Twenty Six between life & death: Gia Marie Carangi

Some stories falls on us from the sky..I mean it's like you had to know something about someone. In the end of december 2010 i was walking around the supermarket when i surprisingly took a new issue of magazine "*****" and the article that opened immediately was about Gia Carangi, a supermodel of late 70s and early 80s. I heaven't read that article back then, but her name permanently stuck in my mind. Later, when i was working on "Beauty over Ages" series of posts for my blog i heard that name again - Gia Marie Carangi. But this time i got to know her story better. She was one of those beautiful & famous girls that died at the age of 26..She was the 3rd, if i'm not mistaken. This awful tendency has started with gorgeous hollywood bombshell of 30's - Jean Harlow who died of renal failure, the next victim of sudden death was 60s actress and model, a wife of Roman Polanski - Sharon Tate, who was killed by followers of Charles Manson. I don't know why, but this trilogy seems so strange...If maybe you (my dear reader) know more on this theme - i hope you can share your knowledges.
Now back to Gia Marie Carangi..as she completely captured me with her "singularity in fashion" and her very very sad story. Everybody knew this uncommon girl as Gia when she breaked into the world of high-fashion as a hurricane at the age of 17. Looking like a tomboy with a knife in her pocket, she came to Wilhelmina Cooper model agency and become a number one model in the end of 70s. Everybody wanted her on the cover on their magazines. But fame wasn't a number one goal for Gia, she was looking for more..she was looking for someone who'll love her for who she is, she was looking for understanding. But even her beauty, talent and deep inner world never brought her happyness. Problems in family, perhaps, made her too sensitive for this cruel world. Loss of her close friend Wilhemina Cooper also was a big shock for Gia, that likely pulled her to the edge..and falling into the abyss was her affection to heroin, that ended up with her death at the age of 26. She was the first famous woman in U.S.A. to die of AIDS.
Knowing that she is to die soon, Gia wrote in her diary: "Life and death, energy and peace. If I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes that I made and would have unmade if I could. The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it, for having been allowed to walk where I've walked, which was to hell on earth, heaven on earth, back again, into, under, far in between, through it, in it, and above."
And no doubt she was a very talented person who could have had much more brighter future. She wanted to learn photography and have kids, but in the end she said: "I think God has a plan for me, but I don`t think it`s in this life."..
Facts about Gia:
*She was born in Philadelphia on 29 January, 1960.
*She had italian bloods in her veins from her father & irish and welsh from her mother.
*Gia was known to be a bisexual.
*Carangi was a regular at Studio 54 and the Mudd Club. She usually used cocaine in clubs, but later began to develop a heroin addiction.
* Gia was romanticly linked to her make-up assistant Sandy Linter.
*Carangi did her first major shoot with top fashion photographer Chris von Wangenheim.
*Gia's body measurements were: (US) 34-24-35/(EU) 86.5-61-89; height 5'7" (170 cm).
* Cindy Crawford, who also appeared on the covers of fashion publications during her time, was later referred to as "Baby Gia" due to her resemblance to Carangi.
Films about Gia:
*"Thing Of Beauty" 1993's bio
*"The Self-Destruction of Gia" documentary
*"GIA" HBO movie staring Angelina Jolie as Gia.
Interesting Links:
www.gia-carangi.com
www.giacarangi.com