Gia Marie Carangi, January 29, 1960, Philadelphia, PA, USA – November 18, 1986, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
American model , one of the first supermodels in the world. She has appeared on the covers of fashion magazines, including numerous Vogue and Cosmopolitan publications, as well as advertising campaigns for fashion houses such as Armani, Christian Dior, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent.
https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Каранджи,_Джиа
Childhood
Gia Carangi was born on January 29, 1960, in the suburbs of Philadelphia , in the family of an Italian American Joseph Carangi and an American with Irish and Welsh roots Kathleen Carangi (born Adams). The father owned a small chain of eateries in which Gia worked part-time. The mother was engaged in raising the girl. When Gia was 11 years old, her mother left her family, which is why Gia suffered from a lack of attention from her parents in subsequent years. At the age of 17, Carangi moved to New York, where she quickly achieved success as a model.
Later, Gia’s brother, Michael Carangi, will say that the decision to let Gia go to New York alone was their family’s biggest mistake.
Career
Gia’s relatives remember that she always wanted to become a model, because she was sure that this was her business. According to relatives, Gia knew for sure that she could succeed in the modeling business. Therefore, she made the decision to move to New York quite easily. Nevertheless, Gia herself said: “I just never wanted to become a model, it was never my dream, I kind of got carried away by it”. Gia’s mother visited her in New York as often as she could. Sometimes it’s just to get our daughter’s home in order. But still, most of the time, Gia was alone.
In New York, Gia came under the patronage of the former model Wilhelmina Cooper , who owned the Wilhelmina modeling agency. For the first three months, Carangi performed small orders, but quickly became one of the most popular models of those years. Photographer Arthur Elgort , with whom she worked during a photo shoot for Bloomingdale’s , introduced her to famous photographers – Francesco Scavullo, Marco Glaviano and Richard Avedon , which was the beginning of a supermodel career for Carangi.
Gia was cramped within the model’s official duties. She tried to do something outside of the modeling business, but could not find enough time for this in her busy schedule.
Gia became famous not so much because of her atypical appearance for a fashion model (at that time blondes were in demand in the modeling business), but primarily because of her ability to get used to completely different images.
In October 1978, after a photo shoot for Vogue magazine, photographer Chris von Wangenheim asked Carangi to take some nude shots. Also, in the photo session, at the request of the photographer, the makeup artist Sandy Linter took part. Photos of naked Gia, standing behind the fence , became one of the most scandalous for those times. By the end of the year she had appeared in several magazines, including the American “Vogue”.
In 1979, for five months, Gia appeared on the covers of British, French and American Vogue, and twice on the cover of the American Cosmopolitan . The second cover of Cosmopolitan, where Carangi posed in a yellow Greek-style swimsuit, was named the best of Gia’s career. Carangi’s figure was considered sensual, contrasted with the shy models of her time.
Having become quite famous, Gia could afford not to agree to those job offers that she did not like. Sometimes she did not agree to photo shoots just because she did not like the proposed hairstyle.
At the height of her career, she also starred in the video “Atomic” group of Blondie.
Personal life
Despite her success, Gia remained lonely, her personal life did not work out. She had a narrow circle of friends – makeup artist Sandy Linter, models Julia Foster and Janice Dickinson , and rare acquaintances from Philadelphia.
In her personal life, Carangi was known for her lesbian inclinations, which she never hid. Gia’s relatives recall that Gia began to show interest in girls at the age of 14. And men never interested her.
Gia tried to find a loved one, but it seemed to her that everyone who struck up a relationship with her needed her only for money and sex. Seeking permanent relationships, Gia easily fell in love with the people she just met. She felt lonely and constantly needed someone to be around.
Gia’s colleague and friend, model Julia Foster, in an interview with the TV show “True Hollywood Stories” recalls how one night, Gia came to her house. It turned out that Gia just wanted someone to hug her.
Drug addiction
With the advent of her first significant earnings, Carangi became a regular at the most fashionable clubs in New York. She especially often visited the legendary institution ” Studio 54 “, which is known for its free morals. Gradually, Gia began to take drugs – first “for rest” she began to take cocaine , then – in the spring of 1980, after the death of her mentor Wilhelmina Cooper, – Carangi, trying to get rid of stress, switched to heroin .
Start of work problems
After two years of a successful career, when Gia received more than $ 100,000 a year (in 1980, Cooper predicted Carangi’s earnings in excess of $ 500,000 a year), she began to gradually disappear from the fashion world.
