condition on Thursday at the age of 27, the New York Postreported. The Australia’s Next Top Model runner-up was forced to undergo emergency surgery on April 2 because she had been suffering from a brain arteriovenous malformation. “Dear friends and family, I regret to inform you that Lucy has passed,” her partner Carlos posted in an Instagram statement. “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.” Markovic was public about her battle with Arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which affects 1 in 100,000 people, in the weeks leading up to her death, revealing that she was scheduled to undergo brain surgery on March 26 to treat the AVM “in the back of her brain.” The procedure was later moved to April 2. On April 11, her Instagram account posted a tribute to the model. “To our Loved Lucy,” it read. “It is far too early for you to go. Your sunshine, happiness and energy was spread from you everywhere you went.” Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace also shared a tribute. “I am so sorry to hear about Lucy. Rest in peace, beautiful girl,” she wrote.
