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Catya Sassoon
Born	September 3, 1968(1968-09-03) New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	January 1, 2002 (aged 33) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other name(s)	Cat Sasoon Cat Sassoon
Occupation	Model, actress
Years active	1982-1995
Spouse(s)	Luca Scalisi (m.1984–?) Joe Meyers (?–2002)

Catya "Cat" Sassoon (September 3, 1968 – January 1, 2002) was an American model and actress.

Early life and career

The eldest of four children, Sassoon was born in New York City to British hairstylist Vidal Sassoon and his wife, actress Beverly Adams. Raised in Beverly Hills, Sassoon was a rebellious teen who pierced her nose and dyed her hair purple at the age of 13. At age 14, she dropped out of Beverly Hills High School and began modeling. At age 15, Sassoon married Luca Scalisi, son of an Italian film producer.^[1] The marriage was short-lived and the next year, Sassoon made her film debut in the 1985 movie, Tuff Turf.^[2]

The same year, Sassoon left for New York to embark on a modeling career. After arriving, she was signed with the Prestige Agency and a became a model who appeared on the covers of Seventeen and Brides, but by age 21, she was battling an addiction to drugs and landed in rehab.^[2]

In 1990, Sassoon, who was now clean and sober, traveled the country with her mother, Beverly Adams, to promote her father's book, Fantasies. Both women openly discussed how they overcame addiction problems. At that time, Beverly Sassoon said that she was three years clear of an alcohol addiction, and that Catya, then 22, was about to celebrate one year free from drug addiction.^[3] Later that year, Sassoon began acting again and appeared in an episode of Hardball. She also appeared in Bloodfist IV: Die Trying and Dance with Death. In 1993, she landed the lead role in the Roger Corman-produced martial arts film Angelfist, directed by Cirio H. Santiago. Sassoon made her last screen appearance in the 1995 action film, Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero. In addition to acting, Sassoon was also the lead singer of an all female group, Feline Force.^[3]

Sassoon married for the second time to Joe Meyers. The couple had their first child, a son named London, in 1995. In the spring of 2000, she gave birth to twin girls, Mycca and Skye.^[2]

Death

On New Year's Eve 2001, Sassoon and her husband attended a New Year's party at a friend's home. Sassoon complained of feeling unwell, left the party and returned to her home in the Hollywood Hills. At about 9:20 a.m. the following day, Sassoon's husband went to check on her and found her dead. Sassoon had a history of high blood pressure and family members believed her death to be a heart attack. Despite her history of drug and alcohol abuse, her family maintained that she had long since kicked the habit and was clean and sober at the time of her death.^[3]

An autopsy report later revealed that Sassoon died of a heart attack brought on by an overdose of hydromorphone and cocaine. She was 33 years old.^[4]

Filmography

References

External links

• Catya Sassoon at the Internet Movie Database
• Catya Sassoon at TV.com
• Catya Sassoon at Find a Grave