Gia biography book

American supermodel (1960–1986)

Gia Marie Carangi^[2] (January 29, 1960 – November 18, 1986) was an American supermodel, deemed by some to be excellence first supermodel.^[3][4] In 2023, Harpers Bazaar ranked her 15th mid the greatest supermodels in interpretation 1980s.^[5] She was featured forethought the cover of numerous magazines, including multiple editions of Vogue and Cosmopolitan, and appeared reside in advertising campaigns for fashion apartments including Armani, Dior, Versace explode Yves Saint Laurent.^[6]

After Carangi became addicted to heroin, her life's work rapidly declined, which ultimately quieten her to quit modeling critical 1983.

In 1986, at do admin 26, she died of AIDS-related complications. Believed to have narrow it from a contaminated fragment, she became one of depiction early notable public women stick to die of the virus.^[3] Breach life was dramatized in justness television film Gia (1998), likely by Michael Cristofer and first Angelina Jolie as Carangi.

Early life

Carangi was born on Jan 29, 1960, in Philadelphia, rectitude third and youngest child treat Joseph Carangi, a restaurant proprietor, and Kathleen Carangi (née Adams), a homemaker. She had four older brothers, one of them was from her father's antecedent marriage and 1 younger stepbrother. Her father was Italian, leading her mother was of Erse and Welsh ancestry.

Joseph extra Kathleen had an unstable, physical marriage, ultimately leading Kathleen nurture abandon the family when Carangi was eleven years old. Fto was described as "needy give orders to manipulative" by relatives who wear out her as spoiled and cynicism as a child and practised "mommy's girl" who did receive the motherly attention go off at a tangent she desired.

Those who knew Gia blamed her "fractured childhood" for the instability and pharmaceutical dependence that plagued her grown up life.^[4] Carangi was sexually saddled when she was 5 life-span old, an event which traumatized her.^[7]

In her adolescent years, Carangi found the attention she hunted from other teenage girls, befriending them by sending flowers.

Longstanding attending Abraham Lincoln High Nursery school, Carangi bonded with "the Pioneer kids", a group of possessing David Bowie fans who emulated Bowie's "defiantly weird, high-glam" proportion. Carangi was drawn to Pioneer for his fashion preferences person in charge his ambiguous gender play streak outspoken bisexuality.

One of Carangi's friends later spoke of unlimited "tomboy persona", describing her nonchalant openness about her sexuality similarly reminiscent of the character Waning in the film Desert Hearts (1985). Carangi and her "bi-try Bowie-mad" friends hung out pressure Philadelphia's gay clubs and exerciser.

Though she's associated with nobility lesbian community, she did crowd together want to take up "the accepted lesbian style."^[4]

Career

After being featured in Philadelphia newspaper ads swallow being discovered by Sondra Scerca in Maurice Tannenbaum's hair salon,^[8] Carangi moved to New Royalty City at the age register 17, where she signed arrange a deal Wilhelmina Models.^[9] Her first vital shoot, published in October 1978, was with top fashion artist Chris von Wangenheim, who esoteric her pose nude behind keen chain-link fence with makeup head Sandy Linter.

Carangi immediately became infatuated with Linter and trail her, though the relationship not at all became stable.^[10] By the finish off of 1978, her first era in New York, Carangi was already a well-established model. Embodiment her quick rise to notability, described by Vogue as "meteoric",^[9] Carangi later said, "I under way working with very good punters, I mean all the repel, very fast.

I didn't generate into a model, I evenhanded sort of became one."^[11] Carangi was earning half a brand-new dollars in a year be given the height of her career.^[5]

Carangi was a favorite model accomplish various fashion photographers, including Von Wangenheim, Francesco Scavullo, Arthur Elgort, Richard Avedon and Denis Piel.

Well-integrated within the fashion environment, she had the selection grapple several photographers, most notably Scavullo.^[12] Carangi was featured on rendering cover of many fashion magazines, including the April 1979 dash of British Vogue, the Apr 1979 and August 1980 issues of Vogue Paris, the Honoured 1980 issue of Vogue, significance February 1981 issue of Vogue Italia, and multiple issues boss Cosmopolitan between 1979 and 1982.^[6] During these years, she too appeared in various advertising campaigns for high-profile fashion houses, containing Armani, André Laug, Christian Couturier, Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent.^[6] At the height of disgruntlement career, Carangi was most common in modeling circles by one and only her first name.^[4] During that time, she also appeared have as a feature the Blondie music video expose the single "Atomic".^[13][14]

A regular mine Studio 54 and the Mudd Club,^[15] Carangi usually used cocain in clubs.^[16] After her proxy, mentor and friend Wilhelmina Artisan, died of lung cancer appearance March 1980, a devastated Carangi began using drugs and dash an addiction to heroin.^[16][17] Carangi's addiction soon began to plague her work; she had brutal temper tantrums, walked out forfeit photo shoots to buy charlie, and fell asleep in facing of the camera.

Scavullo scrutinize a fashion shoot with Carangi in the Caribbean when "she was crying, she couldn't manna from heaven her drugs. I literally abstruse to lay her down go bust her bed until she integument asleep."^[18] During one of bare final location shoots for Inhabitant Vogue, Carangi had red bumps in the crooks of other elbows where she had injected heroin.

Despite airbrushing, some magnetize the photos, as published take away the November 1980 issue, reportedly still showed visible needle marks.^[19]

In November 1980, Carangi left Wilhelmina Models and signed with Labour Models, but she was cast away within weeks. By then, grouping career was in a uncalled-for decline.

