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By Marni Rose McFall, Joshua Rhett Miller, and Amanda Castro
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Presley Gerber, the model and son of Cindy Crawford, has died at the age of 27.
Gerber died early Sunday while at a rehab facility, Los Angeles County authorities have confirmed. His cause of death has yet to be determined.
An autopsy was conducted Monday, but a determination on the cause and manner of Gerber’s death has been deferred due to necessary additional testing or studies, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said.
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"Due to the ongoing death investigation, the DME cannot disclose what testing and/or studies were requested," officials told Newsweek in an email. "Deferred cases can take a few months before a cause of death is determined."
Police told Newsweek earlier Monday that Gerber’s death is being investigated as a suspected overdose.
"At this time, there is no indication of foul play," Santa Monica police said in a statement.
Officers responded to a report of a possible overdose in the 1000 block of Berkeley Street at about 9:35 a.m. Sunday, police said.
“Upon arrival, officers located an adult male who was deceased,” police said.
The cause and manner of Gerber’s death will be determined by an autopsy. An investigation is ongoing, police said.
In recent years, Gerber had spoken openly about his struggles with mental health and drug abuse.
In a post shared to Instagram in March of this year, Gerber wrote, "Pre Ibogaine Flood Dose—quiet moment before everything changed."
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"I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, i started finding my way back to myself," he said. "We shall see…Praying it’s the last time I have to come back."
In that post, he included the hashtags, "iboga," "ibogaine," "rewire your brain," "love yourself," mental health." The post was geotagged to Cancun, Mexico.
Crawford commented on that post, "You are a warrior! Walked thru the fire to find yourself! So proud!" Gerber’s younger sister, Kaia Gerber, who is also a model and actress, commented "that’s my brother I am so damn proud."
What Is Ibogaine?
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid compound. It is found in the West African shrub, Tabernanthe iboga.
It functions in small doses as a mild stimulant. Larger doses can cause a deep psychedelic experience, including hallucinations.
In the 1980s, Ibogaine gained popularity in the U.S. and Europe. However, it is still classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act.
What Is Ibogaine Treatment?
Ibogaine is used as a pharmaceutical substance and can be administered for a number of health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
It is also used for substance use dependency, with research showing that it can help alleviate symptoms of withdrawal and curb cravings.
For example, a 2014 study by researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil tracked 75 participants who had a history of using cocaine, cannabis, crack cocaine or alcohol, and were treated with Ibogaine.
Individuals who received a single treatment reported abstaining from drug use for an average of 5.5 months.
Those who received multiple treatments reported abstaining for an average of 8.4 months.
Ibogaine treatment for drug addiction is controversial because it is classed as a controlled substance.
Ibogaine is legal for medical use in some countries, but it is unregulated in Mexico.
Side Effects of Ibogaine
Ibogaine can cause cardiovascular changes, including a slowed heart rate and blood pressure shifts. It can also cause neurological effects, including ataxia, tremor and mania.
There can also be rare but serious complications. These include arrhythmias and respiratory failure and can also include death, especially when combined with opioids in patients with underlying health conditions.
A review, published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment in 2022, identified 58 ibogaine-associated emergencies. This included 38 deaths.
Two of those deaths occurred in the setting of a clinical study.
What to Know About Trump Order to Fast-Track Psychedelic Treatments for Severe Mental Illness
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April aimed at accelerating the development and approval of psychedelic-based treatments, including Ibogaine, for serious mental illnesses, arguing that existing therapies have failed to provide lasting relief for many patients.
The directive aims to ensure federal policy reflects a “growing body of evidence” that psychedelics, including ibogaine, could help veterans and other patients struggling with serious mental illnesses, White House officials told Newsweek in a statement Monday.
"The guiding principle of health policymaking in the Trump administration is Gold Standard Science, and President Trump's administration will continue to expeditiously work to execute on the executive order's directives to ensure the federal government is not a barrier to evidence-backed treatments that may help those struggling the most in our society," White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said.
The order highlighted specific conditions such as major depressive disorder and substance use disorder, particularly among patients who do not respond to conventional medications and psychiatric treatments. It also pointed to growing interest in psychedelic compounds, including ibogaine, as potential alternatives for treatment-resistant cases.
