A former Playboy model who dated footballer Mario Balotelli died after complications from plastic surgery, MailOnline can reveal.
Tabby Brown, 38, died suddenly last October just days after returning from the Dominican Republic where she had gone for liposuction treatment.
Tabby, who also appeared in Cosmopolitan and Elle, was also an actor and dancer and said of extrovert Italian footballer Balotelli she fell for him ‘against my better judgement’.
An inquest, opened by the South London Coroner Julian Morris, confirmed that she had died from a rare condition called fat embolism syndrome which had been caused by liposuction.
According to medical journals, death from FES following plastic surgery is rare but it has been on the increase due to the rise of liposuction interventions.
Model Tabby Brown died aged 38, with tributes pouring in for the beloved actor and dancer
Throughout her career Ms Brown, who was born in South London, modelled for Cosmopolitan and dated footballer Mario Balotelli
Tabby dated Italian football player Mario Balotelli (pictured together) for seven months in 2011 after first meeting in a nightclub
In 2019, Tabby launched her own gym leggings company called tbleggins. Here she is pictured wearing a bodysuit from her brand
The model began her career in the industry in 2006 and landed a number of high profile advertisements
The court heard Tabby had travelled to South America and the Dominican Republic two weeks before she died – although it is not known where she had the surgery – and she died three days after returning.
Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure that involves the removal of unwanted body fat and on the NHS website is described as usually carried out ‘on the bottom, hips, thighs and tummy’.
It is not readily available on the NHS and private procedures in the UK can cost between £3,000 to £8,500 depending on where you go, and the body areas being treated.
Although it is not known for sure if Tabby had the surgery in the Dominican Republic there are numerous clinics there and a lot of competition among surgeons drives prices down to half of what they are in Britain.
Earlier this year a report in the United States warned Americans not to travel to the Caribbean island for cut price surgery as there had been a surge in fatalities linked to botched operations.
Researchers discovered that almost 100 people had died in the last decade after having surgery there and many within 72 hours of the operation. A report in 2019 described the Dominican Republic as ‘the most dangerous place in the world’ for cosmetic surgery.
Causes highlighted by a medical team from the University of Texas included poor post operative hygiene leading to infections and under qualified surgeons in unregulated clinics.
Mr Morris told the court that Tabby’s family had said she had flown back and within days of returning to her south London home, had told them she felt weak but had refused an ambulance.
Just after midnight on October 13, as her condition worsened paramedics were called and although they performed CPR on her they were unable to save her life and she was declared dead at the scene.
The court heard ‘two puncture marks’ were found in the pelvis area but her family didn’t know what they were from, although they added she was in the habit of having ‘plastic surgery’.
Mr Morris said that he would adjourn the inquest until a later date and enquiries would be made through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office with a full hearing expected later this year.
Devastated friends and shocked fans took to social media to pay tribute to the model. NayNay wrote: ‘Rest in eternal peace Tabby’
Tabby starred in a number of music videos in the 2010s, including alongside Snoop Dog
Tabby’s career was launched after she did an international advert for Virgin Atlantic
Tabby had a number of brand deals on her Instagram account including Goli Nutrition, which creates vitamin supplements
Tabby regularly posted photographs on Instagram until February 2022. Here she is pictured wearing an Oh Polly dress
Tabby pictured at a launch party in Westfield, London, in July 2013
Tabby was born Muslim and her real name is known to MailOnline, but we have decided not to reveal it at the wishes of her family, who described her as a ‘beautiful person’ when she died.
At the time one said: ‘It was just so very unexpected; she was very fit and healthy, so we just don’t know what happened. We only laid her to rest a day ago and it was just so sudden.
‘There has been a great outpouring for her and there was a very large turnout for her funeral, and we are so grateful and appreciative for the support and love of everyone.
‘She was actually a very private person, who loved her family, and we all miss her so much. We still can’t believe she’s gone.
‘She was a popular girl, with lots of friends who had a very big public profile but at the same time she was a very private person when she was with her family.’
Her family asked MailOnline to correct reports that Tabby had dated Chelsea player Raheem Sterling and said: ‘It would be really good if you could correct that, she never went out with Raheem, we just don’t know where that came from.
‘She didn’t go out with him full stop, he’s married, and he has a family and it’s just not fair on them so we would appreciate it if you could get it out there that she never dated Raheem Sterling.
‘We’re not sure if Mario knows about it but he’s probably heard about what happened through their mutual friends.’
The family, who live in south London, told MailOnline: ‘We really just don’t know what happened. You can see on her Instagram she went to the gym, and she was a very fit and healthy girl, very strong, it’s taken us all by surprise.
‘We are all still just figuring it out, she was an amazing girl, she was larger than life, she was beautiful both inside and out and had a very good heart, she was just amazing. It’s awful as she was just so young.’
Her funeral service took place at London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park Mosque on Wednesday and she was later buried in a Muslim cemetery at Ilford known as the Gardens of Peace.
An official at the mosque said:’ It was a very last minute service – the prayers were said over the coffin by an Imam and then the body was taken away for burial but it was very busy. There must have been around 60 people here.’
In 2010 she went on to star in a number of music videos, including for B.o.B and Rivers Cuomo’s hit song Magic (pictured)
In 2012, Tabby was interviewed by Snoop Dogg about her career and her switch from being a business manger to a model
Tabby also starred on Channel 5 ‘s The Bachelor and appeared in advertisements for Canon, Virgin Atlantic, AXE and Lynx
Tributes have poured in from fans and music stars following the tragic news of her death
Tabby started off working as a business manager before she landed a commercial with Virgin Atlantic
Tabby also starred in Dizzee Rascal’s Dirtee Disco video, where she plays one of the gatecrashers, dancing and embracing the rapper
Close pal Farah Sattaur – who starred in Ex on The Beach – was among mourners who attended the ceremony, and she posted a picture of the mosque as well as Tabby’s flower strewn grave on her public Instagram profile.
Paying tribute to her Farah, 37, wrote: ‘I don’t even know what to say, I’m still in shock. It took me a couple of hours for the news of your loss to fully sink in and I’m still asking myself how and why.
‘I loved our friendship, meeting you over ten years ago and spending two of those years being iconic Playboy bunnies together, I will always treasure all the memories we made.’
She added: ‘You were so young and beautiful, funny, ambitious, with sass that we both shared and someone that held herself with so much standard and respect.
‘Your infectious laugh will be incredibly missed…thank you for your friendship, thank you for your time, your support.’
He added: ‘I don’t know what else to say but I just hope and pray wherever you are you are OK and I’m sending so much love to your family as well.’
Alongside the picture of the London Central Mosque at Regent’s Park, Farah had written the caption: ‘Sleep now T’ alongside emojis of hands, a broken heart and an angel’s wings.
At a wake in her memory a few hours later Farah uploaded a picture of a meal and drinks adding: ‘Let’s celebrate your life T’ with a champagne glass emoji.
The final picture was of four cocktail glasses being clinked with the caption reading: ‘Today we celebrated you TB a beautiful send off for a beautiful girl’ with three heart emojis.
Neighbours in the quiet square where the family live said that an ambulance had been called to the third floor apartment where Tabby lived with her family.
They added: ‘They are a lovely family – they have two daughters and the one that died was beautiful, it’s so sad, she was so very young, they think it was a heart attack.’
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said they were called to an incident in south London in the early hours of October 13.
In a statement to MailOnline they added: ‘We sent multiple resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a medic in a fast response car, an advanced paramedic and a clinical team manager.
‘Our first medics arrived in three minutes. Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.’
