Katoucha Niane was one of the first African women to attain international stardom as a model and a vocal opponent of female genital mutilation. The top model from Guinea was missing since the beginning of this month after attending a late night party in Paris. In the end, it turned out a tragedy happened--Parisan police found Katoucha Niane's lifeless body in the Seine River on February 28. She possibly fell into the Seine River after a heavy drinking! From Telegrah
The lifeless body of Katoucha Niane, the former supermodel muse of fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent, has been fished out of the River Seine near Paris.
Detectives are investigating whether the beautiful 47-year-old - nicknamed "The Black Princess" - was the victim of a murder plot, although all the signs point towards an accidental death.
Seen as a forerunner of Naomi Campbell - the world’s most successful black model - Katoucha once commanded hundreds of thousands of pounds for her appearances on the catwalk.
In the 1980s she modelled for Christian Lacroix, Paco Rabanne and Thierry Mugler.
Until Thursday's gruesome find, she had not been seen since disappearing from her upmarket houseboat on a central stretch of the river by the Alexander III Bridge on February 1st.
The mother-of-three disappeared after being dropped off from a late night party organised by others from the world of Paris fashion, in which she still worked as a consultant.
Police believe she had been drinking heavily, and may have fallen into the water after losing her footing in a tragic accident.
Katoucha's handbag was later recovered near her houseboat.Her body was pulled from the Seine in Boulogne, just west of the capital, according to one detective, who said investigators were yesterday afternoon still at the scene gathering evidence.
R.I.P