The directive instructed the Food and Drug Administration to prioritize certain psychedelic drug candidates that have received Breakthrough Therapy designation, a status intended to expedite the development of treatments that may offer substantial improvement over available options.
It also ordered the FDA and Drug Enforcement Administration to establish a pathway for eligible patients to access psychedelic therapies under the federal Right to Try Act, including authorizations needed for physicians and researchers to handle Schedule I substances.
The Department of Health and Human Services was directed to commit at least $50 million in existing funds through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health to support states pursuing psychedelic treatment programs.
Celebrities Who Have Used Ibogaine as Presley Gerber Post Raises Awareness
Gerber’s post about Ibogaine usage has raised awareness about the drug.
Other celebrities, who have had highly publicized battles with substance abuse, have spoken out about having used Ibogaine in the past.
Hunter Biden, son of the former President Joe Biden, said that he was given Ibogaine at a Tijuana clinic in 2014. He described the experience in his 2021 memoir Beautiful Things, which detailed his battle with addiction. He said that Ibogaine prompted a “slideshow” of his life.
Lamar Odom, the former NBA star, detailed an experience with Ibogaine in a 2023 interview entitled Lamar Odom: The Long Game. He said that, during treatment, he recovered a sense of choice. “I just wanna try to use my story to help people, because if I could get through that… I know they could,” he said at the time.
Scott Disick, former partner of Kourtney Kardashian who appeared on the reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, entered a rehabilitation facility in 2015 where he underwent Ibogaine treatment. “I am looking forward to starting my therapy and iboga treatment,” he said at the time, in a statement issued by the Rythmia Life Advancement Center.
Jordan Belfort, the former stockbroker and businessman who pled guilty to fraud and related crimes in 1999, and whom the Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street is based upon, has also spoken about using Ibogaine. He told the New York Post in 2023 that, after an Ibogaine trip, he “no longer craved opiates.”
Who Was Presley Gerber?
Gerber was the son of the famous supermodel Cindy Crawford and the businessman Rande Gerber.
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Born in California in 1999, Gerber was signed to IMG Models at the age of 15 and made his runway debut in 2016 for Moschino’s Resort Show in Los Angeles.
He went on to walk for brands including Bottega Veneta, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana. He also appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein and Celine.
In a statement given to multiple media outlets, a representative for Crawford and Rande Gerber said, "The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time."
Presley Gerber's Struggles With Mental Health, Substance Abuse
Gerber had spoken publicly about his mental health and struggles with substance abuse and difficulties.
Speaking on the Studio 22 podcast in 2023, Gerber spoke about having dealt with depression and other mental health difficulties.
"Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person, or a hundred people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do," he said.
He used his social media presence to speak about recovery and mental health. He shared a series of "Mental Health Mondays" posts.
In a post to Instagram in November of 2025, he said, "It’s been a minute since I’ve posted—I had to step back and take care of my own mental health for a bit. But I’m coming back soon—stronger, clearer and more intentional than ever."
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Kaia Gerber spoke about her brother’s "decade-long struggle with drug addiction" in an interview for Vogue’s September 2026 issue, published in August of this year.
"When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone," she said. "I think that’s also why I started to self-identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help."
She described Presley as "this absolute teacher, my brother, who says ‘I’m gonna be very human for everyone."
"There’s only so much you can hide from the world," she said.
What Is the 27 Club?
Since Gerber’s passing, public interest in the so-called 27 Club has risen, given Gerber’s age.
The 27 Club is an informal list that consists mainly of popular musicians who died at the age of 27 and is closely linked to the urban myth that musicians’ deaths are particularly common at that age.
Artists who have died at the age of 27 include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.
The notion of it being a "club" did not come about until the passing of Cobain. This, in part, was down to the interpretation of remarks made by his mother, Wendy Fradenburg Cobain O’Connor. She said after his death in quotes carried worldwide by The Associated Press: "Now he’s gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to join that stupid club."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Geoffrey Rowland.
Update, 09/22/26 09:23 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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