Albert Delègue was a French fashion model on several top-end brands, like Versace and Giorgio Armani. In 1995, he died in what was reported to be a skiing accident. The real story, however, was far different.
Delègue was born to a French doctor and a Portuguese potter in 1963, and had two older sisters.
Growing up in Mérilheu, a small town in south-western France, Delègue worked as a ski instructor until being introduced to the world of modeling in 1989.
Delègue’s rugged yet handsome good looks led him to become one of the top male models of the 1990s, rivaled only by a handful of others — such as Cameron Alborzian, Alain Gossuin, Greg Hansen, Werner Schreyer, and Marcus Schenkenberg — while securing modeling contracts with the top brands of the era.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Related: Queer icon Sylvester’s disco hit inducted into the Library of Congress for its historical value
His contract with Armani was rumored to be worth 5 million francs, and was just one of many in a portfolio scatted with the likes of Sonia Rykiel, Daniel Hechter, Calvin Klein, Kenzo, Chevignon, Morgan, White-Blue, Valentino, Versace, Iceberg, and Rene Lezard. He worked with two agencies, Success and IPS Models.
When he died, on April 14, 1995 at just 32 years old, the official story behind his passing had him suffering a skiing accident in August of 1994, leaving him paralyzed for months. He was admitted to the hospital on March 22, dying less than a month later.
On April 19, that story began to fall apart, with some media outlets reporting that the cause of death was not an accident, but AIDS-related encephalitis. Nevertheless, the family held fast on the official story.
“His own family wanted to silence the real reason for his death,” said Alain Gossuin as reported on the AIDS memorial Instagram page. “I had discussed it in a TV show, believing that my intervention would put a spotlight on a scourge that took a worrying magnitude. Result? I was censored in the editing. My approach was sincere.”
Gossuin’s interview, however, never aired, after Delègue’s family stepped in to suppress the information.
Even today, those facing HIV and AIDS diagnoses like Delègue are often stigmatized, forced to hide their diagnoses, or have to deal with friends and family attempting to hide the grim realities of their passing.
