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 and was initially signed to
Elite Model Management in New York by
John Casablancas. She first achieved fame after being sent to
Elite in Paris, when she appeared on the cover of French
Elle in April 1986. Over the next several years, she appeared on covers in the American and foreign editions of
Vogue, ''
Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Allure, Mirabella, and Marie Claire''. In 1991,
Bruce Weber photographed 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 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. Otis was also featured in 1990 and 2000 issues of Playboy'' magazine. Otis has walked the runway for
Max Mara,
Dolce & Gabbana,
Gucci,
Ermanno Scervino,
Todd Oldham and
Donna Karan.
Acting In 1989, Otis made her acting debut in the film
Wild Orchid opposite future husband
Mickey Rourke. 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.
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
Sports Illustrated 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. 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 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 ==