Supermodel Gia Carangi remained in the memory of fans of the young and dazzlingly beautiful. Her life ended more than 30 years ago, but the tragic fate of this girl still resonates in the hearts of people. She did a lot in 26 years and at the same time became a clear example of how easy it is to lose wealth, fame, health due to addictions.
Difficult childhood
Gia owed her interesting appearance to her father's Italian roots and her mother's Irish ancestors. She became the third child of this international marriage and the only daughter. The future star was born in late January 1960 in the American city of Philadelphia.
Karanja's childhood can hardly be called cloudless. At an early age, she experienced an episode of sexual abuse that had a traumatic effect on her psyche. A little later, another painful blow was dealt to Jia by the departure from the family of a mother who left her husband and children for a new hobby.
From the age of 14, the girl did not hide her lesbian inclinations, preferred female society and admired David Bowie, who denied gender stereotypes.
In high school, Karanji worked part-time at the checkout in a restaurant owned by her father. The impetus for the beginning of her modeling career was a small photo shoot for a local publication. Seeing these pictures, a photographer who was looking for models to advertise a famous New York department store drew attention to the bright girl. So at the age of 17, Gia went to work in New York.
Cover girl
Carangi began her conquest of the fashion world with a collaboration with an agency founded by former model Wilhelmina Cooper. The very same shooting for the department store at the eminent Arthur Elgort helped the debutante to quickly make acquaintances with other famous photographers. In just a year, Gia's career has reached fantastic heights. At 18, she was involved in advertising for the fashion brand Versace. Later she worked for Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior.
A model's success is still measured by the number of covers she has appeared on. In just three years of her phenomenal takeoff, Gia managed to appear for Vogue and Cosmo magazines in the USA, France, Great Britain, and Italy.
At the same time, Karanji treated the work, which brought her fame and substantial fees, was erratic and impulsive: she could leave the photo session if she did not feel the right mood, or cancel two weeks of filming due to dissatisfaction with the haircut made for the next project.
In the personal life of the recognized beauty, there was a place for relationships exclusively with women. She often fell in love and started romances, but never managed to find her happiness.
Self destruction
A bohemian life, attending parties and lack of control led to the fact that Carangi became addicted to drugs. She disrupted the shooting, behaved inadequately, rapidly losing her recent relevance. The new contract with the agency Ford Models was terminated a few weeks later. In an attempt to get back to normal life, Jia received treatment at a rehab center in early 1981.
Just a month later, she was arrested for driving while under the influence of drugs. And health began to fail. In particular, the girl required an operation on her arm due to an infection caused by the constant injection of drugs.
However, she tried to revive her career by signing a contract with the Elite Model Management agency. Gia's last cover for Cosmopolitan magazine was filmed in April 1982. Then she tried to work in advertisements for clothing for catalogs and department stores, but by the beginning of 1983 these offers also ended.
Karanji went for treatment several times and started a new life, but after a while she returned to drugs again. In late 1985, while in the hospital with pneumonia, she learned that she had AIDS. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, despite her long stay in medical institutions and the care of her mother.
The once famous model died in a hospital in her hometown on November 18, 1986. The cause of death was complications caused by AIDS. The illness disfigured Gia so much that the relatives decided not to show her body at the memorial service, leaving the coffin closed. In the United States, Karanji is officially considered the first famous woman to die of AIDS.
The tragic life story of the first supermodel formed the basis for the 1998 film Gia, starring the young Angelina Jolie.
