Jia Carangi

Gia Carangi was in many ways the first: before her, fashion models had not achieved such dizzying success, such widespread fame; before her, public figures, primarily women, did not die from the "plague of the twentieth century." Gia's biography and career are so rich, changeable, scandalous, how bright, unattainable and unique. Was Jia a phenomenon? Undoubtedly. But how did she manage to get the whole world and lose it so quickly?

No matter how much the yellow press chews the ups and downs of Gia, the fact remains: she became the progenitor of a series of supermodels, irresistible and adored idols of the 1990s: Cindy, Christie, Naomi, Claudia, El, Tatiana, Linda and many, many famous beauties, which came after. For all the representatives of this controversial and complex profession - the model - Gia was, to some extent, an example to follow. How did this difficult little thing grow up and was brought up?

Gia Marie Carangi was born on January 29, 1960 in Philadelphia. Although the girl was a cheerful fidget, from a young age she grew up in an unhappy family. When Gia was 11 years old, her parents divorced, and the girl had to be torn between two houses. In addition, the child was deprived of parental attention and any care from both ancestors.

Kathleen Carangi herself left the family, and after many years she returned: she and Joe, the father of the family, were reunited again. But that was later. And when their baby needed them, the parents were busy only with themselves. Gia was not the only child in the family, she had siblings. And from childhood, the girl felt superfluous in the family, because she did not feel the same attitude towards herself that the boys received from their father.

Joe Carangi had his own business - he ran a chain of eateries. It was behind the counter of his father's fast food that Gia's first experiments on earning her "bread" began. From the age of 17, Gia began to constantly work in her dad's bistro, but her mother had different views on what her daughter should do.

From her youth, Gia was in great shape, although she did nothing special for this. The girl naturally had a charming face and a sexy body. Kathleen Carangi was convinced that the future of her beautiful daughter was in the modeling business. So, Jia's mother began in every possible way to ensure that the girl switched from selling omelets in her father's diner to selling her own beauty.

Not knowing where to start, Gia got a job as a dancer in one of the nightclubs in her native Philadelphia. Realizing that there was nothing special to catch there, the girl moved to New York, where she was in for a dizzying success.

In 1978, at the age of 18, Gia ended up in the Big Apple. There she was immediately lucky enough to meet Wilhelmina Cooper - in the past a top model, and at that time - the owner of her own agency.

Gia signed her first contract and for the first couple of months she was just getting her hand in a new business for herself.

Soon, another very important meeting happened: Gia met the photographer of American Vogue, Arthur Elgort. This meeting resulted in acquaintance with other Vogue and Cosmo photographers - Francesco Scavullo, Marco Glaviano, Richard Avedon.

Wilhelmina Cooper became almost a fairy godmother for Gia, because it was thanks to her assistance that the young model rapidly rose to the pinnacle of her fame, and this happens extremely rarely in the modeling business.

Gia paved the way into the world of big fashion for brunettes: before her majestic accession, only blondes were held in high esteem at the top of this pyramid.

• Height - 171 cm
• Chest - 86.5 cm
• Waist - 61 cm
• Hips - 89 cm
• Hair color - brown
• Eyes - brown

The key to her success was Karanja's unique appearance. And also her natural artistry, which she invariably turned on in front of the camera.

Gia really could live a long and beautiful life, full of prestigious contracts and fashion shows. But her adherence to fashion, precisely to the trends of her time, which were widespread among the celebrities of the late 1970s and early 1980s, played a cruel joke on the girl.

Gia first appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in 1978. Already in the next, literally for five months, Gia runs from one publication to another: Britain, France, America admires the new star on the pages of Vogue. At the same time, she appears on the cover of the American Cosmopolitan. For one of her appearances in Cosmo, the supermodel posed in a yellow swimsuit. Based on the results of Karanji's entire career, this cover was named the best.

From 1980 to 1983, Gia will appear several more times on the covers of these reputable fashion publications. But since the model's departure from Wilhelmina Models in the spring of 1980, her entire career has gone downhill.

Gia had a unique figure, photographers adored her - they considered her very sensual in contrast to the modest models of the time. She didn't make it to the top, she just got a dizzying success overnight. And so Gia spoiled herself very quickly.

She only agreed to those offers that she liked. Or she canceled the ones she had already agreed to at the last moment. And she could behave in a completely unacceptable way on the set itself: she rolled tantrums in the midst of a photo shoot, once she fell asleep altogether. Photographers and managers began to suspect something was wrong.

