Trish Goff’s son Nyima Ward dead at 27

• Nyima, the only child of Goff, 47, and Aaron Ward, died on May 29 
• The cause of death is currently unknown
• Nyima memorably walked for designers such as Anna Sui and John Varvatos

Supermodel Trish Goff’s model son Nyima has died aged 27.

Nyima, the only child of 90s fashion star Goff, 47, and Aaron Ward, passed away on May 29. The cause of death is currently unknown.

An emotional online tribute to Nyima praised the model who ‘lived fiercely and loved deeply.’

It read: ‘Nyima Lee Ward of Ocala, Florida blew into this world on January 2, 1997 destined to live life his own way,’ the obituary,

”He left it May 29, 2024 having lived fiercely, loved deeply and made memories with the kind of fervor that only a young man who never met a stranger could do.

‘Nyima was born in New York City. In Tibetan, Nyima means ‘the Sun.’ There is no doubt that when he was born, he was the sun to parent’s Aaron Ward and Trish Goff’s whole system. He remained there throughout his life.

‘With family spread all over the world – New York to New Zealand, London to Florida – Nyima didn’t get to see everyone every day. He got to see everyone for long, meaningful periods. And that suited him just fine. It was deep, present connections he craved.

‘He was a boy of the world, traveling extensively, who grew into a man of the earth, falling in love with farming and animals and chasing his dreams from California to Florida.

‘It wouldn’t have been unheard of to find Nyima with a stray animal he’d saved on the side of the road or calling his mom to ask about animal care tips.

‘He loved the water, always choosing boots and jeans for a day on the boat, and opted outside whenever he had the chance.

‘The only thing in life that matched his height was his love of friends and family, never missing an opportunity to tell his people he loved them or ensuring he had stayed in touch with his people.

Nyima is survived by his parents Trish and Aaron, stepfather David Bonnouvrier, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. 

Nyima started modeling aged 18. After his parents split, Goff started dating DNA Models owner Bonnouvrier – with the pair encouraging him to sign to the agency.

He told W Magazine in 2015: ‘They’ve just been trying to get me to sign forever and I was always like, “Nah, nah.” And then I turned 18 and I was like, “Might as well try it'”.

Nyima memorably walked for designers such as Anna Sui – 23 years after his mom made her runway debut for the designer – John Varvatos and Kye – with his flowing dark locks and chiseled features attracting attention on the runway.

He also shot high fashion editorials with iconic fashion photographers including Bruce Weber and Steven Meisel. 

Despite his successes, Nyima said he would ‘consider myself more a woodworker, honestly, than a model.

‘When people ask me what I do, it almost slips my mind to even bring it up. But, I guess I am a model. [Though] I definitely don’t picture myself in my brain as a model. I picture myself more as a nine-to-five. That’s what I do more on a regular basis.

‘It’s less a career and more just something on the side. I know a lot of the people in the industry so lots of time I’ll get people that I knew growing up like, ‘Oh, can I shoot you?’ 

‘Or something like that. Or my agents are like, ‘Oh, this would be really cool for you to do.’ And might as well. I don’t really see it as a long-term career, definitely not.’

Goff was scouted by a modelling agent aged 15 and dropped out of school to move to NYC and pursue a high-fashion career.

She appeared on multiple Vogue covers and in campaigns for Banana Republic, Chanel, Chloé, Christian Dior, Gap, Pollini, Ann Taylor, Louis Vuitton, Versace, and YSL.

She later moved to London with then-husband Angus Munro before retraining as a real estate agent in NYC.

She now lives in Kenya with Bonnouvrier and works for a wildlife conservatory.