AN AMERICAN GIRL: The Self-Destruction of Gia | |
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Directed by | J.J. Martin |
Produced by | J.J. Martin |
Cinematography | Johan Holm |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 mins |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,000,000 (estimated) |
AN AMERICAN GIRL: The Self-Destruction of Gia is a 2003 documentary film about model Gia Carangi and her untimely death. It was directed and produced by J.J. Martin and CINE L'MOD.
In AN AMERICAN GIRL: The Self-Destruction of Gia, filmmaker JJ Martin explores Gia Carangi's life through rare home movies and photos, previously unseen interviews with Gia, and contemporary interviews with family, friends, and associates. Fashion photographer and friend Francesco Scavullo and designers Diane von Fürstenberg and Vera Wang describe Carangi's special spark, and the arc of her modeling career.
The life of Gia Carangi, who through her addiction to heroin contracted, and died of AIDS in 1986 at the age of 26, was also the subject of the HBO-produced docudrama Gia , starring Angelina Jolie.
AN AMERICAN GIRL: The Self-Destruction of Gia was shown at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. [1]
Gia Marie Carangi was an American model, considered by some to be the first supermodel. In 2023, Harpers Bazaar ranked her 15th among the greatest supermodels in the 1980s. She was featured on the cover of numerous magazines, including multiple editions of Vogue and Cosmopolitan, and appeared in advertising campaigns for fashion houses including Armani, Dior, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent.
A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who has a worldwide reputation and background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became popular in the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothing brands. They may have multimillion-dollar contracts, endorsements, and campaigns. Supermodels have branded themselves as household names and worldwide recognition is associated with their modeling careers. They have been on the covers of leading fashion magazines. Claudia Schiffer stated in 2007 that, "In order to become a supermodel one must be on all the covers all over the world at the same time so that people can recognise the girls."
Cynthia Ann Crawford is an American model. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers and runways, as well as fashion campaigns. She subsequently expanded into acting and business ventures.
Gia is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizabeth Mitchell. It was directed by Michael Cristofer and written by Cristofer and Jay McInerney. The original music score was composed by Terence Blanchard. The film premiered on January 31, 1998 on HBO.
Francesco Scavullo was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of Cosmopolitan and his celebrity portraits.
Kim Marie Alexis is an American model and actress who was famous in the 1970s and 1980s. She appeared on the cover of magazines like Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Self and Cosmopolitan.
Janice Doreen Dickinson is an American model, television personality, and businesswoman. Initially notable as a model, Dickinson has been disputably described by herself as the first supermodel. One of the most successful models of the 1970s and 1980s, she also served as a judge on four cycles of the reality series America's Next Top Model (2003–2006). Dickinson opened a modeling agency in 2005 which was documented on the reality series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (2006–2008).
Wilhelmina Gertrud Frieda Cooper was a Dutch-American model who began with Ford Models, and at the peak of her success, founded her own agency, Wilhelmina Models, in New York City in 1967.
Christoph von Wangenheim was a German fashion photographer of the late 1960s through the early 1980s.
Heroin chic is a style popularized in early-1990s fashion and characterized by pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes, emaciated features, androgyny and stringy hair—all traits associated with abuse of heroin or other drugs. American supermodel Gia Carangi is remembered for being the originator of the trend. Heroin chic was partly a reaction against the healthy and vibrant look of leading 1980s models such as Cindy Crawford, Elle Macpherson, and Claudia Schiffer. A 1996 article in the Los Angeles Times stated that the fashion industry had "a nihilistic vision of beauty" that was reflective of drug addiction.
Zoë Tamerlis Lund, also known as Zoë Tamerlis and Zoë Tamerlaine, was an American musician, model, actress, author, producer, political activist and screenwriter. She was best known for her association in two films with film director Abel Ferrara: Ms .45 (1981), in which she starred, and Bad Lieutenant (1992), for which she co-wrote the screenplay.
Eileen Cecile Ford was an American modeling agency executive. Along with her husband Gerard "Jerry" Ford, she co-founded Ford Models in 1946, which emerged as one of the earliest and most successful modeling agencies in the mid and late-20th century.
Michelle Sinclair, known professionally as Belladonna, is an American former pornographic and erotic actress, director, producer, and model. Since announcing her retirement from pornography in 2012, she has acted in several mainstream films, including Inherent Vice and The Ladies of the House.
Nancy Donahue is an American fashion model and actress.
Gia Marie Allemand was an American actress, model, and reality television contestant. She was known for appearing in Maxim and competing on two ABC reality shows The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love and Bachelor Pad.
Gia Skova is a Bulgar Tatar Russian actress and model. She started acting in 2010 and produced and directed her first film, The Serpent in 2020.
American actress Angelina Jolie made her screen debut in the comedy film Lookin' to Get Out (1982), acting alongside her father Jon Voight. Eleven years later, she appeared in her next feature, the low-budget film Cyborg 2 (1993), a commercial failure. She then starred as a teenage hacker in the science fiction thriller Hackers (1995), which went on to be a cult film despite performing poorly at the box-office. Jolie's career prospects improved with a supporting role in the made-for-television film George Wallace (1997), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Television Film. She made her breakthrough the following year in HBO's television film Gia (1998). For her performance in the title role of fashion model Gia Carangi, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Film.
Tina Scala was an Italian-born American actress, model, singer and poet.
No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel is an autobiography by fashion model, photographer, author and talent agent Janice Dickinson. It was published in hardcover format in 2002 by ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins. The author's friend make-up artist Way Bandy advised her to begin putting her past experiences down on paper as a form of therapy from prior trauma in her life. After gaining sobriety, she started compiling her notes into book format. She contacted book publisher Judith Regan who agreed to help her publish her book after hearing her tale on the phone, without first seeing a writing sample. In November 2014, Dickinson asserted in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that pressure from Bill Cosby and his lawyers resulted in the removal of an account of sexual assault and rape by Cosby when she visited him at a hotel in Lake Tahoe, California in 1982. After Cosby's attorney disputed this account, she reappeared on the program to proclaim she was telling the truth and explained she was speaking out publicly because of a need to be heard and to represent other women who stated they experienced a similar trauma.
Gia Gunn is the stage name of American drag performer Gia Keitaro Ichikawa. She is known for competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, the second season of The Switch Drag Race, and RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars season four.