Supermodel's suicide bid
December 12, 2002
SUPERMODEL Karen Mulder is recovering in hospital after an apparent suicide attempt.
A former boyfriend found her slumped on the floor of her $1.5m apartment in Paris on Saturday.
Miss Mulder was in a coma for two days but is now out of danger.
The 34-year-old Dutch blonde, who has been treated for psychiatric problems in the past, had taken an overdose of sleeping pills.
On the face of it, the cover girl who was once tipped to marry Prince Albert of Monaco has it all: money, fame and fantastic looks.
But a friend said yesterday: "Karen is in a very, very weak psychological state. She took a big overdose and had really decided to finish with life. She is desperately lonely."
Former lover Jean-Yves Le Fur, a playboy and property developer, was one of the few to stand by her during her depression.
He called in police when she failed to answer her phone on Saturday.
In October last year, speaking on a French TV chat show, Miss Mulder made unfounded claims - later withdrawn - that she had been raped by a relative and Prince Albert.
She also claimed that a former friend forced drugs on her, and that she was raped by former members of her model agency, Elite.
"They tried to turn me into a prostitute," Miss Mulder said.
The show's producers promptly destroyed the tape and, fearful for her emotional state, they also contacted her family.
Within days, Miss Mulder was taken to a Paris hospital suffering from a breakdown. She remained there for five months.
She left the clinic in March and told Paris Match magazine that she was "moving back towards the light" and had started wearing colourful clothes again. During her depression, she had worn only black.
Miss Mulder said she had apologised to Prince Albert for making the wild allegations and he forgave her.
She has spoken in the past about her depression, saying: "I was so bad that I couldn't get up. To even lift an arm or a leg was a terrible strain for me."
Miss Mulder started modelling when she was 17. Then, on a family camping trip in the south of France, she saw an ad for Elite's "Look of the Year" contest in a newspaper.
A friend took some photographs of her and she tried out and won.
Since then Miss Mulder has worked for the prestigious Elite agency in New York and Paris.
At the height of her career she was reputed to be making more than $4 million a year.
She has modelled for most of the major fashion houses, including Victoria's Secret, Calvin Klein, Nivea, Ralph Lauren, Claude Montana, Valentino, Versace, Guess?, Chanel, Celine and Yves Saint Laurent.
There was even a Barbie doll made in her likeness, and it is still for sale in toyshops and department stores. Like many models, she has released a video of beauty and fitness tips.
The Daily Telegraph
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5662697%255E21902,00.html [ 12-12-2002, 02:06: Viestiä on muokannut: Mauton ja väritön ]
