Gia Marie Allemand (December 20, 1983 – August 14, 2013) was an American actress, model, and reality television contestant. She was known for appearing in ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' and competing on two

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

reality shows '' The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love'' and '' Bachelor Pad''.

Career

Modeling and acting

Allemand began modeling early, and as a baby she appeared in

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

ads and as a

Gerber Baby The Gerber Baby is the trademark logo of the Gerber Products Company, an American purveyor of baby food and baby products. Drawn by artist Dorothy Hope Smith, the Gerber Baby was modeled after Ann Turner Cook (1926–2022). History Fremont Canni ...

. As a teenager, Allemand initially never thought about a career in modeling. However, at 19 she began modeling after she was asked to enter a

swimsuit competition A swimsuit competition, more commonly now called a bikini contest, is a beauty contest which is judged and ranked while contestants wear a swimsuit, typically a bikini. One of the judging criteria is the physical attractiveness of the contestants. ...

that she won. Allemand finished second in the

Miss Hawaiian Tropic Hawaiian Tropic is an American brand of suntan lotion. Hawaiian Tropic was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. Rice became the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States, until Hawaiian Tropic was acquired by Playtex Produ ...

competition and the Miss Red Hot Taj Mahal Super Bowl contest in 2005. She is best known for appearing as a swimsuit model in ''Maxim'' in 2007. In 2008, she was named Miss Bikini-USA's Model of the Year. The following year Allemand placed first in the bikini short class of the NPC Arnold Amateur Championships. In addition to modeling, Allemand worked for the modeling and creative-fields consultancy Dream It Make It. Allemand said in an interview that she has always had a passion for acting and performing. She was a former professional ballet dancer, but her dancing career was shortened after she injured her hamstring and

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

. Nevertheless, Allemand took acting classes in high school and at Hartford College. In 2010, she was selected to play a role in an upcoming film produced by

Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', '' Red Dragon'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and ''Tower Heist''. He is also a producer of several films ...

on the life of actor

Gianni Russo Gianni Vito Russo is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 film '' The Godfather''. Life and career Russo was born in Manhattan in 1943 and raised in Little Italy and Staten Island. After repri ...

. She was cast to play the supporting role of actress

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

. Russo cast her for the role saying, "Gia looks a lot like Ava, but it's really the passion that she had that convinced me to cast her."

Television

Allemand's work in television began when she was selected as a cast member on ABC's reality show ''The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love'', season 14 of '' The Bachelor'' series, which first aired on January 4, 2010. The show placed her with 24 other women all contending for the affection of pilot

Jake Pavelka Jacob Lynn "Jake" Pavelka (born January 27, 1978) is an American television personality, pilot, actor, and model who appeared on six reality TV programs, most notably '' The Bachelor''. He is also the CEO of the company "Rhino Removal". Early ...

. She was the second to the last contestant eliminated by Pavelka. On February 18, 2010, Allemand appeared on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

'', where she discussed her life after being on ''The Bachelor''. Afterwards, Allemand joined the cast of ABC's ''Bachelor'' spinoff, '' Bachelor Pad''. The show premiered August 9, 2010, on ABC. Allemand cited an existing relationship as the reason she refused to participate in the show's "kissing contest" game which led to her elimination in the third episode. Before appearing on ''Bachelor Pad'' Allemand was featured in a special edition of ABC's ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'': ''Inside the Bachelor: Stories Behind the Rose''. Allemand appeared in the episodic short film ''Ghost Trek: The Kinsey Report'', a horror-comedy about a paranormal reality show, in which Allemand plays the role of producer Shawna Leibowitz.

Personal life

Gia Marie Allemand was born to Eugene and Donna Allemand in the

Howard Beach Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by 1 ...

neighborhood of

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, and grew up in the borough of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

and nearby in suburban

Manorville, New York Manorville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 14,314 at the 2010 census. Manorville is mostly in the Town of Brookhaven, but its northeast corner is in the Town of Rive ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, where she graduated from

Lindenhurst High School Lindenhurst Senior High School (LHS) is a public high school in Lindenhurst, New York on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. The high school is the sole high school of the Lindenhurst Union Free School District, which include ...

in 2001. Allemand's parents separated in 1992, later divorcing; Donna Allemand married Tony Micheletti, whom she described as closer to Gia than was Gia's biological father. Allemand had

premenstrual dysphoric disorder Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a mood disorder characterized by emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms that cause significant distress or impairment in menstruating women during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The symptoms ...

(PMDD). In 2013, she was living in New Orleans and dating

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player Ryan Anderson, who was playing for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

Death

Allemand died on August 14, 2013, at the age of 29, and her death was confirmed to be a suicide. She had

attempted suicide A suicide attempt is an attempt to die by suicide that results in survival. It may be referred to as a "failed" or "unsuccessful" suicide attempt, though these terms are discouraged by mental health professionals for implying that a suicide resu ...

two days before. Her longtime publicist, Penelope Jean Hayes, was interviewed by

Phil McGraw Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), better known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased rene ...

on '' Dr. Phil'' on the topic of Allemand's suicide and the pressures of celebrity, image, and finding love and happiness. Allemand's death was noted during a 2014 episode of '' The Bachelor''.

References

External links

*
Gia Allemand
at Bodybuilding.com
Gia Allemand Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allemand, Gia 1983 births 2013 deaths 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City Female models from New York (state) American film actresses Suicides by hanging in Louisiana University of Hartford alumni People from Howard Beach, Queens American ballerinas Bachelor Nation contestants 2013 suicides Female suicides