Loana Petrucciani's cause of death confirmed as TV star lay dead for 'several days'

The French TV star who became known for having sex in the Big Brotherpool was found dead in her home, but died "several days" before her body was discovered.

Loana Petrucciani was 48 when she was found dead at her home in Nice. Prosecutor Damien Martinelli stated that an investigation has since been opened to "find the causes of death". The prosecutor's office has now revealed that the TV star had been dead for "several days" before she was found, and that the "presence of a wound to the back of the skull" was likely caused by a fall backwards.

In the press release, they added that "at this stage of the investigation, there is no evidence to suggest the involvement of a third party in connection with the death."

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A dog was also found to be dead at the scene. The authorities explained that they were called to Loana's house after a neighbour was worried by the fact that he had not seen her in a while. They entered the home through a window, as the door was locked, and found her body, along with the dog.

Loana shot to fame in 2001 when she entered the Loft Story house, which mirrored the Big Brother format. After her death, TV network M6 said: "An iconic figure of the first season of 'Loft Story', she will forever remain a personality who profoundly marked an entire generation of viewers," before praising her for "her spontaneity, sensitivity and authenticity."

Alexia Laroche-Joubert, CEO of Loft Story's production company Banijay France, said: "It is with immense emotion that I learned of Loana's passing. Our paths crossed 25 years ago, and I am honoured to have shared so many memories with her. I witnessed her successes and her struggles.

"My thoughts are, of course, with her mother, Violette, her daughter, her brother, and the other housemates who were part of this adventure. Let us never forget that behind her public image was a sensitive and extremely intelligent woman."

Benjamin Castaldi, presenter of Loft Story, said: "There are some faces we never forget. And hers, Loana's, is part of our collective history. Thought we would watch a show. In fact, we were witnessing a revolution. The first one. The truth. The one that changed television forever... and maybe also our view on humans.

"Loana was not a character. She was a woman. A real one. With its cracks, its sweetness, its fragility in the open sky. And that's precisely why we loved it. But that's also why we dropped her.

"We applauded his light... not protecting his shadow. His authenticity has been consumed... without measuring the price she would pay. We've watched her live, love, fall... without ever really wondering who would pick her up after. The truth is, we're all a little responsible. Because we all watched. Cuz we all commented Because we've all, at one point, looked away when it got too hard.

"She embodied raw innocence in a world that didn't forgive anything. And we couldn't match what she gave us. Today, there's only a television memory. There's still an emotion. Embarrassment. A regret. The one of not being human enough to someone who deeply was. So yeah... We lived a revolution together. But maybe we forgot, along the way, the important thing: Behind the phenomenon... There was a woman."

On Lost Story, Loana became known for sleeping with co-star Jean-Edouard Lipa. Despite the scandal, she walked out of the house as the champion. With her newfound fame came magazine deals, gracing the cover of Elle, photographed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and her deeply personal memoir several months later.

In her memoir, she opened up about entering Loft Story: "I went there feeling very insecure. I was worried. The casting director said to me, 'Aren't you ashamed to come dressed like that?' I took it very badly, especially since he was asking everyone that question."

She added: "He asked me to flirt with the camera: I don't know how to do that, it's impossible. I blushed, I stammered. Then they asked me to dance and sing. I left and thought to myself, 'I didn't show them anything.'"

She said of her fame: "There are two women inside me. The public loved both. Before, we saw a lot of the extroverted Loana who danced on the catwalks, but we didn't see the other side, because she was too shy to express herself. But, in Loft Story, we saw that there was another side to her."

Loana also previously spoke about several suicide attempts, including one in the early 2010s, which left her in a coma. Her family and friends later discovered that she had made several attempts on her life prior to this.

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