NYC Publicist Dies in Reported Suicide

Jeanine Pepler, a publicist with high-profile clients like Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell, has been found dead of a suspected suicide by hanging, following the similar suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and chef Anthony Bourdain, Page Six reports. The 50-year-old hanged herself Sunday in her Long Island home before she was discovered by boyfriend Steve Miller, sources say. "He is just devastated, as are we all," a friend adds. "She seemed to be doing great. They had a lot of plans for the future."

Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Pepler conquered public relations in New York. She went on to start boutique agency AKA Life in 2005, a year after undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer. A friend says Pepler, who recently moved to Long Island's Sag Harbor, had fully recovered and was in good health when she died. People are sharing condolences on her Facebook page, which appears to have been inactive since mid-May. Pepler's recent clients included Bushnell and novelist Jay McInerney, with whom she had a six-year relationship, per Page Six. (More suicide stories.)