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Stephen Fried
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Thing of Beauty Mass Market Paperback – June 1, 1994

by Stephen Fried (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 735 ratings
The “vivid…exhaustive” (The New York Times Book Review) account of the iconic and tragic life, career, and legacy of supermodel Gia Carangi.

At seventeen, Gia Carangi was working the counter at her father’s Philadelphia luncheonette. Within a year, she was one of the world’s top models, gracing the covers of Cosmopolitan and Vogue, partying at Studio 54, and redefining the fashion industry’s standard of beauty.

But behind the glitz and fame, Gia was a young woman in pain, desperate for her mother’s approval and facing a drug addiction that quickly spun out of control. With dizzying speed, she went from $10,000-a-day fashion shoots to using drugs on the streets of New York and Atlantic City before finally being blackballed from modeling. At twenty-six, Gia once again made history as one of the first famous women to die of AIDS.

This “chilling tale” (The Boston Globe), based on hundreds of interviews with friends, family, lovers, and fashionistas (the term author Stephen Fried coined for her industry colleagues), is comprehensively explored in this unputdownable biography that will introduce Gia to a new generation. It is also a powerful exploration of our society’s views of beauty and sexuality, fame and objectification, mothers and daughters, love and death.
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  1. Print length
    432 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pocket Books
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    4.19 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0671701053
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0671701055
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Trashy celebrity bios are usually diminished by the fact that we've already heard the stories about Lonnie and Burt, or Madonna and Sean, or whoever the current target is. Author Stephen Fried manages to get all the sleaze value plus a lot of surprises by choosing supermodel Gia Carangi as his topic. Although her face is widely recognized, Gia finished her modeling career in a blaze of heroin and disease just before the time when models became celebrities with name recognition. Her life is the perfect fodder for the exploitation market, but Fried goes beyond that with fluid prose and a reporter's nose for tracking down sources. His stories about her teenage years, with their mix of late nights in Philadelphia's gay clubs, manic worship, and glam-style imitation of David Bowie, as well as tales of Gia's ability to seduce her friends, male and female, are the product of a lot of work and make for very interesting reading. Gia's unabashed homosexuality and early death from AIDS make her story a palimpsest of life on the edge in the America of the 1980s.

From Publishers Weekly

Charts international cover girl Gia Carangi's descent from $10,000-a-day modeling jobs to heroin addiction and death from AIDS at age 26. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books; Reprint edition (June 1, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671701053
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671701055
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 735 ratings

About the author

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Stephen Fried

Stephen Fried

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Stephen Fried is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author who teaches at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. His books include the acclaimed biographies RUSH: Revolution, Madness & Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father (finalist for the George Washington Book Prize), APPETITE FOR AMERICA: Fred Harvey & the Business of Civilizing the Wild West--One Meal at a Time (NYTimes best seller & Wall Street Journal 10 best books of the year), and THING OF BEAUTY: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia (inspired Emmy-winning HBO film "Gia" & introduced the word "fashionista"); as well as BITTER PILLS, THE NEW RABBI & HUSBANDRY.

He was also co-author, with former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, of the NYTimes bestseller A COMMON STRUGGLE; their next book PROFILES IN MENTAL HEALTH COURAGE, will be published in May 2024.

A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award, Fried has written for Vanity Fair, Glamour, Washington Post Magazine, GQ, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, and Philadelphia magazine. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, author Diane Ayres. www.stephenfried.com

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
735 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and well-written, describing it as a brilliant telling of a tragic situation with mesmerizing beauty. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with one customer noting the inclusion of journal entries and letters. While the book is easy to read, some customers find it boring and difficult to finish. The research quality is mixed, with some finding it well-researched while others say the details are often irrelevant.

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33 customers mention "Interest"33 positive0 negative

Customers find the book extremely interesting and compelling, with one customer noting how it takes readers on a heady journey, while another describes it as a sobering read that provides perspective on success and fame.

"...book about a woman's short life read really beautifully and made for a very interesting, albeit devastatingly sad, story...." Read more

"...Fried covers Gia's life through unflinching eyes and takes the reader on a heady journey: latch-key teen from a broken family, David Bowie fanatic..." Read more

"...Scavullo's recounts were wonderful, but I found her mother to to have commented more in a "poor me" sense...." Read more

"...of the book is the excellent research from so many different and disparate stories...." Read more

18 customers mention "Beauty"18 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's beauty, describing it as mesmerizing and vivid, with one customer noting its great depth.

"...An insightful look into what it means to be more than merely pretty in America. Especially when the role of glamour girl is not especially welcome." Read more

"...This book is great for those who forget that money and beauty can't buy happiness. Gia's couldn't. This book should be a warning and a legacy...." Read more

"...Gia had a mesmerizing beauty in an understated way that was difficult to describe...." Read more

"...I could not set it down Gia was certainly the first supermodel and beautiful,natural not any plastic surgery done like today’s models...." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing quality"14 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book, with one customer noting the interesting journal entries and letters, while another mentions the easy-to-follow reading style.

