Sladjana Tesla, 53, found dead in Belgrade apartment

Police found the body of Sladjana Tesla (53), a former model, in an apartment in New Belgrade on Tuesday, October 13. The body has been sent for autopsy. The cause and time of death will not be known until the autopsy and investigation are complete, and the exact address of the apartment has not been released.

How was the body found?

According to unofficial information, Tesla lived alone, and neighbors had not seen her for several days. Residents reported an unpleasant smell coming from her apartment to the building manager. The manager called the police, who entered the apartment and found the body.

Media outlets differ on the day. Telegraf and Kurir say Tuesday, while Mondo writes only that Tesla was found “today,” without giving a date. No one is citing a cause of death for now.

Who was Sladjana Tesla?

She began her career in 1991, around the age of 18. She was spotted by Nenad Radujevic, known as Nesa Klik, owner of the Klik modeling agency. He recalled that first meeting:

“She is one of the first models, she started back in 1991, when I saw her on a bus and wanted to go up to her and tell her that we would love to work together. I think she had just turned 18, and it was all about the idea of natural beauty and spontaneous behavior.”

In the late 1990s and early 2000s she was considered one of the most recognizable faces in Serbian fashion. She worked on campaigns for a car and for jewelry. She once described her job this way:

“My job is to take the most ordinary rag and carry it as if I were wearing a 150,000 dollar dress. That is the difference between good models and average ones.”

After her modeling career she stayed in the fashion world, working as a choreographer and event organizer.

Her family link to Nikola Tesla

The public also remembered her for her claim of being related to the scientist Nikola Tesla. She had said that three family trees compiled for her by people from an association differed quite a bit. According to one of them, she said, she was a “direct descendant of his cousin.”

What are people from the fashion world saying?

Radujevic told Blic he had not known the news: “I am truly in shock, I didn’t know… I haven’t been in touch with her for a long time… Excuse me, please, I can’t pull myself together.”

Fashion designer Verica Rakocevic told Mondo that she, too, had not been in touch with Tesla for a long time and does not know what was happening in her life in recent years:

“I was shocked when I read that she had died. I am very sorry, she was young, I don’t know the cause, I don’t know whether she was ill, because I haven’t had any information about her for a long time.”

Rakocevic added: “She did a lot of my shows and she was an excellent model.” She also explained why she knew nothing about her. She has not staged shows in Serbia since 2024, so, as she puts it, she does not know where Tesla worked either.

The autopsy results are what everyone is now waiting for.