The difficult fate of the “wild orchid” Carrie Otis

Typically, the fates of celebrities unfold according to two scenarios. Some achieve success and do not leave the starry Olympus for decades, while others, flashing brightly, disappear. Model and film actress Carrie Otis falls into the second category. Her life had dizzying ups and crushing downs, but in the end the celebrity lost everything and, after forty, started life from scratch.

Carrie Otis was born on September 28, 1968 in San Francisco, California. Her parents were alcoholics and hardly cared for their children, of whom there were three in the family. Therefore, it is not surprising that by the age of 14, Carrie had earned a reputation as a difficult teenager, and at 16 she ran away from home. Otis was sure that as soon as she left her father's house, her life would improve. But it was not there. The girl got involved with a bad guy from San Francisco who drank and periodically beat her.

It is unknown what Carrie’s fate would have been like if she had not met a scout from the Look Model Agency. Soon she was offered her first contract with Elite Model Management. The hopeless life was left behind - the podiums of Paris, Milan and New York awaited the girl.

Carrie Otis's career developed rapidly. A couple of years later she became one of the most sought-after models. In 1986, she appeared on the cover of Elle, and in 1988 she posed with Linda Evangelista for Vogue. The model has entered into many contracts with fashion houses and famous brands. Among them are Guess, Calvin Klein, Max Mara, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci.

But success also had a downside. At the age of 17, she faced harassment from Gerald Marie, the head of the Elite agency. He was a good guy - at the same time he courted Linda Evangelista, who later became his wife. The story came to light many years later, during the #metoo era.

Due to constant stress, by the age of 18, the girl was heavily addicted to drugs. She said this about Gerald Marie:

In 1989, a significant event occurred in the life of Carrie Otis. It was her first time being invited to act in a movie. It was not just a film, but an erotic melodrama “Wild Orchid”. The model's partner in the frame was the mega-popular actor Mickey Rourke. A romance quickly developed between Otis and Rourke, which added to the popularity of their joint film work. There were even rumors that the sex scenes in the film were not staged.

In 1992, Mickey and Carrie got married. But the husband from Rourke turned out to be completely useless - he drank, took drugs and beat his wife in a frenzy. Once the actor was even arrested and banned from appearing at his wife’s shows. The relationship with the actor almost cost Otis her life. One day, Mickey put a loaded gun in her bag. Carrie didn't know about it and threw it on the floor. The weapon fired and the bullet hit the woman. Carrie was very lucky because it came within inches of her heart and came out over her shoulder.

The marriage to Rourke broke up, after which Otis fell into depression. She had many problems, ranging from lack of contracts and drug problems to anorexia. The model suffered several heart attacks and even tried to take her own life.

In 2005, Otis met her true love. She turned out to be environmental scientist Matthew Sutton, who became her second husband. The couple had two daughters: Jade and Kaya. Life gradually got better and Carrie began to think about restoring her career. But she left the podium 20 years ago and there was no turning back.

In addition, anorexia was replaced by excess weight, which the former model struggled with intensely and not very successfully. Carrie Otis managed to sign a contract with the Marina Rinaldi brand, offering Plus Size clothing. In 2011, the woman wrote an autobiographical book in which she frankly spoke about her work in the modeling business.

In 2023, the 54-year-old model signed a new contract. She was invited to appear in an advertisement for a well-known cosmetics company. It is absolutely clear that Otis can no longer dream of her former popularity. But she's not too bothered by it. Carrie believes that the role of a wife and mother is much more attractive. The former model also found herself in public life. Not long ago, she founded the Bare Mama Project organization, which protects young models from the arbitrariness of employers.