But Isabella Blow’s own tragic family experience wasn’t the only thing that burdened her soul. She was the descendant of some intense individuals, whose legacy was felt strongly even after they died.

As reported by Vanity Fair, her grandfather, Sir Henry John Delves Broughton, also known as Jock, was a jolly man of very poor financial skills. He managed to bankrupt his family with bad investments and an excessive gambling habit, instilling the fear of poverty in his offspring for generations to come. But to make matters worse, he also loved beautiful women. He lost his temper in 1940 after his second wife, Diana Broughton, had a public affair on their trip to Happy Valley in Kenya. Her lover, Josslyn Hay, was soon found dead, and Henry was charged with murder. Despite being legally discharged, his reputation was ruined, and he died by suicide in 1942.

As reported by Dazed, the ancestor Isabella Blow admired was her paternal grandmother Lady Vera Delves Broughton, a unique woman of great vigor and courage. A world traveler, she apparently picked up some nasty habits, including developing a taste for human flesh. As stated by Detmar Blow for New York Magazine, Vera unknowingly had some in Papua New Guinea but demanded more of it even after she was told of its origin.

Isabella Blow lived for art and fashion, adoring everything that was rare and unique. The fashion world loved her authenticity, as the legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour told New York Magazine: “No one had an eye like Issie. The more corporate of us look at everything differently than someone like Issie, so whenever I got that phone call that Issie said I should see something, I would go.”

But her killer taste was not enough to garner her accolades or compensation. According to Vanity Fair, she rarely got paid or recognized for any of it while alive. “She was brilliant at finding new things …,” said photographer Mario Testino. “But it was hard for her to define her job, and it was hard to find ways to pay her. So you find a designer, or you find the model, but how do you invoice for that?”

After her death, The Somerset House organized an exhibition “Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!” in her memory. But as friend and designer Phillip Treacy told The Telegraph, things were different when she was still alive: “She was never feted while she was alive. … She supported the careers of many young people who didn’t stand a chance without her, yet she never won a single award. It’s all very well them feting her now and going on about how wonderful and brilliant she was. There will be people at that exhibition who laughed at her when she was alive.”

One of Isabella Blow’s great desires was to have a child, but she and Detmar Blow couldn’t conceive. According to New York Magazine, the couple went through the IVF process several time, without any success, despite the fact that doctors couldn’t find any medical reason for infertility: “We are like a pair of exotic fruits that cannot breed when placed together,” Isabella once said (via “Blow by Blow“). She was inconsolable, and the issues compounded her struggles with self-worth, declaring at one point, “If a woman cannot produce a child, she is not fulfilling her biological duty.” In her mind, she failed yet again.

According to Vanity Fair, Isabella knew how badly her husband’s family wanted an heir, so the two separated, with the sole intention for him to find a woman who would be able to give him a child. 

The numerous attempts to get pregnant were intertwined with other problems she had with her reproductive health. Undergoing an ovarian cyst operation, anesthesia only made her depression worse, reports Vanity Fair. But in 2007, when she ended up in a hospital in Kuwait after her sixth suicide attempt, doctors found ovarian cancer. According to Detmar, that was something she couldn’t handle, the possibility of losing her uterus, despite the fact that the recovery rate after a hysterectomy was 94%. She didn’t want to undergo any treatment anymore, she just wanted to die. 

According to Vanity Fair, Isabella and Detmar Blow got engaged only 16 days after they met in 1989, which surprised quite a few people — Detmar being six years younger then Isabella. They’ve lived through an intense few years, moving between parties, money problems, Isabella’s manic episodes, and family drama.

Unable to get pregnant and feeling pressured from Detmar’s family, Isabella proposed a breakup for Detmar to find himself a new wife. They were separated 18 months, during that time Detmar dated lesbian writer Stephanie Theobald, and Isabella lost more money in a financial dispute to an Italian lover. Their reconciliation was more bitter than sweet. After Isabella spent some time in a mental institution in 2003, Detmar got a phone call from Isabella’s psychiatrist who urged him to return for Isabella’s mental health, he wrote in his book, “Blow by Blow.” Detmar obeyed.

But when she attempted another suicide in India in 2007, he didn’t fly there to support her, recalling he couldn’t get a flight. He said he wouldn’t have gone regardless: “I would be no use to her if I had a mental breakdown as well. Thank God Issie pulled herself together and was able to get back home.”

As Detmar told the Daily Mail, he got a lot of criticism from her friends, including Alexander McQueen, for not being there for her when she needed him the most. He rebuffed all claims.

In 2007 Isabella Blow decided she had enough. On May 5, she ended up in a hospital after another suicide attempt. According to Vanity Fair, she recovered enough to greet her husband and some of her closest friends. As Philip Treacy remembers, she was in high spirits, “even as she was dying, she was making everyone laugh.” Two days later, she quietly died in her sleep.

It was hard for her inner circle to admit Isabella wanted to die. As Selina Blow, Isabella’s sister-in-law, told The Guardian, Isabella’s was in bad health due to a recent ovarian cancer operation. In fact, Detmar Blow’s official statement was that the cause of Isabella’s death was cancer, and he maintained this story in an interview with The Guardian: “I’ve steered people away from the prurience. She had cancer. That’s it. She’s dead now. We can’t change it. But we can celebrate her life, and our love for her.”

But even in her last hours, Isabella didn’t forget about fashion. Wearing a silver lamé blouse on her final hospital bed, she kept her sense of style. When Alexander McQueen allegedly visited a medium soon after Isabella’s death, the medium reported Isabella was with her grandmother, feeling well. A few days later she had another message from Issie: “And by the way, my mother is not to have any of my hats or shoes” (via Vanity Fair).

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.