"...non-fiction, but this long book about a woman's short life read really beautifully and made for a very interesting, albeit devastatingly sad, story...." Read more

"...The book is well written.. as I said before.. I think it was just the content. There were no happy endings for anyone in this story...." Read more

"...The book was intriguing and written, very well. It’s must buy if you want to look into the modeling world rest in peace Gia!!!" Read more

"well written but ultimately very sad story of a girl who was thrown into modeling without the support of knowledge to understand the changing face..." Read more

3 customers mention "Ease of use"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to use.

"...Easily enough done." Read more

"...Not a hard to put down book, but one that did keep ,me interested...." Read more

"Easy and fast read. I can't find time to finish it but it is spell bounding. It is a very sad book...." Read more

25 customers mention "Detail"17 positive8 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's detail level, with some finding it well-researched while others note that the details are often irrelevant.

"...It is overall a very well researched and a well written piece of writing. Really good book!" Read more

"...After reading this well researched account of gorgeous supermodel Gia Carangi's very brief life, I'm still undecided if she was merely an over..." Read more

"...The highlight of the book is the excellent research from so many different and disparate stories...." Read more

"...There was no real insight into her brief and tragic life." Read more

23 customers mention "Sadness"12 positive11 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the sadness in the book, with some praising it as a brilliant telling of a tragic situation and a page-turning tragedy, while others find it depressing.

"This is truly a sad story. Reading about the rise and fall of such a beautiful woman that was so for apart inside was truly saddening...." Read more

"...The ending brought me to tears, but I was happy to see that so many of the folks that Gia worked with are alive and successful, although the ending..." Read more

"...It is a sad story of how a beautiful but lonely girl gets into the dark side of modeling and becomes the first Supermodel, who ultimately becomes a..." Read more

"...There were no happy endings for anyone in this story. I did find the update at the end very interesting...." Read more

13 customers mention "Boredom"0 positive13 negative

Customers find the book boring, with several mentioning they couldn't finish it and lost interest after a few pages.

"...scenic picture of what is going on, at times, it made the story feel difficult to follow because it made it drag a bit - largely how much..." Read more

"...was just a sad, miserable existence from beginning to end... And, the end came so soon for this sad, destructive..." Read more

"I kept trying to read it but found myself tuning out or losing interest after a few pages...." Read more

"...The content was little about the life after Gia became a model and too much about who's who in the business...." Read more

great book! This company is very honest
5 out of 5 stars
great book! This company is very honest
came very fast, great book! This company is very honest. I love it!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Sheena
    5.0 out of 5 stars Overall - great book!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This was a great biography. I'm a bigger reader of fiction than non-fiction, but this long book about a woman's short life read really beautifully and made for a very interesting, albeit devastatingly sad, story. A couple criticisms are that Stephen Fried's biases do come out in the writing of this book: (1) obvious civic pride for Philadelphia (which I found enjoyable and entertaining), (2) a somewhat racist view toward some of the scenarios in the book, (3) a "traditionalist" male gaze toward the female dominated industry of which he is writing: modeling. These biases become more obvious the further into the book you get. Especially when he speaks of former model, Ann Simonton, whose activism was clearly based in self loathing, yet the author praises her activism. He frequently blames the modeling industry for the insecurities and drug problems of the people within this industry, but it's obvious that the issues that Gia and other folks in the industry have are due to personal issues. As in Gia's case, she had abandonment issues due to her mother's general absence (which the book does highlight) and perhaps her family's rejection of her sexuality. It would have been good to have more perspective into the fashion/beauty/media world for the main chunk of the book that focuses on the modeling industry, modeling agencies, the lives of photographers, etc... As for Gia's addiction and psychological issues that drove her to addiction, the book gets a little deeper into what's going on in Gia's head in the last few chapters as she is also developing AIDS. The ending brought me to tears, but I was happy to see that so many of the folks that Gia worked with are alive and successful, although the ending does tell the tail of AIDS ravaging such a large portion of the fashion/beauty/media scene in NYC. It is overall a very well researched and a well written piece of writing. Really good book!
    20 people found this helpful
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  • Mary- Jude Neal
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intrigued by the HBO movie "Gia"?
    Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Surprisingly relevant to a large segment of people: women, mothers, and daughters, lesbians, sexually ambivalent women, people who have faced addiction, and those touched by AIDS.

    After reading this well researched account of gorgeous supermodel Gia Carangi's very brief life, I'm still undecided if she was merely an over indulged pretty junkie or a tragic victim of her own beauty and dysfunctional family. Like most things though, the truth is far more complex and is probably somewhere in the middle. What is clearly apparent is that Gia's looks, and the ruthless profit driven world of fashion that uses and spits out beautiful girls in a macabre machine draped in gold lame and false promises, provided the catalyst that led to her demise.

    From awkward pre-teen to AIDS victim at 26, Fried covers Gia's life through unflinching eyes and takes the reader on a heady journey: latch-key teen from a broken family, David Bowie fanatic, meteoric rise (at the impressionable age of 17 no less) to official globe trotting uber-hottie, drug experimentation that eventually led her to the seedy heroin shooting galleries of NYC's infamous Lower East Side, black-balled from the tight knit modeling world, relocating to the underbelly of Atlantic City in an unbelievably destructive relationship, then total rehabilitation only to be finally destroyed by AIDS in a time when AIDS was just being understood. Oh yes, it's a heady journey indeed and Fried deserves more than a nod for navigating the reader through it.

