Carré Brennan Otis (born September 28, 1968) is an American

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and actress.

Early life

Carré Otis was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and raised in Marin County, California, along with her older sister Chrisse and her younger brother Jordan. She attended Marin Academy in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...

, and the

John Woolman School John Woolman School (JWS) was a private boarding Quaker high school founded in 1963 in Nevada City, California. It operated full-time until 2001, when it closed because of financial difficulties. Since then, the facility has been adapted for use ...

Nevada City, California Nevada City (originally, ''Ustumah'', a Nisenan village; later, Nevada, Deer Creek Dry Diggins, and Caldwell's Upper Store) is the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, southwest of Reno and northea ...

.John Monahan
"Supermodel Carre Otis"
''Better Nutrition'' May 2002, Vol. 64, No. 5, p. 36

Career

Early modeling

Otis ran away from home at 16. A year later, while living with an abusive boyfriend in San Francisco, Otis was scouted, by

Look Model Agency Look Model Agency is a modelling agency based in San Francisco, founded in 1986 by Marie-Christine and George Kollock, it has been at the forefront of the modelling world on the West Coast since inception. In 2015, Cyril Kollock took over directio ...

and was initially signed to

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

in New York by

John Casablancas John Casablancas (December 12, 1942 – July 20, 2013) was an American modeling agent and scout who founded Elite Model Management. Casablancas is remembered for his development of the supermodel concept. He is the father of The Strokes front ...

. She first achieved fame after being sent to Elite in Paris, when she appeared on the cover of French ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' in April 1986. Over the next several years, she appeared on covers in the American and foreign editions of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', '' Harper's Bazaar'', ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'', '' Allure'', ''

Mirabella ''Mirabella'' was a women's magazine published from June 1989 to April 2000. It was created by and named for Grace Mirabella, a former ''Vogue'' editor in chief, in partnership with Rupert Murdoch. It was originally published by News Corporati ...

'', and '' Marie Claire''. In 1991, Bruce Weber photographed Carré Otis, in San Francisco, California. Otis appeared in ads for Guess jeans (1988), Calvin Klein jeans (1991), the 1996 Pirelli calendar, and also posed for the ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' swimsuit edition (2000). Otis is the model on the poster above the character Rusty Griswald's bed in the 1989 film ''

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is a 1989 American Christmas comedy film and the third installment in ''National Lampoon'' magazine's ''Vacation'' film series. ''Christmas Vacation'' was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, written and co ...

''. Otis was also featured in 1990 and 2000 issues of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' magazine. Otis has walked the runway for

Max Mara Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2, ...

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmet ...

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...

, Ermanno Scervino,

Todd Oldham Todd Oldham (born Jacky Todd Oldham; October 22, 1961) is an American-born designer and president of L-7 Designs Inc and Todd Oldham Studios. His approach to fashion and style has become known to millions through his fashion lines, interior desig ...

and

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

Acting

In 1989, Otis made her acting debut in the film '' Wild Orchid'' opposite future husband

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...

. Stills from the film's climactic sex scene were sold to ''Playboy'', and were the subject of a lawsuit filed by Otis. Otis would later appear in another Rourke film, ''

Exit in Red ''Exit in Red'' is a 1996 American thriller drama film directed by Yurek Bogayevicz and starring Mickey Rourke, Annabel Schofield, Carré Otis, and Anthony Michael Hall Michael Anthony Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Ant ...

''.

Later modeling

After the end of her marriage to Rourke, Otis gradually resumed modeling. In 2000, she became one of the oldest models to appear in the ''

'' swimsuit issue, although Christie Brinkley at 34 and Cheryl Tiegs at 42 were featured prominently in the 25th Anniversary edition of ''Sports Illustrated'', released in 1989. Shortly thereafter, Otis began recovering from

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gr ...

. As part of her recovery, she experienced a weight gain that offered her the opportunity to work as a plus-size model, most notably as the face for Marina Rinaldi and editorials for ''Mode'' Magazine; in 2003, Otis became a spokesperson for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. She also appeared periodically as a correspondent on Channel 4 News in San Francisco. In August 2003, Otis posed for a PETA ad campaign promoting vegetarianism and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

. In 2005, she represented the Breil jewelry line. She is on the advisory board of the Model Alliance and an ambassador for the National Eating Disorders Association.

Works

''Beauty, Disrupted: A Memoir'' (2011) is an autobiographical book by Otis and Hugo Schwyzer.Carré Otis Talks Mickey Rourke And Orgasms In 'Beauty Disrupted'
Huffington PostAndersoncooper.co
Carré Otis: Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Otis tells the story of her life and modelling career. She details abuses she suffered, including being raped "countless" times as a young girl by Gérald Marie, the head of

s Paris office. During her marriage to actor

, she claims he was abusive, and even threatened to kill himself if she didn't marry him.

Personal life

Otis developed three holes in her heart during her modeling career. Otis is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

. From June 1992 to December 1998, Otis was married to '' Wild Orchid'' co-star

. In 1994, Rourke was arrested for spousal abuse. The charges were later dropped. In 2005, She married chemical engineer Matthew Sutton, they have two children."Carré Otis"
Catwalk Yourself. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Carre 1968 births Living people American female models American television actresses American film actresses American Buddhists Actresses from San Francisco Plus-size models Actors from San Rafael, California American memoirists American women memoirists 21st-century American women