Rick zombie boy biography images

Rick Genest, the fashion icon and artist best known as Zombie Boy and Rico the Zombie, was found dead near his home on Aug. He was 32 years old. Throughout his life, Genest had beaten the odds.

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The star dedicated his existence to artistic expression after being diagnosed with brain cancer as a teenager and followed an unconventional path to fame that led him in and out of homelessness. His monumental career was seemingly built on a series of near-misses and good luck. In , Genest was discovered by Lady Gaga's stylist, Nicola Formichetti, and subsequently cast in the singer's video for "Born This Way," which transformed him into an international star.

Despite his fame, Genest seemed most at home on the fringes of society, and he rejected traditional standards of beauty and success. As in my life, I was often out-casted, hated or misunderstood," he told Wonderland in From freak shows to the pages of Vogue, Genest never strayed far from his punk Montreal roots. Here's the untold truth of Zombie Boy.

As of this writing, there is still controversy surrounding the cause of Rick Genest's death. What is known is that he died after falling from a third floor balcony at his girlfriend's apartment building in the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighborhood of Montreal, according to iHeartRadio. What is unknown is whether the fall was accidental or intentional.

Initial reports indicated "an apparent suicide," which prompted Genest's one-time collaborator, Lady Gaga, to tweet how "beyond devastating" it was to learn that Genest took his own life. However, Genest's family and his manager, Karim Leduc, pushed back on that conjecture, and according to USA Today , Gaga deleted her tweet and apologized for drawing such a conclusion.

Regardless of exactly how or why Rick Genest died, the eccentric star had indicated that he knew he was not long for this world.