Elegant, seemingly resilient and as much of a perfectionist as her famous boyfriend, L’Wren Scott’s acquaintances would say she had ‘the legs of a gazelle and the hide of a rhino’. Following the shocking news of her suicide last night, we now know the latter must have been untrue. Indeed, she hinted at her terrible vulnerability in one of her final postings on Instagram, where she reproduced the saying: ‘Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of life.’ Scroll down for video . Jagger's girls: L'Wren with two of Mick's daughters Jade, left, and Georgia May . But why did she need armour? And can she have really felt so under attack? Those who knew her say she was suffering from depression and had only just recovered from an ‘incident’ a few weeks ago when she had harmed herself. From the outside, though, it seemed the 49-year-old former model was enjoying a halcyon period, professionally and personally. She had just released an eponymous perfume, on sale in the upmarket store Barneys in New York. Her cosmetics venture with make-up artist Bobbi Brown was also hitting stores, based, she said, on the colours of the roses she grew at the home in the Loire she shared with Mick. Striking: Those renowned 42-in legs - and the little girl she once was named Laura . Her spring clothing collection had been unveiled. She dressed Christina Hendricks at the Oscars and continued to win plaudits for her fashion line. However, there were thousands of miles between her and Mick, who has been performing in Macau and Singapore with the Stones and had moved on to Australia for the next leg of their tour. Last night, various theories were presented as to why she took her life: that she was distraught following failed attempts to start a family or that she was ill. However, one source close to the Stones said she had harmed herself a month ago, although it was hushed up. Fan: L'Wren and Sarah Jessica Parker in a L'Wren design . The source added: ‘L’Wren was really quite troubled and there were some issues over Mick and her standing in the family. It seems she suffered from depression.’ She wasn’t, it was noted, invited to the baby shower that Jerry Hall hosted for Jade Jagger and daughter Assisi in London at the weekend. She was also reportedly frustrated at being apparently consigned to the role of girlfriend rather than wife — not that she ever let on. L’Wren knew that, after divorcing first wife Bianca and second wife Jerry, Mick had no time for matrimony and little for monogamy. She seemed to be playing a long game. But after chalking up 12 years by his side, she could hardly be blamed for hoping for more. One who knew her said L’Wren was ‘one of those people who likes perfection,’ citing her designer glass bathroom and the impeccably furnished house she had created for Mick in Paris. His lack of commitment was far from perfect. Some thought she had fallen prey to the insecurities that are the lot of every rock ‘wife’ who waves a temporary goodbye to her man. The rock wives who stick at their marriages the longest tend to be the ones who go on the road with their men — such as Jo Wood, who gave herself a job as Ronnie’s road manager. L’Wren knew that. She usually liked to be right at Mick’s side. She was there at Glastonbury when the Rolling Stones headlined last summer, in a chic pair of wellies, and in the wings at their last Hyde Park gig. She also designed the stage outfits Mick has worn for the past two years — the snappy trilby hats, oversized coats and slinky jeans with a 28in waist. But for whatever reason, this time, she remained alone at their apartment in New York while Mick, 70, was on the road. The source connected with the Stones told the Mail: ‘She just wasn’t well enough to go on tour with them.’ Nicole Kidman and L'Wren attend The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles, California, 2011. Right, Princess Beatrice and L'Wren at the Serpentine Summer Party, Hyde Park, London June 2013 . Front row friends: L'Wren was seated next to Victoria Beckham at the Chanel 2006 Summer show in Paris . There were other signs of strain. L’Wren cancelled her show at London Fashion Week in January at the last minute, saying her chosen fabrics had arrived too late for samples to be sewn in time. Accounts for her business, filed in the UK in October 2013, show her company, LS Fashion LTD, had a deficit of £3,546,000 with the designer owing creditors £4,592,000. There was speculation last night that she was ‘too broke’ to stage her London show. However, she had just collaborated with the High Street store Banana Republic for a collection that would have paid her around £3million, so perhaps this is an overstatement. She told an interviewer she felt the financial pressure. ‘Every cheque, every penny, I have to be responsible for because it’s my own money.’ Her life story reads like an adventure novel. The adopted daughter of a Mormon store clerk, she dreamed of the big time and made it. Famous friends: L'Wren with actress Ellen Barkin in New York, 2002 . All smiles: Jagger was by Scott's side when she launched her Banana Republic partnership last fall . Humble beginnings: Scott (seen here in 2013 with musician Brian Adams) was the adoptive daughter of Mormon parents and grew up in Utah . Nicole Kidman was one of her closest friends and regularly wore her designs. By the time she met Mick she had already divorced her first millionaire. Given up for adoption at birth, she was named plain Laura by her adoptive parents Ivan and Lula Bambrough, and known as Luann. She grew up in a bungalow in the tiny town of Roy near Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father worked in a DIY store. It was a devout household, with both parents active in the Mormon church. She later said that her upbringing had been ‘like something out of Steven Spielberg’. By the time she was 12, she was a formidable 6ft. She went on to grow a further 4in. Known at school by the nickname ‘Lady’, she excelled at sport and sang in the choir. Loss: The New York apartment building where L'Wren Scott committed suicide. Right, a medical examiner van at the apartment . But she always wanted to work in fashion, and used to make dresses for her Barbie dolls and cut up and remake vintage dresses. At 18, she met the famous photographer Bruce Weber, who encouraged her to believe in her worth as a fashion model. So she applied for a passport and, knowing not a word of French, hopped on a plane to Paris. In a recent interview, she said she had left after her adoptive parents declined to fund a course in fashion design. She said: ‘I didn’t really feel that I was going to be able to achieve my goals in life if I’d stayed there . . . I think I would have felt much more scared not to do it. ‘I wanted to be in fashion. I’ve always thought if you want to do something, just do it.’ Some thought L'Wren had fallen prey to the insecurities that are the lot of every rock 'wife' who waves a temporary goodbye to her man . She began to call herself L’Wren when she became a model, working the catwalk for eight years, and became famous for her incredible 42in legs forming the hands of a clock in a famous David Bailey advert for Pretty Polly tights. While working in London, she met Andrew Ladsky, a millionaire property developer whose mother was a member of the Boucheron jewellery family. They were together for three years, but in 1991 the relationship ended in a bizarre legal wrangle over a couple of valuable paintings and a full-length sheepskin coat. After the split from Ladsky, L’Wren moved to Los Angeles and met another property developer, Anthony Brand. They married, but it lasted just three years and they were divorced in 1996. She met Mick in 2001 on a shoot for a French magazine. He took her on holiday to St Barts, and she was soon at his side at red carpet events. He had been dating Venezualan heiress Vanessa Neumann when they met but L’Wren’s success, independence and one-liners bowled him over. He found her physically bewitching, too, exclaiming she had ‘the best body I’ve ever known’. It was never about the music for L’Wren. As she said last year: ‘I loved Motown, and blues, and classical music, but never rock ’n’ roll. I get made fun of a lot. Mick used to tell me for years that this one particular song was Gimme Shelter, and I’d say: “Oh, I love that song,” but it wasn’t that at all!’ She launched her fashion line in 2005 and quickly acquired many celebrity fans — from Madonna to Angelina Jolie, Mariah Carey to Sharon Stone. Mick would come to all her shows to support her. Their life appeared stable — and was certainly luxurious. She and Mick lived together for several years in a Claridge’s hotel suite, eventually buying a house together in Chelsea. However, due to Mick’s tax arrangements, most of their life together was spent in New York. Long-term: She met Mick Jagger in 2001 on a shoot for a French magazine . 'Devastated': L'Wren Scott killed herself in her Manhattan apartment on Monday morning after texting an assistant to 'come by' while her longtime boyfriend Mick Jagger was on tour in Australia . Pricey: Her off-the-rack dresses sold for between $1,499 and $2,990 . Designer L'Wren Scott pictured with her family in 2000. From left to right, L'Wren, brother Randy, mom Lula, dad Ivan and sister Jan . The Chelsea house was renovated nearly ten years ago to include a nursery and nanny quarters, but no baby ever arrived. It was said that Mick went on various diets and attempted various spiritual remedies to try to  assist conception, but L’Wren never had the baby she seemingly so wanted. Her mother Lulu observed some years ago: ‘She usually knows what she wants and she gets it.’ And to the outside world it appeared as though L’Wren had everything — the model looks, a successful fashion line and a rock star boyfriend. Yet it seems even this wasn’t enough to save her from plunging into a depression that saw her take her own charmed life.
The designer and renowned beauty appeared to be enjoying success .
But beneath she suffered from depression and had recently self-harmed .
There was speculation she was insecure in relationship with Mick Jagger .
The 49-year-old was also reportedly struggling financially .
For confidential support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch or visit http://www.samaritans.org/ .
For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ .
