Isabelle Caro Rosenbohm (12 September 1982 – 18 November 2010) was a French

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 An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, who became well known after appearing in a controversial advertising campaign "No Anorexia" which showed Caro with vertebrae and facial bones showing under her skin in a picture by photographer

Oliviero Toscani Oliviero Toscani (born 28 February 1942) is an Italian photographer, best-known worldwide for designing controversial advertising campaigns for Italian brand Benetton, from 1982 to 2000. Toscani was born in Milan, and took up photography foll ...

Biography

Caro had severe

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by underweight, low weight, Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thi ...

from the age of 13. Her anorexia was caused by what she called a "troubled childhood".

I had a very complicated childhood, very difficult, very painful. My mother's big phobia was that I would grow. She spent her time measuring my height. She wouldn't let me go outside because she'd heard that fresh air makes children grow, and that's why I was kept at home. It was completely traumatic.

When she appeared on CBS's '' The Insider'', it was revealed that at the worst of her

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating ...

, she weighed only at a height of ; while at the time of filming her weight was . She appeared on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's '' Supersize vs Superskinny'' which aired on 11 March 2008 in the UK, in which she spoke to journalist Anna Richardson about her anorexia. Caro was hospitalized for the first time when she was 20. At her worst (in terms of weight), in 2006, she slipped into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

, weighing just . The doctor said she would not survive the coma but she did. Caro was also interviewed in the second episode of the TV documentary series, '' The Price of Beauty'', in which

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, ''Swee ...

and her two best friends, Ken Pavés and CaCee Cobb, traveled the world to explore the meaning of true beauty. Simpson investigated the problem of how some female fashion models have become obsessed with being skinny. Caro talked about how she became anorexic and warned other girls about anorexia. Simpson was moved to say "What you are doing right now makes you more beautiful and I hope women all over the world hear about the story and it is important to know that how skinny you are does not make you beautiful." It aired on 22 March 2010 in the US and on 21 August in Japan. Caro also appeared on

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney General ...

's ''

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannic ...

'': Beauty. The show was filmed two months prior to her death.

Death

Caro died on 17 November 2010 in

, after spending about two weeks in hospital with acute

respiratory disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, ...

. The cause of her death is unknown, although it was probably as a result of immunodeficiency due to anorexia. Caro's acting instructor, Daniele Dubreuil-Prevot, told the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

news agency that Caro had died "after returning to France" from a job in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, and that "she had been sick for a very long time" (in reference to her anorexia). Her family only reported Caro's death to the media a month afterward, on 29 December 2010. Caro died in Paris and is buried in the

Cimetière du Montparnasse Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery h ...

. On 18 January 2011, it was reported that Caro's mother, Marie, had killed herself during the previous week.

References

External links

Her personal blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caro, Isabelle 1980 births 2010 deaths French television actresses French female models People from Yvelines Neurological disease deaths in France Deaths from anorexia nervosa Cours Florent alumni

Biography

Death

See also

References

External links