Gia Carangi would turn 60 today.

Not as huge as me.

If she hadn't died then, she would probably still have died before now. Nothing about her spelled longevity.

I would be nothing.

How many models are huge at 60? I never heard of her until that biography came out after she died. I was only 4 years old in the early 80’s when she was on the cover of Cosmo, I still remember being aware of other models from that era at the time, but not her. I’ve asked my older relatives, and they never heard of her either. Some people now claim that she was the first supermodel, I don’t agree. There were so many huge world famous models long before her. Suzy Parker, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Cheryl Tiegs etc. Maybe she was only famous in NYC back then?

Hmm, OP. Let's ask Willy Cartier!

Well, that was fun.

I never heard of her until the book came out. I think she became much more famous after her death. I'm not sure she would have aged well.

Christie Brinkley is still a big deal.

She was a breathtakingly gorgeous woman.

She's mainly famous for dying.

We would be making fun of her for looking old instead of somehow continuing to look like a gorgeous 25-year-old.

R8 True, but she’s an exception.

R8 - Brinkley segued into "acting" and became one of the handful of models (of the era) that emerged as media personalities. That said, she is hardly a "big deal" these days. To who exactly??

Madonna would've stolen her from me.

Bump

How old is Angelina Jolie now?

She was prettier than Angelina Jolie. She was beautiful.

Gia was not breathtakingly gorgeous. She looked like Jo from Facts of Life. She was a cute Italian girl. Dykey. What's most distinguishable about her is the heroin eyes, that telltale brown circles almost always present in her photos, even when she is made up. This is not hindsight on my part - I know that look. There's no way that most people in the industry didn't know about her problems. She was exploited. But she was unreliable and a mean bitch too - so everybody got theirs.

Gia was nowhere near as beautiful as the young Cindy Crawford and not as pretty as Valerie Bertinelli.

Naturally there are some good fashion photos of Gia - she worked with some of the best. But she is only famous for how she died. And bad behaviour. Poor girl might have made it, but she would not be remembered today.

R18 Thanks for your input Valerie!

For a regular reader of Cosmopolitan of course I knew who Gia was as she was on it countless times. Cindy Crawford was originally known as "Baby Gia" and her eventual replacement.

You must remember when Gia came on the scene most models were blond/blue with fair skin or a California-style tan. Gia was definitely ethnic/Italian looking and had a strong following as a result.

Heroin eyes.