Childhood and youth
Gia Marie Carangi was born near Philadelphia on January 29, 1960. The girl's mother, Kathleen Carangi, boasted Irish and Welsh blood, and her father, Joe Carangi, had Italian roots. Perhaps it was this mixture of roots that gave Gia refined facial features, memorable at first sight. The father of the future fashion model Gia Carangi owned a small chain of cafes, and her mother stayed at home with the children - Gia and Michael.
Supermodel Gia Carangi
Gia's family broke up when the girl was 11 years old: the girl's mother left, leaving the children in the care of their father. The future star was having a hard time with her parents' divorce, suffering from a lack of maternal attention. Perhaps because of this, Gia, as she grew older, began to gravitate toward female society. Friendly at first, relationships with friends gradually grew into something more.
Gia Carangi in her youth
In high school, Gia began hanging out with guys who were fans of David Bowie. Teenagers imitated the clothing style, behavior and even bisexuality of this rock performer. At that time, Karangi wore baggy clothes and was happy when she was mistaken for a teenage boy. This company constantly visited gay clubs, and Gia herself began to consider herself a lesbian. Having barely celebrated her 17th birthday, Gia Carangi moved to New York and began her journey to the heights of modeling fame.
The childhood of one of the first supermodels
Gia Marie Carangi was born in 1960 in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Her parents were Italian-American Joseph Carangi and an American with Welsh and Irish roots, Kathleen Carangi (nee Adams). Perhaps it was this mixture of blood that gave the girl memorable facial features. The father of the future supermodel, who revolutionized the fashion world, ran a small chain of eateries where the girl worked part-time during her school years.
Gia was raised by her mother. But when the girl was 11 years old, Kathleen left the family, leaving the children (Gia had a brother, Michael) without maternal care and guardianship. The father could not pay much attention to the children. The girl had a hard time with the breakup of her family and suffered from a lack of maternal attention. Maybe that’s why, having grown up and moved to New York, Gia was drawn to female society. Some of her relationships with her friends ceased to be something more.
In high school, Gia began hanging out with young men, most of whom then imitated David Bowie's style, behavior, and even sexuality. Teenagers often went to gay clubs, and the future model herself even began to consider herself a lesbian. As soon as the girl turned 17, she decided to move to New York.
Model business
In New York, Gia met Wilhelmina Cooper, a former model and owner of her own modeling agency. The aspiring model began to be invited to shoot. At first, orders were small, but soon Gia’s face became recognizable, and the model herself became very popular. And the girl’s amazing ability to transform into any image, be it a fatal beauty or an innocent simpleton, added to the model’s attractiveness in the eyes of employers.
Model Gia Carangi
The girl’s career was rapidly growing, famous fashion designers and photographers dreamed of working with the model, and Gia Carangi’s photos adorned numerous magazine covers and advertising brochures. In 1978, the girl was offered to pose naked. Photographer Chris Von Wangenheim foresaw the scandalous fame of these photographs. Gia accepted such a bold proposal, once again proving that she is ready for any images and transformations. The makeup artist for this photo shoot was Cindy Linter.
Gia Carangi's famous nude photo shoot
The pictures were a great success: soon the images of naked Karanja standing near the fence created a lot of noise, exciting the public and turning the development of the modeling business 360 degrees. A year later, in 1979, Gia starred for the covers of British, French and American Vogue, as well as for the American magazine Cosmopolitan. The photographs for Cosmo, where the girl starred in the original yellow swimsuit, would later be called the best photographs of the model.
Gia Carangi in Cosmopolitan
Having gained fame and popularity, Gia Carangi began to agree exclusively to those shoots that seemed interesting. Moreover, the girl sometimes showed character by refusing photo shoots if she didn’t like the clothes, makeup or hairstyle. Unfortunately, such a bright career of Gia Karangi ended just before it began.
Gia Carangi and Cindy Linter
After work, the girl often visited clubs and bars in New York, famous for their free morals and affordable drugs. First, the model tried cocaine, which seemed to her like a mild prank and a way to relax and unwind. Then, in 1980, she switched to heroin. This happened immediately after the death of her friend and mentor Wilhelmina Cooper. The girl wanted to take her mind off grief for a loved one, and heroin helped with this in the best possible way.
Gia Carangi and Wilhelmina Cooper
However, the easy fun, which at first did not seem dangerous, soon bore bitter fruits: Gia Karangi’s work became more and more difficult, the model began to be late for shooting, or even completely forget about them. Of course, employers did not like this, and they practically stopped concluding contracts with Gia. In 1982, the model tried to return to the fashion world, changing several agencies, but she was unsuccessful. In 1983, the girl was caught using drugs during a shoot, after which her modeling career was completely ruined.
Personal life
Gia Karangi’s personal life, despite the girl’s wealth, beauty and popularity, did not work out. Makeup artist Cindy Linter, as well as modeling colleagues Julia Foster and Janice Dickinson, became close friends of the model. According to rumors, these girls were the lovers of Gia, who did not hide her lesbian inclinations.
Gia Carangi and Janice Dickinson
Perhaps the craving for female society, as well as an attempt to forget in drug intoxication, were the result of a lack of attention from the mother at an early age.
“The biggest mistake we made was that no one accompanied her in New York,” Gia’s brother Michael later admits in an interview.
And Julia Foster will remember:
“She was looking for someone's love, one day Gia came to my house in the middle of the night and I let her in and all she wanted was someone to hold her. It was very sad."
Drug addiction and AIDS
Gia Karangi's addiction became obvious quite quickly. After several agencies refused to work with the girl, the model quickly went downhill. Gia spent a lot of money to get the next dose, thoughts about drugs drove everything out of her head. The girl retreated further and further from the real world.