Elegant, seemingly resilient and as much of a perfectionist as her famous boyfriend, L’Wren Scott’s acquaintances would say she had ‘the legs of a gazelle and the hide of a rhino’. Following the shocking news of her suicide last night, we now know the latter must have been untrue. Indeed, she hinted at her terrible vulnerability in one of her final postings on Instagram, where she reproduced the saying: ‘Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of life.’ Scroll down for video . Jagger's girls: L'Wren with two of Mick's daughters Jade, left, and Georgia May . But why did she need armour? And can she have really felt so under attack? Those who knew her say she was suffering from depression and had only just recovered from an ‘incident’ a few weeks ago when she had harmed herself. From the outside, though, it seemed the 49-year-old former model was enjoying a halcyon period, professionally and personally. She had just released an eponymous perfume, on sale in the upmarket store Barneys in New York. Her cosmetics venture with make-up artist Bobbi Brown was also hitting stores, based, she said, on the colours of the roses she grew at the home in the Loire she shared with Mick. Striking: Those renowned 42-in legs - and the little girl she once was named Laura . Her spring clothing collection had been unveiled. She dressed Christina Hendricks at the Oscars and continued to win plaudits for her fashion line. However, there were thousands of miles between her and Mick, who has been performing in Macau and Singapore with the Stones and had moved on to Australia for the next leg of their tour. Last night, various theories were presented as to why she took her life: that she was distraught following failed attempts to start a family or that she was ill. However, one source close to the Stones said she had harmed herself a month ago, although it was hushed up. Fan: L'Wren and Sarah Jessica Parker in a L'Wren design . The source added: ‘L’Wren was really quite troubled and there were some issues over Mick and her standing in the family. It seems she suffered from depression.’ She wasn’t, it was noted, invited to the baby shower that Jerry Hall hosted for Jade Jagger and daughter Assisi in London at the weekend. She was also reportedly frustrated at being apparently consigned to the role of girlfriend rather than wife — not that she ever let on. L’Wren knew that, after divorcing first wife Bianca and second wife Jerry, Mick had no time for matrimony and little for monogamy. She seemed to be playing a long game. But after chalking up 12 years by his side, she could hardly be blamed for hoping for more. One who knew her said L’Wren was ‘one of those people who likes perfection,’ citing her designer glass bathroom and the impeccably furnished house she had created for Mick in Paris. His lack of commitment was far from perfect. Some thought she had fallen prey to the insecurities that are the lot of every rock ‘wife’ who waves a temporary goodbye to her man. The rock wives who stick at their marriages the longest tend to be the ones who go on the road with their men — such as Jo Wood, who gave herself a job as Ronnie’s road manager. L’Wren knew that. She usually liked to be right at Mick’s side. She was there at Glastonbury when the Rolling Stones headlined last summer, in a chic pair of wellies, and in the wings at their last Hyde Park gig. She also designed the stage outfits Mick has worn for the past two years — the snappy trilby hats, oversized coats and slinky jeans with a 28in waist. But for whatever reason, this time, she remained alone at their apartment in New York while Mick, 70, was on the road. The source connected with the Stones told the Mail: ‘She just wasn’t well enough to go on tour with them.’ Nicole Kidman and L'Wren attend The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles, California, 2011. Right, Princess Beatrice and L'Wren at the Serpentine Summer Party, Hyde Park, London June 2013 . Front row friends: L'Wren was seated next to Victoria Beckham at the Chanel 2006 Summer show in Paris . There were other signs of strain. L’Wren cancelled her show at London Fashion Week in January at the last minute, saying her chosen fabrics had arrived too late for samples to be sewn in time. Accounts for her business, filed in the UK in October 2013, show her company, LS Fashion LTD, had a deficit of £3,546,000 with the designer owing creditors £4,592,000. There was speculation last night that she was ‘too broke’ to stage her London show. However, she had just collaborated with the High Street store Banana Republic for a collection that would have paid her around £3million, so perhaps this is an overstatement. She told an interviewer she felt the financial pressure. ‘Every cheque, every penny, I have to be responsible for because it’s my own money.’ Her life story reads like an adventure novel. The adopted daughter of a Mormon store clerk, she dreamed of the big time and made it. Famous friends: L'Wren with actress Ellen Barkin in New York, 2002 . All smiles: Jagger was by Scott's side when she launched her Banana Republic partnership last fall . Humble beginnings: Scott (seen here in 2013 with musician Brian Adams) was the adoptive daughter of Mormon parents and grew up in Utah . Nicole Kidman was one of her closest friends and regularly wore her designs. By the time she met Mick she had already divorced her first millionaire. Given up for adoption at birth, she was named plain Laura by her adoptive parents Ivan and Lula Bambrough, and known as Luann. She grew up in a bungalow in the tiny town of Roy near Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father worked in a DIY store. It was a devout household, with both parents active in the Mormon church. She later said that her upbringing had been ‘like something out of Steven Spielberg’. By the time she was 12, she was a formidable 6ft. She went on to grow a further 4in. Known at school by the nickname ‘Lady’, she excelled at sport and sang in the choir. Loss: The New York apartment building where L'Wren Scott committed suicide. Right, a medical examiner van at the apartment . But she always wanted to work in fashion, and used to make dresses for her Barbie dolls and cut up and remake vintage dresses. At 18, she met the famous photographer Bruce Weber, who encouraged her to believe in her worth as a fashion model. So she applied for a passport and, knowing not a word of French, hopped on a plane to Paris. In a recent interview, she said she had left after her adoptive parents declined to fund a course in fashion design. She said: ‘I didn’t really feel that I was going to be able to achieve my goals in life if I’d stayed there . . . I think I would have felt much more scared not to do it. ‘I wanted to be in fashion. I’ve always thought if you want to do something, just do it.’ Some thought L'Wren had fallen prey to the insecurities that are the lot of every rock 'wife' who waves a temporary goodbye to her man . She began to call herself L’Wren when she became a model, working the catwalk for eight years, and became famous for her incredible 42in legs forming the hands of a clock in a famous David Bailey advert for Pretty Polly tights. While working in London, she met Andrew Ladsky, a millionaire property developer whose mother was a member of the Boucheron jewellery family. They were together for three years, but in 1991 the relationship ended in a bizarre legal wrangle over a couple of valuable paintings and a full-length sheepskin coat. After the split from Ladsky, L’Wren moved to Los Angeles and met another property developer, Anthony Brand. They married, but it lasted just three years and they were divorced in 1996. She met Mick in 2001 on a shoot for a French magazine. He took her on holiday to St Barts, and she was soon at his side at red carpet events. He had been dating Venezualan heiress Vanessa Neumann when they met but L’Wren’s success, independence and one-liners bowled him over. He found her physically bewitching, too, exclaiming she had ‘the best body I’ve ever known’. It was never about the music for L’Wren. As she said last year: ‘I loved Motown, and blues, and classical music, but never rock ’n’ roll. I get made fun of a lot. Mick used to tell me for years that this one particular song was Gimme Shelter, and I’d say: “Oh, I love that song,” but it wasn’t that at all!’ She launched her fashion line in 2005 and quickly acquired many celebrity fans — from Madonna to Angelina Jolie, Mariah Carey to Sharon Stone. Mick would come to all her shows to support her. Their life appeared stable — and was certainly luxurious. She and Mick lived together for several years in a Claridge’s hotel suite, eventually buying a house together in Chelsea. However, due to Mick’s tax arrangements, most of their life together was spent in New York. Long-term: She met Mick Jagger in 2001 on a shoot for a French magazine . 'Devastated': L'Wren Scott killed herself in her Manhattan apartment on Monday morning after texting an assistant to 'come by' while her longtime boyfriend Mick Jagger was on tour in Australia . Pricey: Her off-the-rack dresses sold for between $1,499 and $2,990 . Designer L'Wren Scott pictured with her family in 2000. From left to right, L'Wren, brother Randy, mom Lula, dad Ivan and sister Jan . The Chelsea house was renovated nearly ten years ago to include a nursery and nanny quarters, but no baby ever arrived. It was said that Mick went on various diets and attempted various spiritual remedies to try to  assist conception, but L’Wren never had the baby she seemingly so wanted. Her mother Lulu observed some years ago: ‘She usually knows what she wants and she gets it.’ And to the outside world it appeared as though L’Wren had everything — the model looks, a successful fashion line and a rock star boyfriend. Yet it seems even this wasn’t enough to save her from plunging into a depression that saw her take her own charmed life.
suffering from depression and had only just grew at the home in the Loire she shared with standing in the family. It seems she suffered the weekend. She was also reportedly frustrated seemed to be playing a long game. But after designer owing creditors £4,592,000. There was speculation last night that she was ‘too broke’ Long-term: She met Mick Jagger in 2001 on a shoot