Gia Carangi was one of the first supermodels in the world and wow was she a beauty ,but sadly it didn’t spill into her real life.
Frankly she had an ugly existence which eventually consumed her.
Gia was discovered at a young age and her modelling career soon skyrocketted she practically lived on the front covers during the 80s, but as quickly as she rose so was the fall.
She had a penchant for exaggerating certain aspects of her life for dramatic effect.
It was as if she was running from her past and decided to seek solace in the easy options hard drugs and liqour.
She became so addicted she refused to come to work,and wasted all of her earnings on drugs and was essentially blacklisted from the industry that once adored her.
What saddened me is the remark from a photgrapher who said in regards to Gia that the camera never lies, and that magic that once made her a star was gone as her eyes were just dead in photos.
Due to being unemployed and wanting to change her life she took odd jobs like working in a sandwich shop.
She truly several times attempted to get sober but she had too much internal pain and never could overcome that, so yet again she sank even lower she then decided to hook for money.
And after being found bruised and sexually assaulted on the street she later found out she had full-blown aids.
And due to the stigma of the disease that time she was essentially disowned by some of her loved ones and had to sofa surf and battle the disease on her own with few support.
Gia soon died from her disease at the age of 26.
What I found tragic about her end was the fact no-one from the fashion industry was present at her funeral, as her family chose to keep her death a secret as they were ashamed to acknowledge publicly what killed her.
How sad is that .
I take away from this story that divorce can affect people no matter how old or successful they become.
,that pain of separation can always linger and at times seem beyond repair and can eventually be the catalyst for a person’s self-destruction.
I truly am happy about the progress of Aids medication, and that there are better coping mechanisms nowadays available for everybody to cope with trauma e,g counselling and truly wish people surround themselves with good influences not yes men who would be willing to watch a person’s downfall instead of helping them get back on their feet.
Everybody has some kind of story.
It’s just some stories are darker than others, and the story of Gia Carangi certainly is that.I truly hope her story will serve as a a cautionary tale,not just another story lost in the forgotten fashion archive.