A brutal marriage to Mickey Rourke and anorexia: how model Carrie Otis lost her beauty and her career

From highs to lows, as is often the case, it was within reach.

In her youth, Carrie was a rebel. She was only 16 when she ran away from home. However, there was something to run away from. The future star of catwalks and fashion magazines was born in a dysfunctional family, her parents were alcoholics. Carrie wanted to escape the oppressive atmosphere, but, as they say, she got out of the fire and into the frying pan – she came into contact with a bad guy in San Francisco. They began to live together, but Carrie’s chosen one did not differ in refined manners and gentlemanly habits – he was a typical mugger.

In general, the old hopeless life again dragged Otis, and who knows how her life would have turned out if one day she had not met a scout from the Look Model Agency. Soon she had already signed a contract with the legendary Elite Model Management. Now a completely different world was waiting for him – Paris was waiting for him.

During the late 1980s, Carrie became one of the most sought after and visible models. In 1986 she appeared for the first time on the cover of French Elle, in 1988 she already posed for Vogue with Linda Evangelista (the shooting, however, was not easy for Otis – more details below ). And there were countless advertising deals – Otis was the face of Guess and Calvin Klein campaigns, walked the catwalks of Max Mara, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and other famous brands.

But the brighter the spotlights shone, the more Carrie plunged into darkness. At the age of 18, she had a drug addiction. A year earlier, she had been harassed by Elite agency executive Gerald Marie. The scandal around the man’s name will come much later in the #metoo era, but for now Otis has been left alone with his fear and shame.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that Marie was already in a relationship with Linda Evangelista, whom he soon married.

“I constantly compared myself to her and was so ashamed of what happened when she was out of town and I had absolutely no idea what he was doing. I was underage – victim of abuse – and yet I completely blamed myself for everything Marie had done to me.”Otis later called back.

Carrie simply didn’t see a way out of the situation – she depended on her abuser for everything.

“Marie had power in all aspects of my life: he provided me with a roof over my head, he bought me clothes, he paid for my subway ticket. I had no money of my own, but my passport remained at the agency. I was completely at the mercy of the abuser.”— the model added in her memoirs.

In 1989, another fateful event happened in the life of Otis – she made her film debut. She got the main role in the erotic melodrama Wild Orchid, where Mickey Rourke became her partner.

An affair began between them, which only contributed to the interest in the film (however, rumors also contributed that the sex scenes between them were not staged at all) .

In 1992, Mickey and Carrie got married, but the perfect marriage didn’t work out. Soon the actor was arrested for abusing his wife and was even banned from appearing at her shows. Later, however, the charges were dropped. But the marriage to the movie star nearly ended tragically for Otis. Rourke once hid a gun in his bag. Unaware of this, Carrie threw the bag on the floor – the gun went off. The bullet passed within inches of the model’s heart and exited over her shoulder.

Later, both recalled that they had met at the most inopportune moment. Rourke admitted he was deeply in love with Otis, but at the time they were both “crazy”. Carrie noted, “We both had a tendency for drama.”

But Otis’s life and without her once again rolled downhill. The model suffered from anorexia, which ultimately ended her career on the catwalk; Otis has not been invited to the cinema for almost 10 years. She started having serious health issues brought on by an eating disorder and addictions. Otis even suffered multiple heart attacks and repeatedly attempted suicide.

In 2005, Otis married environmental scientist Matthew Sutton and had two daughters, Jade and Kaia, with him.

The modeling career was interrupted for almost 20 years. After overcoming anorexia, she faced a new problem – she gained weight, so new job offers did not please her like a cornucopia. For several years, Otis collaborated with the Marina Rinaldi brand, which offered large sizes, but, of course, all this could not compare with its former popularity and demand.

In 2011, Carrie remembered herself by publishing an autobiographical book in which she spoke about all that she had to endure in the modeling business.

“I feel compelled to be honest about a lot of things, partly because I have two daughters growing up, and I really want them to have a voice when they grow up.”Carrie said.

In 2023, at the age of 54, Otis received her first major modeling contract in a long time – she starred in an advertisement for a cosmetics brand.

However, Carrie is clearly not looking to revive her career. Life as a wife and mother is now more important and interesting for her. Additionally, Otis founded the Bare Mama Project, which works with modeling agencies to ensure young models get the help and protection they need in the industry. After going through her difficult path, Carrie clearly doesn’t want anyone to repeat it.

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