Grammy-nominated producer and musician SOPHIE has died at age 34 following an accident.
The Scottish-born, Los Angeles-based artist, an LGBTQ+ icon touted for producing an avant garde style of electronic pop music, passed away on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 30. SOPHIE's rep announced the news in a statement to NPR and other outlets, saying, "It is with profound sadness that I have to inform you that musician and producer SOPHIE passed away this morning around 4am in Athens, where the artist had been living, following a sudden accident."
"Tragically our beautiful SOPHIE passed away this morning after a terrible accident," SOPHIE's record label Transgressive said in a statement posted on Twitter. "True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us. The family thank everyone for their love and support and request privacy at this devastating time."
SOPHIE began a solo career in 2013, releasing singles such as "Nothing More to Say" and "Bipp." Two years later, SOPHIE began writing and producing music for top artists such as Madonna and Charli XCX.
In 2018, the artist released a debut album, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides. The record was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. SOPHIE was the first transgender artist to receive a nod in this category.
The album included the single "It's Okay to Cry," the video for which SOPHIE appears topless, which is seen as the producer's introduction to the world as a transgender artist.
"An embrace of the essential idea of transness changes everything because it means there's no longer an expectation based on the body you were born into, or how your life should play out and how it should end," SOPHIE told Paper magazine in 2018. "Traditional family models and structures of control disappear."
SOPHIE continued, "For me, transness is taking control to bring your body more in line with your soul and spirit so the two aren't fighting against each other and struggling to survive. On this earth, it's that you can get closer to how you feel your true essence is without the societal pressures of having to fulfill certain traditional roles based on gender. It means you're not a mother or a father — you're an individual who's looking at the world and feeling the world. And it's somehow more human and universal, I feel."
Munroe Bergdorf, a transgender activist and model, paid tribute to SOPHIE on Instagram following news of the artist's death. Bergdorf wrote, "Our community has lost an icon, a pioneer and a visionary bright light. Heartbroken. SOPHIE you will be missed. Thank you for sharing your talent with us. I hope we get to meet again one day. Rest in peace sister...Sending love to all of Sophie's family, friends and fans at this time."