14 DAY TRIAL // Celso Santebanes, a 21-year-old model from Brazil who spent a fortune on plastic surgery to make himself look like Barbie’s partner Ken, has died. He was diagnosed with leukemia about 5 months ago.
The Independent reports that his body was buried yesterday. Throughout his battle with cancer, Santebanes did not lose hope or his optimism, but he did lose his former obsession with looking like a real-life human doll, even saying that he was past paying mind to the aesthetics.
An unexpected diagnosis, a battle too short
Celso became famous in his home country Brazil when he was only 16 years old, during a modeling competition. He went on to become a full-time model, but he also started looking into options of improving his looks and making himself more like the famous Mattel doll Ken.
He is believed to have spent over $50,000 (€44,293) on plastic surgery, but he considered it an investment in his future career: before the diagnosis, he was charging more than $15,000 (€13,309) for a single appearance and had even launched his own line of Celso Dolls in Los Angeles.
About 5 months ago, he posted a photo of his arm with an IV in it on his Instagram, with the shocking announcement included in the caption.
“I've cried… I see my world collapsed, I do not want anyone to pity me, just pray for me and respect me,” he wrote. “I am starting chemotherapy and I admit I'm a little concerned about some side effects, like hair loss, nausea, my body's rejection [of chemotherapy], among other things, but I am no longer concerned with the issue of aesthetics. For me that doesn't matter. What matter is my health now, and I will fight for it.”
Celso lost the battle at the Federal University of Uberlândia Clinical Hospital in Brazil, where he was undergoing chemotherapy. The report says he died of bacterial pneumonia, brought on by the leukemia.
Celso and his Ken Doll aspirations
At the funeral, Celso’s father spoke to the press about his son’s dreams and how they were cut short by the cancer diagnosis. God had other plans for him than the ones he’d made, of having a career in showbiz, using the Ken Doll similarity as a launching pad.
Celso always insisted that there was substance to him as well, that he wasn’t just about the looks, though he knew this was what people knew him for.
In his previous interviews, he explained that the plan was to continue with his drama school studies and that he wanted to go into business and into showbiz. Yes, he also wanted to get more plastic surgery to make sure he would really become the living counterpart for Ken, but he was also eager to have the world know him as a person.
The leukemia diagnosis came before he could accomplish that.
Infelizmente não estou passando por uma fase nada boa, fui diagnosticado com leucemia, isso não tem nada aver com Hidrogel e com nada mais, qualquer pessoa pode ter essa doença, não foi nada fácil para mim receber esse diagnóstico, já chorei.. Estou vendo meu mundo desabar, eu não quero que ninguém tenha pena de mim, apenas reze por mim e me respeitem.. infelizmente à mídia não está colaborando nada comigo, eu exigo respeito, ultimamente o site EGO fez uma publicação absurda sobre mim, falando coisas absurdas sobre a minha relação com minha família.. uma calúnia absurda, eles estão criando sensacionalismo em cima da desgraça dos outros, falta de respeito total... "Por favor gente vamos respeitar estou em uma fase nada boa da minha vida, eu sei que eu não merecia passar por isso, porque eu sempre fui um menino muito humilde, trabalhador e feliz, sempre ajudei o próximo... quero agradecer o carinho do Brasil todo que estão torcendo pela minha melhora.. vocês não tem noção o quanto é importante pra mim receber mensagens de apoio e carinho, isso está sendo tudo pra mim, eu pesso à todos que rezem muito por mim, esse garotinho que está aqui tem que ficar bem logo logo para continuar sorrindo pra vida!! ..Deus vai me curar🙏🙏 Amém.. A photo posted by Ken humano brasileiro (@celsosantebanes) on Jan 10, 2015 at 3:45pm PST
A minha aparecia choca as pessoas!! #KenBrasileiro #bonecohumano A photo posted by Ken humano brasileiro (@celsosantebanes) on Mar 25, 2014 at 7:23pm PDT