Miss Austria Lucia Sisic Dies At 22 After Lifelong Battle With Heart Defect

Lucia Sisic, a Vienna-based model who was named Miss Austria in 2024 and served as queen until her death, died at age 22, according to her pageant organization.

The young woman suffered from congenital heart valve disease and had to undergo surgery seven times in her life, beginning when she was a little girl. Her latest surgery took place during the winter, as Die Presse noted.

Mission Austria, the organization responsible for selecting Miss and Mister Austria, confirmed her death in a social media statement. The statement expressed shock and profound sadness, describing Sisic as a “wonderful girl.” The organization also sent its condolences to her family, friends, and supporters. CEO Kerstin Rigger and her husband, Jörg, signed the announcement, which ended by noting that Lucia will always be a member of the Miss Austria family.

Sisic won Miss Vienna in January 2024, and Miss Austria in September at Vienna Fashion Week. She revealed in interviews that the jury did not know about her illness, since she did not want it to influence their choice.

Since there was no national pageant in 2025 and 2026 due to a lack of sponsors, as reported by oe24, Sisic remained Miss Austria until her death.

Tributes poured in from Sisic’s pageant sisters and brothers. Christopher Dengg, Mister Austria in 2024, expressed his deep sorrow, calling Lucia “sister” and describing her as loving and caring. He added that she will stay in the hearts of everyone who knew her forever.

There were also people from Austria’s Croatian community mourning the loss of Sisic. Miroslav Piplica, a family friend and head of the Croatian community association, posted on Facebook that Sisic had died too early. He described her as a young girl whose smile, kindness, and warm personality left an impression on people who knew her, adding that she made her parents and the Croatian community in Austria proud.

Sisic was open about her medical problems. After her seventh surgery, she posted an update from the hospital where she said she was happy to have a break from surgeries and hoped that it would last for many years. In her social media statement in August 2024, she thanked pediatric heart doctors at Vienna General Hospital whose work helped her survive and live fully, according to PEOPLE.

In the days before her death, Sisic shared pictures of her vacations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Her latest Instagram post was made on Aug. 12 with the caption “Golden moments.”