    An insightful look into what it means to be more than merely pretty in America. Especially when the role of glamour girl is not especially welcome.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Ema Nnep
    4.0 out of 5 stars Illusion vs. reality never holds up
    Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2001
    Verified Purchase
    I can remember when I was in elementary school and I saw Gia on the cover of Cosmopolitan and I thought to myself, " I wish I could grow up to look like her." I was completely stunned when I found out years later that Gia, the model I had wanted so desperately to look like, had died in horrifically.
    I bought the book because of that memory, to see if I couldn't learn something about the woman beyond the image on the glossy cover of the magazine and I found myself mourning for a girl who was lost and had no chance of finding her way out the darkness she was mired in.
    The book introduces you to Gia's mother, father, her siblings,and the people she loved most in her life. It was amazing to me that someone so gifted at birth with beauty saw nothing beautiful in herself and spent her life trying to escape the world she created around herself. I got a sense that her mother never realized the damage she did to her daughter by abandoning her children to her ex-husband and she would never accept the responsibility for the pain she inflicted on her daughter. She manipulated her daughter whenever she could. She wanted to live through Gia and in doing so she sucked the joy from her daughter's life.
    Having lived the life of an manipulated, stifled child, I could clearly see where the darkness began to seal around Gia. I think that she would have been able to traverse the pitfalls alot better if she had had a friend or two who had wanted only her best interests to be served and not grab a piece of Gia for themselves.
    She was a fractured young woman in need of stability and it was only offered to her in segments and at a very high cost. The people around her only brokered the bits and pieces they knew about her. Unfortunately, the one left with the tab was Gia, who died young, in anonymity and without any of her dazzling beauty left. What she found in the end was the fragments of a dream that she truly wanted to pursue, but her chance to grasp the shooting star was lost.
    You can never judge a book by its cover and never a person by their physical beauty or lack of it. What makes a person unique is their spirit and the trials and triumphs that they have endured in their lives. Gia didn't have a chance from the start. It didn't matter how beautiful she was, there was no fairy tale ending for her, despite the brilliance of her arrival and short stay in the glittering world of the wealthy and trendy.
    This book is great for those who forget that money and beauty can't buy happiness. Gia's couldn't. This book should be a warning and a legacy. A disturbing read but clearly worthwhile.
    62 people found this helpful
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  • Caitlin Murray
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
    Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Thing of Beauty is a very gripping read. The bright and dark side life of a super model who left us too soon.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • SevG
    5.0 out of 5 stars Une vie de Top Modèle
    Reviewed in France on May 6, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Stephen Fried livre ici un travail précis et romancé, le journaliste qu'il est oblige. Les témoignages ont l'air fidèle, l'auteur ne prenant parti ni pour les uns, ni pour les autres. Gia avait conscience de n'être qu'une vulgaire pièce de boeuf mise en avant derrière une vitrine sale, et comme tout le monde, sa mère en premier lieu, lui assurait qu'elle était vraiment bonne à ça, elle a préféré s'oublier sous des kilos de cocaïne, puis l'effet n'étant pas assez violent, d'héroïne. Placardée sur tous les murs de toutes les capitales, épinglée dans tous les vogues de la planète, défilant sur tous les podiums du monde, représentant la quintessence de la féminité, Gia perdra peu à peu son identité. Elle est considérée comme étant le premier Top Model, (gagnant des millions de dollars en quelques séances photos), le premier mannequin lesbien, et la première femme célèbre à être décédée officiellement des suites du Sida. Attention, livre n'existant qu'en version américaine....
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  • Samantha K Krewulak
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sorrowful and Meaningful
    Reviewed in Canada on July 29, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    The author did an incredible job of covering what Gia Carangi's life was like, who she knew, and how they affected her. More often than not, we discover just how she affected them. It is tragic and dreamy and it helps the average girl understand why modelling can be such an emotionally and mentally tolling job. That is is not just all lights and glamour and adoration... and when your own light goes out, the party keeps going without you. However, some people will be remembered - like Gia.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
    Reviewed in Australia on May 9, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Good book
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  • corky
    5.0 out of 5 stars amazingly sad !!!!!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    I could not wait to have this book and read it . When I got it I could not stop reading it, it was so fascinating and so powerfull and it leaves you with impression thhat this one life could be saved if only people were less gready and less selfish. Its such a shame that so beautiful personality had to die because noone cared really, no mother , no any of the girlfriends , nor photographers Gia was workin with ... sad story of the girl who could not find herself within herself inspite of all this big and wonderful qualities she had ;( and really good brain ! but when you lonely and have no support , no matter how smart you are , u do will die ...
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  • roberta lanzoni
    2.0 out of 5 stars Troppo peso
    Reviewed in Italy on April 2, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Molto pesante ma non perche è in inglese...troppi dettagli tecnici sulla moda dell epoca e davvero poco sulla vita dell attrice.
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