Born in Switzerland, Katy lived in Ireland from the age of two. She had shot to national prominence over the previous 18 months, turning herself into a living embodiment of Bebo and Facebook culture, a world in which people manufacture their own legend – but the dream turned irrevocably nightmarish when, shortly after her widely publicised 24th birthday, she was rushed to Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan having collapsed at a house in Kilmessan, Co. Meath, owned by Kieron ‘Wolf’ Ducie. She died soon afterwards. The post-mortem concluded that her death was a result of a brain damage. Media speculation that it was drug-related has never been proven, although the model had publicly admitted using cocaine.
As if losing a loved one wasn’t hardship enough, her family were subsequently subjected to serious abuse by the media. Of the dozens of allegations they challenged through the press ombudsman, they’ve been vindicated in almost every one.
But then Katy French’s rise and fall was a media fable in its own right. Everybody who knew her personally speaks of her as a genuinely decent, humorous, intelligent and charming woman. She had done admirable work for several Irish charities, including Crumlin Children’s Hospital and GOAL in Calcutta. But she was ambitious to a fault, and as a result had relentlessly courted coverage in order to boost her profile. In doing so, like many others, she made some iffy moves. Her ambition was to be a TV presenter and with her natural charm and glamorous appearance, almost certainly she’d have achieved that goal in the long run. But there was jealousy and spite in the air too. The nature of her rise, and the feeling that she had become famous for being famous, and had used the media to that end, meant that she was perfect fodder for the more spiteful gossip peddlers, for whom human considerations rarely get in the way of a chance to do somebody down.
Thus, her death in many ways reflected the worst excesses of Celtic Tiger, tabloid-driven celebrity culture. Her sad end has been graphically documented in Jason O’Toole’s book The Last Days of Katy French – itself a subject of controversy. It is story that may have some distance to run yet.