Photographers began to realize that Gia’s impulsive behavior on set was the result of drug use, and therefore were increasingly reluctant to accept offers from her agents to work in photo shoots with Carangi.
According to photographer Francesco Scavullo, everyone who worked with Gia knew about her drug addiction. However, no one considered it necessary to talk to her about it. Carangi was such a sought-after model that she could afford to behave as she liked.
Photographer Michael Tighe says there was an unspoken ban on the use of drugs by models. But in the case of Gia, it was different. She allowed herself not only to be late for the photo session, not to appear at all, but also to use heroin in the studio. At first, photographers tried not to pay attention to this for the opportunity to work with Carangi.
For several months, Gia spent all the money earned in the modeling business on drugs. At the very beginning, Carangi’s addiction to drugs did not prevent her from working and remaining in demand as a model. In the summer of 1980, Gia starred for the covers of Vogue and Cosmopolitan. However, work on photo shoots with Carangi’s participation began to be accompanied by unpredictable hysterics, unmotivated whims of the model, and sometimes she just fell asleep in front of the camera.
Gia’s need for regular heroin use began to outweigh Carangi’s desire and strength to work in front of the camera. She used almost four doses of the drug at the same time. All attempts by relatives to stop this, influencing Gia, ended in nothing.
In Vogue magazine for November 1980 it became quite noticeable how seriously Carangi is dependent on drugs – in the photographs, the marks of the injections on his arm were clearly visible (to hide them, the photos were processed).
In November 1980, Gia left the Wilhelmina agency and signed a contract with Eileen Ford . But Ford did not allow Carangi to behave the way she was used to, and after three weeks of work she was demoted. In February 1981, Gia suspended work, hoping to get life back to normal.
Attempts to get rid of drug addiction
Fatigued and exhausted by drug addiction, Carangi signed up for a rehabilitation program at the Philadelphia Alcohol and Drug Abuse Clinic. That same winter, she begins a relationship with Rochelle, a 20-year-old student who used heroin, whose addiction was even more severe. According to Michael Carangi, once Rochelle offered to try drugs for him, but he refused.
Under the influence of Rochelle, Gia’s drug addiction intensified. In the spring of 1981, Carangi was arrested for drunk driving. She was later caught trying to steal money from her mother’s house. In June 1981, Gia left her mother’s house and enrolled in a rehabilitation program again. But the attempt to recover was thwarted by the news that her close friend, photographer Chris von Wangenheim, had died in a car accident. For Carangi, this was another reason to start taking drugs. She locked herself in the bathroom and spent several hours in a narcotic delirium.
At the end of 1981, Gia began fighting drugs again. Emaciated Carangi began to gain weight. Gia was determined to recover and wanted to return to New York. In early 1982, Carangi starred for the cover of Cosmopolitan. According to photographer Francesco Scavullo, this should have been her best cover. This same cover was the last for Gia.
Attempts to return previous success
In the spring of 1982, while continuing to make attempts to return to its former success, Carangi changed her agency to two others – “Ford” and “Elite”. In the end, Gia managed to contact Agent Monique Pillard of the Elite agency.
According to Pillard, when meeting with Carangi, she frankly admitted to her that she had heard a lot of bad things about Gia’s behavior, but she was ready to try to work with her. During this meeting, Pillard asked Carangi, who was wearing a long shirt, to show her hands. But Gia in a sharp form refused her, crying out: “Do you need me or my hands?”
Despite the potential risks associated with Carangi’s drug addiction, Pillard signed a pact with Gia, who worked hard to prove to skeptics that she had a reason to return to New York.
However, according to photographer Francesco Scavullo, no matter how hard he tried, the work with Carangi did not go as smoothly as before. Gia lost her talent, her magnetism. Her photo shoots were no longer as bright and memorable as it was before. Gia’s hands were folded back during filming to hide the injection marks. However, Scavullo denies this opinion, saying that Carangi sat in such a position to hide the excess weight that she gained during treatment.
In 1982, Carangi starred on the ABC’s 20-20 – Supermodel Stories. She claimed that she did not use drugs, but her behavior in the frame suggested otherwise. Later, trying to keep Gia’s behavior within reasonable limits, Monique Pillard tried to control Carangi’s expenses and prevent her from spending money on drugs, but she failed.
Over time, the demand for Gia’s services passed, there were no more offers to work. Photographers no longer wanted to deal with an inappropriate model.
Monique Pillard recalls an incident when Gia worked in one of the New York studios. The photographer called her and demanded that Pillard come and take Carangi, otherwise he threatened to throw her out of the studio. It turned out that, being drugged, Carangi fell asleep in front of the camera and burned her chest with a cigarette.
