Nineties supermodel Georgina Cooper was laid to rest today as her husband paid tribute to the ‘love of my life’ at a funeral attended by family and close friends.
Mourners packed the Vinters Park Crematorium and spilt into the memorial gardens in Bearsted, Kent, to listen to eulogies paid to the Britpop-era star shortly before midday.
Her husband of less than six months Nigel led tributes to Cooper who died last month aged just 46, saying: ‘I loved you from the day I first met you. And I will never stop loving you.’
Her best friend Rachel thanked Nigel for giving Cooper ‘the happiest years of her life’, and praised the former catwalk icon for her ‘devotion to her son’ and for her ‘laughter’.
Cooper’s brothers, Shane and Paul Donnelly, read poems honouring their ‘little sister’, describing her as a ‘princess without a tiara’.
And her oldest sibling Paul revealed he was ‘overwhelmed with love’ and a ‘fear of dropping her’ when he was invited to cradle his newborn baby sister when he was six years old.
Paul told how despite rising to the top of the fashion world, Cooper never forgot where she came from – ‘a two-bedroom flat in Charlton, South East London‘.
Georgina Cooper’s husband Nigel at Vinters Park Crematorium in Bearsted, Kent, today
Georgina Cooper’s brother Shane Donnelly arrives at Vinters Park Crematorium today
Georgina Cooper (pictured in 2003) died after becoming ill on October 25 on Kos in Greece
Repeating a tribute paid to his sister following her death, he said: ‘Georgina was the most unpretentious person in an industry built on facades.’
Visual tributes were also shown during the 45-minute ‘celebration’ of her life, with pictures of Georgina throughout her fashion model career and life as a devoted mother flashed up on a screen to music.
The service ended with closing music from the hit movie ‘Sister Act’ with Whoopi Goldberg’s rendition of the soul classic ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’.
Cooper passed away after becoming ill on October 25 on the Greek island of Kos, just months after marrying her partner Nigel.
The couple wed in May this year at the Fox and Goose pub in Bearsted, where Cooper was working as a barmaid.
Flowers on the casket outside Vinters Park Crematorium ahead of the funeral today
Members of Georgina Cooper’s family including her brother Paul Donnelly (right) today
The order of service for the funeral for Georgina Cooper, who used her married name Smith
The former model had been on holiday with Nigel and was initially rushed to a local hospital before being airlifted to a better-equipped medical facility in Heraklion on Crete where she died after spending five days in intensive care.
A local coroner confirmed the cause of death as cirrhosis of the liver and internal bleeding following organ failure.
Following Cooper’s unexpected death supermodels Jade Parfitt, Helena Christensen, Erin O’Connor and Jodie Kidd paid tribute to the ‘ray of light’ whose ‘achievements were huge’.
Parfitt told MailOnline: ‘Her friends and family are absolutely devastated, Georgina was a ray of light, a very popular model who was riotous fun, always laughing and being naughty in all the best ways.
‘We all wanted to hang out with George backstage. Her achievements in the industry were huge.’
Her former agent Dean Goodman added: ‘She was the original gap-toothed girl! I will miss her immensely, rest in peace, Georgie girl.
Georgina Cooper on her wedding day earlier this year. She died while abroad with her husband
Georgina Cooper and her husband Nigel on their wedding day in June. She died in October
Georgina Cooper on the Versace catwalk in 2000
Georgina Cooper at the Bluemarine Falls show in 1997
‘I will never forget you and always love you, see you on the other side.’
He continued: ‘She had plans for the future. She had just married and was looking forward to her life. Everybody is devastated. She was a genuine superstar’.
Georgina shot to stardom after being spotted by a modelling agency aged 13, then appearing in a Bon Jovi music video two years later.
The London-born cover girl was dubbed London’s ‘original gap toothed girl’ – appearing on the front of magazines including US Vogue and The Face.
