In the 1980s, Carré Otis was a supermodel appearing on the covers of top fashion magazines, walking in runway shows, and posing for big brands in ad campaigns. She also acted in a few movies, including with her famous ex-husband. Now, Otis is still involved in the modeling world but in a much different way. The now-53-year-old has alleged that she suffered abuse during her time as a teenager and young woman in the fashion industry and, in recent years, she's spoken out about her own story and supported other survivors. Read on to find out more about Otis' life and work today.
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She's a model and an actor.
Catherine McGann/Getty ImagesOtis came to fame in the '80s and continued modeling for years to come. She appeared on magazines covers, including Vogue, Glamour, and Elle, and modeled for brands, including Guess, Calvin Klein, and Revlon, according to her Model Alliance bio.
Otis has also acted in a few movies. In 1989, she starred in Wild Orchid with her now-ex-husband Mickey Rourke. She was also in the movies Exit in Red (1996), Simon Says (2000), and Under Heavy Fire (2001).
She's part of the #MeToo movement.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesOtis has spoken out about suffering sexual abuse while in the modeling industry. In 2021, she sued Gérald Marie, a former Elite Model Management executive, who has also been accused of assault by several other women. As reported by The New York Times, Marie denied the claims against him "categorically."
Otis wrote about the her time as a model in her memoir and in a 2017 piece for HuffPost titled "The Modeling Industry’s #MeToo Moment Is Long Overdue." She is on the board of directors for Model Alliance, which "aim[s] to promote fair treatment, equal opportunity, and more sustainable practices in the fashion industry, from the runway to the factory floor." Her bio on the organization's website reads, "Now a wife and busy mother of two she’s found a new voice as a passionate advocate for young women in and out of the modeling industry."
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She wrote a scathing memoir.
AURELIA MOUSSLY/AFPTV/AFP via Getty ImagesOtis published her book, Beauty, Disrupted: A Memoir, in 2011. The book covers her experience with anorexia, her volatile marriage to Rourke, and her career.
"It's an intense book and I made a decision to put it all down," she told HuffPost in 2011. "I feel like it's my responsibility to honestly cover a lot of subjects in part because I have two little girls and I really want them when they grow up to have a voice. I wanted to share my spiritual journey and where I am today."
She's a mom of two.
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty ImagesSince 2005, Otis has been married to her second husband, Matthew Sutton, an environmental scientist. The couple have two children, teenagers Kaya and Jade Sutton. Otis sometimes shares details of her family life on her Instagram account, including birthday posts for her kids and a post about a date night with her husband.
She's embraced aging and processing her traumatic experiences.
Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesOtis often posts photos from her modeling days on her Instagram, but the posts aren't just about the pictures themselves. She usually includes lengthy and reflective captions. For instance, on a post in May, she wrote, in part, "We all have identities wrapped up in this sense of self. Often stories. That no longer identify us. No longer serve us. I have been many ideations of myself. And as I am stripped raw to the core, now at 53, I realize I am ONLY just coming into my true, authentic nature. Through sacrifice, hardship, suffering, experience, only now am I able to give myself permission to take up space. Flawed. Older. Loved. A lover of life."
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