The people around have long assumed that Gia was addicted to using drugs, but she did not immediately get caught in this case. In 1981, Gia confessed to her addiction, because she could no longer hide it: her behavior, appearance, marks from injections on her hands - everything spoke for itself. That year, Jia turned to a specialized clinic for help, at that time Jia had been using illegal substances for about two years.

After undergoing treatment, Jia tried to return to work. But this turned out to be practically impossible. In the clinic, the model could not get rid of her addiction. The first major breakdown was caused by the loss of a loved one: in 1980, after an unsuccessful fight with lung cancer, Wilhelmina Cooper died. Then Gia for the first time completely "went off the rails", after which she had to admit her weakness.

And now, quite a bit after Gia was discharged from rehabilitation, it becomes known about another loss for the supermodel - her close friend, photographer Chris von Wangenheim, dies in a car accident. 1982 was the last year for Gia in the modeling business.

Dizzying fame and fabulous fees could not save Gia from the misfortunes that she was destined to endure. In addition to a strong drug addiction, the model had to endure a painful fall from the top of the fashion pedestal, loneliness and emptiness - around and inside.

Since childhood, Gia has openly declared her homosexuality. Throughout her life, she did not manage to build a serious relationship. Already on the brink of an abyss and at the end of her career, the model began dating a girl named Rochelle. Which was several years younger and also "sat" on drugs.

For all the time of her successful work in New York, Gia was unable to make close friends - only minor friends and acquaintances. More precisely, Gia herself was very much attached to people, but they did not reciprocate her. Among the model's friends were her make-up artist Cindy Linter, colleagues in the shop - Janice Dickinson and Julia Foster.

Gia kept diaries all the time, from which you can understand how lonely she was all her life. Model Julie Foster, after the death of Gia, released her autobiography True Hollywood Stories. In it, she talked about her friend.

When Gia went to rehab for the second time, the relatives and friends of the model hoped that all was not lost. Since 1983, Carangi left the modeling business, returned to her native Philadelphia and was treated for an addiction. But some time after the start of the course, she became ill, at first everyone thought that Gia had pneumonia. She was hospitalized with just such a diagnosis, and after an additional examination, she was changed to AIDS. This was in 1986. Gia was already very much affected by this ailment.

In her last months in the hospital, Carangi began to think about faith and the younger generation. The model even wanted to make a documentary for teenagers, in which she would show by her example all the harm of prohibited substances. But she didn't have time. Gia passed away on November 18, 1986.

The film "Gia", released in 1998, tells about the life and fate of the supermodel very colorfully, though not in all historical details. The role of the main character was brilliantly played by Angelina Jolie, and episodes from Gia's childhood were filmed with the participation of Mila Kunis as young Carangi.

Gia has become a kind of muse for Chris Vaughn Wongenheim. The photographer was renowned for his stunning black and white photographs. Gia's famous photo shoot at the fence is his handiwork. It was those shots in which the model was completely nude that became famous. But they were preceded by doubles in clothes.One of these looks is a wonderful bow, in which even today you can go out and be in trend.

Photographers loved to perpetuate in their pictures the unusual, atypical, boyish style that Gia showed at the beginning of her career. Jeans and leather are street trends for all time. One photographer even compared the model to James Dean. By the way, from childhood, Gia thought that a father, who paid more attention to his sons, would love her more if she was born a boy. At a young age, in connection with these experiences, Gia loved to dress up in the clothes of her brothers. Probably, this is how her love for clothes "from a man's shoulder" arose.

In the film adaptation of the biography of Carangi, Angelina shows no less adorable outfits than Gia herself in her photo shoots.

It is almost impossible to find a complete match of the costumes in the film.

However, it should be noted that in every image of Jolie one can feel the atmosphere and style of that time.

Unfortunately, Gia lived in an era when photographs from the personal life of celebrities were not common everywhere. There is no way for us to trace the style of dress that Gia chose for her daily life. But we can admire the delightful images created for numerous photo shoots and advertising campaigns, in which Gia managed to participate in the short two years of her brilliant career.

Gia Carangi looked equally organic in feminine dresses and in dandy-style outfits. Many of the trends of the time are back in fashion right now: diamond-patterned sweaters, wool cardigans, long pleated skirts, black lace, bombers, Chanel-style suits and much, much more.

By the way, the one-colored one-piece swimsuits that Gia often showed in her photo shoots are another trend that has returned to fashion from that time.

Even though Gia disappeared from the covers of magazines as quickly as she burst into them, she will forever remain in our memory as a style icon and a hero of her time.