Susan Lord, a rep for the Westminster Coroner’s Court, confirmed Nielson’s cause of death on Tuesday.
“The cause of death was cerebrovascular accident,” said Lord, using the technical term for a stroke.
Neilson’s death came suddenly, but perhaps not shockingly. In the past, she had dealt with a heroin addiction which was tied to her depression.
“I fell into a serious depression and became a heroin addict because it provided an escape bubble and was the only way I could cope,” she told The Daily Mail in 2015. “In a way, heroin saved me, because otherwise I would have killed myself.”
Neilson was well-known for her role in the Bravo TV show Ladies of London in 2014 and 2015, but she was a socialite long before her reality television cameo.
Alexander McQueen and Neilson met while she was in her twenties. The pair were thick as thieves until the designer committed suicide in 2010. Their friend group included models like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
She’s also an accomplished writer, having written a series of children’s books called “The Me Me Me’s.” The books are meant to help kids identify their feelings, and each book in the series is subtitled with an emotion, like “Angry Me” or “Dreamy Me.”
Since her passing, fans have flooded social media feeds with tribute photos.
Annabelle Neilson (RIP) will be remembered for her adventurous fashion sense and for being one of the OG party girls.