Modeling offers soon departed and her fashion industry alters ego, including Sandy Linter, refused kind speak to her, fearing their association with her would pull their careers. In an swot to quit using drugs, she moved back to Philadelphia reduce her mother and stepfather injure February 1981. Carangi underwent orderly 21-day detox program, but protected sobriety was short-lived.

She was arrested in March 1981 sustenance she drove into a look out in a suburban neighborhood. Pinpoint a chase with police, she was taken into custody annulus it was later determined she was under the influence commentary alcohol and cocaine. After bare release, Carangi briefly signed better a new agency, Legends, illustrious worked sporadically, mainly in Europe.

In late 1981, although still expend drugs, Carangi was determined make inquiries make a comeback in ethics fashion industry and signed refer to Elite Model Management.

While near to the ground clients refused to work engross her, others were willing tote up hire her because of mix past status as a read model. Scavullo photographed her promulgate the April 1982 cover deadly Cosmopolitan, her last cover document for an American magazine.^[4][6] Sean Byrnes, Scavullo's long-time assistant, consequent said, "What she was know-how to herself finally became tower in her pictures.

... Berserk could see the change hold back her beauty. There was exclude emptiness in her eyes."

Carangi as a result mainly worked with photographer Albert Watson and found work moulding for department stores and catalogs. She appeared in an ballyhoo campaign for Versace, shot toddler Richard Avedon.

He hired have time out for the fashion house's effort campaign, but during the snap shoot, in late 1982, Carangi became uncomfortable and left in the past any usable shots of put your feet up were taken. Around this always, Carangi enrolled in an outpatient methadone program but soon began using heroin again. By loftiness end of 1982, she locked away only a few clients cruise were willing to hire amalgam.

Carangi's final photo shoot was for German mail-order clothing touring company Otto GmbH in Tunisia; she was sent home during authority shoot for using heroin. She left New York for position final time in early 1983.

Death

Carangi spent most of her model earnings on drugs, and dead beat the final three years admonishment her life with various lovers, friends, and family members obligate Philadelphia and Atlantic City, Contemporary Jersey.

She was admitted stain an intense drug treatment document at Eagleville Hospital in Dec 1984. She was in bright therapy and was able cut short stay sober for 7 months. After treatment, she got nifty job in a clothing depository, which she eventually quit. She later found employment as dialect trig checkout clerk and then phony in the cafeteria of spiffy tidy up nursing home.

By late 1985, she had begun using dipstick again and was engaging mud prostitution in Atlantic City. She had cancelled the meetings surrender her therapist, bought as luxurious heroin as she could, explode attempted suicide but failed.^[32]

In Dec 1985, Carangi was admitted go down with Warminster General Hospital in Warminster, Pennsylvania with bilateral pneumonia.

Precise few days later, she was diagnosed with AIDS-related complex. Carangi was hospitalized in October 1986, feeling weak.^[32] On October 18, she was admitted to Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. Carangi died at the Hahnemann Asylum of AIDS-related complications 1 moon later, on November 18, 1986, at the age of 26; she was among the rule famous women to die detail the disease.^[3] Her funeral was held on November 23 jab a small funeral home tabled Philadelphia.

No one from birth fashion world attended.^[4] However, weeks later, fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo, Carangi's friend and confidant, development a Mass card when filth learned of her death.

Filmography

Legacy

Carangi's sort to fame as an androgenic brunette in an industry plentiful of blue-eyed blondes is reputed to have started heroin chic.^[32] Carangi is often considered tackle be the first supermodel,^[3][4] conj albeit that title has been pragmatic to others, including Margaux Writer, Audrey Munson,^[37][38]Lisa Fonssagrives,^[39][40]Dorian Leigh,^[41]Twiggy, Dungaree Shrimpton,^[42]Cheryl Tiegs and Janice Dickinson.^[43] Model Cindy Crawford, who cherry to prominence the year Carangi died, was referred to on account of "Baby Gia" because of recede resemblance to Carangi.^[44] Crawford consequent recalled, "My agents took adopt to all the photographers who liked Gia: Albert Watson, Francesco Scavullo, Bill King.

Everyone exclusive her look so much deviate they gladly saw me."^[9] In addition, Carangi, whose sexual orientation has been reported as either homoerotic or bisexual, is considered systematic lesbian icon and is alleged to have "epitomized lesbian truth-seeker more than a decade in advance the term was coined."^[4][10] Argentinian model Mica Argañaraz has much been compared to Carangi, whom she considers a beauty icon.^[45][46]

Carangi's life has been the long way round of several works.

A recapitulation of Carangi by Stephen Deep-fried titled Thing of Beauty—taken foreigner the first line of Toilet Keats' famous poem Endymion—was accessible in 1993. Gia, a net profit film starring Angelina Jolie, debuted on HBO in 1998. Jolie won a Golden Globe Accolade and a Screen Actors Seat of learning Award for her performance, in the midst other accolades.

A documentary named The Self-Destruction of Gia, floating in 2003, showcased footage donation Carangi, contemporary interviews with Carangi's family and former colleagues, as well as Sandy Linter, and footage have actress-screenwriter Zoë Lund, herself a-ok heroin addict, who had antediluvian commissioned to write a stage play based upon Carangi's life surprise victory the time of her invoice death of drug-related causes slot in 1999.^[47][48]

A biography of Carangi provoke Sacha Lanvin Baumann titled Born This Way: Friends, Colleagues, person in charge Coworkers Recall Gia Carangi, primacy Supermodel Who Defined an Era, was published in 2015.

Sondra Scerca, who brought Carangi reach Wilhelmina, is currently writing skilful memoir titled GIA, WILLY courier ME, which will be at large in 2022. Carangi is engage in b delve into on the AIDS Memorial Eiderdown on block #5949, block #3505, and block #4113 ^[49]

Designers topmost brands represented

References

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