Former Miss Teen Universe Lotte van der Zee has died just two weeks after her 20th birthday.
The Dutch model was on a family skiing trip in Westendorf, Austria to celebrate her birthday when, just the day before she turned 20, she suffered a heart attack.
The young woman’s parents told a local newspaper, Lim Burger, Lotte had been out with friends the night before, but had returned ‘cheerfully and without health complaints’.
However, the following morning the model didn’t emerge for breakfast, and her parents found her unwell in bed. In a post on Lotte’s Instagram, they explained it was ‘a feeling that swiftly escalated in sudden cardiac arrest.’
Kind messages flooded in for Lotte and her parents, who made their appreciation clear, writing:
“If you share grief with each other you can be sad and happy at the same time.” This is something that you have made us experience this past week.
That is why we want to thank you for all the beautiful messages and for your sincere and loving support. It is wonderful to see how many people are intensely involved with Lotte and with us.
Even though the feeling of powerlessness made us think that we were in this alone at first we were able to draw a massive amount of strength from all your loving support. We are convinced that Lotte feels this too.
The 20-year-old was rushed to hospital, where she was put in a medically induced coma. However, Lotte suffered organ failure and so her parents made the decision to ‘let her go’ on Wednesday (March 6).
They shared a picture of their daughter to her Instagram page following her death, writing:
Our pearl, our everything passed away on Wednesday evening March 6th at 22:47.
It is incredibly surreal that our dearly beloved Lotte is not around us anymore. Our hearts are truly broken.
We would like to thank you all again for all the support and heartwarming messages.
The cause of Lotte’s heart attack is not yet known, but the family have said tests will be carried out to try to determine what happened.
Lotte won the Miss Teen Universe pageant in 2017, and had since embarked on a promising international career in modelling.
Our thoughts are with Lotte’s family and friends at this difficult time.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.