In the spring of 1983, Gia’s modeling career was finally completed. While working on a photo shoot in North Africa, she was once again caught using drugs. Carangi was forced to pack up and return home.
Last years
In May of the same year, Gia needed hand surgery due to the fact that she pricked herself in the same place, which led to an infection.
Gia moved to Atlantic City , where she shared an apartment with Rochelle. According to Carangi’s best friend, Karen Karuza, when she met Gia in Atlantic City, she did not recognize her. The voice especially changed – it became harsh and unpleasant. Gia’s mother, Kathleen Carangi, recalls that after her daughter moved to Atlantic City, she began to feel that Gia could die at any moment, either trying to get money for drugs, or getting into various troubles.
By December 1983, due to the harmful effects of drugs, Carangi finally abandoned attempts to return to the modeling business and began to rapidly lose touch with the real world. After pressure from the family, Gia signed up for a rehabilitation program at Eagleville again. Carangi filed for bankruptcy, lived on unemployment benefits. At the clinic, a patient named Rob Fay became a close friend to her. According to him, during this period, for Gia, who already always felt lonely, it became especially important to feel that there is someone close in spirit nearby.
After six months of treatment, in May 1984, Carangi left the clinic and moved to the suburbs of Philadelphia. She worked as a jeans salesman and cashier at a local supermarket. I went to college and even developed an interest in photography and cinema. However, in August of the same year, Gia disappeared.
Carangi returned to Atlantic City in the summer of 1985. Drug addiction returned and, moreover, increased. Gia increased her dose. The previous volumes of consumption did not have the desired effect, the need to increase the dose increased. Money for drugs became more and more acute, and in the end, for the sake of the opportunity to buy another dose, Carangi went into prostitution. She was raped several times.
Death
In 1986, Gia came down with signs of pneumonia, and her mother immediately took her to the hospital. As it turned out, during her drug addiction, Carangi experienced three overdoses. After years of drug use, a noticeable abscess formed on Gia’s arm, her back was covered with sores.
After the examination, she was diagnosed with AIDS . When Gia’s condition worsened, she was transferred to a hospital in Philadelphia. There, for several months, Gia had what she dreamed of since childhood – the constant attention of her mother. Kathleen Carangi would not allow anyone to enter the room and visit Gia. Many simply did not know that Carangi was seriously ill. One of those who were allowed to visit her was Rob Fay. According to relatives, the mother did everything to make Carangi’s ward remind her of a home. For a while, Gia’s emotional state improved: in the hospital she became religious and even attached an image of Jesus Christ to the door of her room .
At some point, Gia had a desire to shoot a story for children, in which she wanted to talk about what drugs can lead to, and that this temptation must be resisted with all her might. However, Gia could not carry out her plan – her physical condition deteriorated so quickly.
In October, four weeks before her death, Carangi was placed in a separate room. Her body was covered with numerous ulcers. According to her mother, a few days before her death, Gia felt close leaving, and a frank conversation took place between them. As Rob Fay recalls, just before her death, Carangi’s condition deteriorated so much that she could no longer speak.
Gia Carangi died on November 18, 1986. The illness greatly affected her physical condition – in fact, Gia’s body began to decompose during her lifetime. When the orderlies moved Gia’s corpse onto a gurney to take it to the morgue, some of the skin from Gia’s back just fell off. AIDS disfigured Carangi’s body so much that the funeral director recommended that she be buried in a closed coffin. On November 21, 1986, relatives and friends were invited to a memorial service for Carangi. She was buried in Festerville, Pennsylvania.
The fashion world did not know for a long time that the once famous supermodel had died. Most of Gia’s acquaintances only learned about her death a year later. The funeral took place extremely quietly and was not crowded – after all, the fact that Carangi died of AIDS would be a shame for her family.
Gia Carangi became the first American female celebrity to die of AIDS .
Influence
Gia Carangi’s influence on the fashion world is unique. She was one of the first supermodels in the world, the forerunner of 90s stars such as Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford. Due to the similarity to Carangi, Crawford was often called Little Gia. Thanks to Gia, not only blondes, but also brown-haired women, and even brunettes began to appear on the pages of glossy magazines.
The story of Gia Carangi formed the basis for the film “Gia” starring Angelina Jolie.
Carangi has repeatedly appeared on the covers of fashion magazines: American and French Vogue for April 1979 and August 1980, Italian Vogue for January 1981, Cosmopolitan from 1979 to 1982.