Iman honours David Bowie on his 10th death anniversary with new tattoo

Iman is marking a decade since the death of her husband, David Bowie, with a deeply personal tribute.

The supermodel, 70, took to Instagram on Saturday with a video debuting her new tattoo in honour of the late musician. The video documented the moment the artwork was inked onto her arm, pairing the post with Bowie’s atmospheric track Subterraneans.

“Jan 10th,” she wrote in the caption. “The pain didn’t vanish … it left in its place a loving permanent mark.” She added the hashtag “#BowieForever.”

Bowie died on January 10, 2016, at age 69, after an 18-month battle with cancer that he kept largely private. 

At the time, a statement shared on his official social media accounts confirmed that he had died peacefully, surrounded by his family, and asked the public to respect their privacy as they grieved.

Iman and Bowie met in 1990 after being set up on a blind date. They married two years later, in 1992, and went on to welcome their daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones, in August 2000. 

In a 2021 interview, Iman spoke candidly about how she continues to view their marriage. “I still feel married,” she told People at the time. “Someone once referred to David as my late husband, and I said, ‘No, he’s not my late husband. He’s my husband.’ Through my memory, my love lives.”

Just days before the anniversary, Iman also honoured Bowie’s legacy by marking what would have been his 79th birthday with a black-and-white photo on Instagram. “Your light burns so bright in all our hearts,” she wrote. “We love and miss you.”