Jia Karanji

In many respects, Gia Karanji was the first: before her models did not achieve such a dizzying success, such widespread fame; before her public figures, in the first place - women did not die from the "plague of the twentieth century." Jia's biography and career are so rich, changeable, scandalous, how bright, inaccessible and unique. Was Jia a phenomenon? Of course. But how did she manage to get the whole world and lose it so quickly?

No matter how much the yellow press chews ups and downs of Jia, the fact remains: she became the ancestor 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 were after. For all the representatives of this ambiguous and difficult profession - a model - Gia was to some extent a role model. How did this uneasy little thing grow and grow?

Jia Marie Karanji was born on January 29, 1960 in Philadelphia. Although the girl was a cheerful fidget, she grew up in an unhappy family from a young age. When Jia 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 Karanji left the family herself, and many years later she returned: he 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 brothers. And since childhood, the girl felt superfluous in the family, because she did not feel the same attitude that the boys received from her father.

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

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

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

In 1978, at the age of 18, Jia found herself in the Big Apple. There, she was immediately lucky enough to meet Wilhelmina Cooper - in the past the 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 filling her hand in a new business for herself.

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

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

Gia blazed the path to the world of fashion for brunettes: before her majestic accession at the top of this pyramid, only blondes were held in high esteem.

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

The key to success was the unique appearance of Karanji. And her natural artistry, which she always included in front of the camera lens.

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

For the first time on the cover of Vogue magazine, Jia appeared in 1978. Already in the next, literally for five months, Jia runs from one publication to another: Britain, France, America admires a 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 at Cosmo, a supermodel posed in a yellow swimsuit. At the end of his career, Karanji was named this cover the best.

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

Gia had a unique figure, photographers adored her - considered very sensual in contrast with the modest models of the time. She did not make her way upstairs, she just got a dizzying success overnight. And because Jia very quickly spoiled.

She agreed only to those proposals that she liked. Or canceled those that have already agreed, at the last moment. And she could have done something completely unacceptable during the shooting itself: she was hysterical in the midst of a photo shoot, and once she fell asleep. Photographers and managers began to bewildered.

Surrounds have long assumed that Jia was addicted to the use of narcotic substances, but in this case she was not immediately caught. In 1981, Jia admitted her pernicious addiction, because she couldn’t hide it anymore: her behavior, appearance, and marks of injections on her hands all spoke for itself. That year, Jia asked for help at a specialized clinic; at that time, Jia had been using prohibited substances for about two years.

After a course of treatment, Jia tried to get back to work. But it turned out to be almost impossible. In the clinic, the model could not get rid of its dependence. The first major failure was caused by the loss of a loved one: Wilhelmina Cooper died in 1980 after an unsuccessful fight against lung cancer. Then Gia for the first time finally “flew off the coils,” after which she had to admit her weakness.

And now, after quite a bit of time after Jia’s discharge from rehabilitation, another loss for the supermodel becomes known - her close friend, photographer Chris von Wangenheim, dies in a car accident. 1982 was the last for Gia in the modeling business.

Dizzying fame and fabulous fees could not save Jia from the misfortunes that she was destined to survive. 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, Jia openly declared her homosexuality. Throughout her life, a serious relationship she could not build. Being already on the edge of the abyss and at the end of her career, the model began dating a girl named Rochelle. Which was a few years younger and also "sat" on drugs.

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

Gia kept diaries all the time, from which one can understand how alone she has been all her life. Model Julie Foster after the death of Jia released the autobiographical book "True Hollywood Stories." In her, she talked about her friend.

When Jia went to rehab for the second time, relatives and close models hoped that all was not lost. Since 1983, Karanji left the modeling business, returned to her native Philadelphia and was treated for addiction. But some time after the start of the course, she became ill, at first everyone thought that Jia had pneumonia. She was hospitalized with such a diagnosis, and after additional examination changed it to “AIDS”. That was in 1986. Gia was already very impressed by this ailment.

In the last months, which Karanji spent in the hospital, she thought about faith and the younger generation. The model even wanted to make a documentary for teenagers, in which, by its example, would show all the harm of forbidden substances. But she did not have time. Jii did not become November 18, 1986.

The film “Gia”, released in 1998, is very colorful, though not in all historical details, about the life and fate of the supermodel. The role of the main heroine was brilliantly performed by Angelina Jolie, and episodes from Jiya's childhood were filmed with the participation of Mila Kunis in the role of the young Karanji.

Jia has become a kind of muse for Chris Won Wanjonheim. The photographer was famous for his amazing black and white shots. Jia's famous photo shoot at the fence is his doing. Famous became precisely those frames in which the model is completely naked. But they were preceded by doubles in dress. One of these images is a beautiful bow, in which today you can go out and be in trend.

Photographers loved to perpetuate in the pictures the unusual, atypical, boyish style that Gia showed at the beginning of her career. Jeans and leather are street trends for all times. One photographer even compared the model with James Dean. By the way, since childhood, Jii thought that her father, who paid more attention to his sons, would have loved her more if she was born as a boy. At a young age in connection with these experiences, Jia loved to change into her brothers' things. Probably, this is how her love for clothes “from a man’s shoulder” began.

In the screen version of the biography Karanja Angelina demonstrates no less amazing outfits than Gia herself in her photo shoots.

Full match costumes in the film almost did not find.

However, it should be noted that in every image of Jolie the atmosphere and style of that time are felt.

Unfortunately, Gia lived in an era when photographs from celebrity personal life were not common everywhere. We don’t have the opportunity to trace the style of clothes that Jia chose for her daily life. But we can admire the delightful images created for numerous photo shoots and advertising campaigns, in which Jia managed to take part in the short two years of her brilliant career.

Gia Karanji looked the same organic and in feminine dresses and dresses a la dandy. Many trends of the time just now returned to fashion: diamond-patterned sweaters, woolen cardigans, long pleated skirts, black lace, bombers, Chanel-style suits and much, much more.

By the way, monophonic closed swimsuits, which Jia often showed in her photo shoots, is another trend that has returned to fashion from that time.

Let Gia disappear from the covers of magazines as quickly as she broke into them, she will always remain in our memory as an icon of style and a hero of her time.