Gia Carangi hid injection marks under her sleeves
Friends and relatives of the model made an attempt to save Gia; the girl even underwent a rehabilitation course in a Philadelphia clinic. It seemed that all was not lost. However, after finishing treatment, Gia again contacted the company that used drugs. The model was arrested for drunk driving, and the girl also stole money from her mother's house to buy a new dose. In 1981, Gia again tried to undergo treatment at a drug treatment clinic, but the news about the death of her friend, photographer Chris Von Wangenheim, unsettled the model and pushed her back into the abyss of drug-induced oblivion.
“Those years were crazy,” Gia’s mother later recalled. “I told my ex-husband that he should be prepared for any news, because she was capable of anything. People in this state will do anything for drugs. Theft, even murder. I understood that any day I could receive a letter saying that my daughter was dead.”
Gia made her last attempt to return to normal life in 1984. Under pressure from her loved ones, the girl spent six months undergoing treatment in a clinic. At this moment, not a dollar was left from the model’s huge fees, and Gia Carangi had to live on state benefits. After leaving the clinic, the girl, at first glance, came to her senses. Gia got a job at a supermarket and even enrolled in college courses. But the former model’s willpower was enough for three months - then Gia disappeared, probably returning to her needle friends.
Last photo of Gia Carangi
In 1986, it became known that Gia Carangi was hospitalized. The girl was suspected of having severe pneumonia. By that time, Gia’s skin was completely covered with ulcers and scars, as well as traces of injections. After some time, Karanji was discharged, but a month later the girl was hospitalized again - and again with pneumonia. Then it became clear that we had to look for the causes of the disease. The truth turned out to be terrible: Gia was diagnosed with AIDS. A terrible disease was eating away at Gia Karangi from the inside. After this, the girl lived only six months.
Beginning of the End
Karangi left her fabulous fees in fashionable clubs in New York. She especially often visited the legendary establishment “Studio 54”. Gia couldn’t resist the temptation either, or rather, she didn’t even try.
At first, she took cocaine “for relaxation.” However, when her beloved mentor Wilhelmina Cooper died of lung cancer in the spring of 1980, Karangi switched to heroin to numb the pain.
The model did not listen to any of her friends and family, and the situation was already getting out of control... Monique Pillard, another agent who handled the model’s affairs, said on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show: “I tried to track where her savings were going, but Nothing worked for me. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot drink for him, he must want it himself.” Those around her had long suspected that Gia was addicted to drug use. In 1981, she finally admitted to her addiction, because it was no longer possible to hide it: hysterics, depression, nervous breakdowns - everything spoke for itself. The star allowed herself to use drugs right in the studio, she could pass out while working in front of a photographic lens... At first, her antics were tolerated, but over time, magazines began to refuse to work with her. The last straw was the photographs for the November 1980 issue of American Vogue. There were such ugly injection marks on the model’s hands that everyone, from editors to retouchers, was horrified. Realizing what was happening, Gia enrolled in a rehabilitation program, but did not last long. In the spring of 1981, she was arrested for drunk driving and was later caught for theft. In June, Gia made another attempt to recover. However, the news that her close friend, photographer Chris von Wangenheim, died in a car accident, became another reason to go crazy.
Death
Gia's condition rapidly deteriorated. The bitter truth is that only when she died did the girl find what she had dreamed of all her life - her mother’s attention. Kathleen Carangi will be with her daughter to the last, not allowing anyone to look after her. A month before her death, Gia Karangi was transferred to a hospital isolation ward, and on November 18, 1986, the girl died. The death of Gia Karangi was unexpected for many: the former model’s illness and addiction were not advertised through the efforts of her mother.
Grave of Gia Karangi
Gia Karangi's funeral took place three days after the girl's death. Gia was buried in a closed coffin - the disease had so disfigured the girl’s face and body. The funeral service was held in the circle of the closest people: at that time, to admit that Gia Carangi died of AIDS meant to cover her name with shame.
Years after the death of Gia Carangi, a film called “Gia” will be released, telling about the fate of this talented girl, whose life was so absurdly broken. The main role in the film was played by Angelina Jolie, who admitted that Gia’s biography is too similar to her own. The film frankly shows the relationship between Gia and Linda (a girl created in the image of Gia's makeup artist and friend, Cindy Linter). The picture ends with a quote from the diary of Gia Carangi, which was never published in full:
"Life and death. Energy and peace. If I stopped today, it was still worth it, and even the mistakes that I made and that I would correct if I could, the pain that burned me and left scars in my soul - it was all worth it for me to be allowed to go to where I was going: to this hell on earth, to this heaven on earth...”
Death of a supermodel
The beauty was fond of marijuana from a young age.
Along with fame came cocaine, meth and heroin, which the top model used so often and actively that needle marks were visible in the photographs taken. The beauty faded, the image became worn out, and then Cindy Crawford appeared, six years younger, divinely beautiful, an excellent student in school, well-mannered, modest, disciplined. All the fashion houses and advertisers who collaborated with the unbalanced brawler flocked to the young competitor. And that faded star had a chance to return home, improve relations with her mother, undergo several rehabilitation courses in specialized clinics, return with several high-quality photo shoots, and again plunge into the abyss of drug addiction, which eventually forced the once best fashion model on the planet to go on panels and sell her body for another dose. In the late fall of 1986, Gia Marie Carangi died of pneumonia aggravated by HIV infection, and the body of the former beauty was in such a terrible state that the organizer of the funeral ceremony recommended burying the deceased in a closed coffin. Death from AIDS looked like a shame in the eyes of relatives, so the fashion world did not know for a long time about the death of the first supermodel, who quietly and imperceptibly rested in a cemetery in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. She was only 26.
