A model who gained fame on social media for her resemblance to reality TV star Kim Kardashian died last month after a cosmetic procedure at a Burlingame hotel room — one that, authorities say, was overseen by a Florida woman who wasn’t licensed for the job.
Christina Ashten Gourkani, 34, died on April 20 after receiving illicit injections of a still-unknown substance, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
A day after her death, authorities arrested Vivian Gomez, 50, at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport in Florida’s Broward County, police records show. Gomez, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., faces felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without certification, and is set to be extradited to San Mateo County ahead of her May 22 arraignment, Wagstaffe said.
A self-professed “big fan” of Kardashian who spoke openly about a passion for plastic surgery, Gourkani had a significant social-media following for her Kardashian-like looks and exaggerated physique. She had nearly 140,000 Instagram followers and more than 200,000 Twitter followers.
Nearly a month after his daughter’s death, Michael Gourkani told this news organization that he remains “paralyzed” at how her life ended just hours after the hotel-room procedure.
“It happened so quick, so fast,” he said. “It’s just horrible. I cannot explain it.”
A San Jose-area resident, Christina Gourkani dabbled in plastic surgery before taking a job with a Walnut Creek-based cosmetic surgeon a few years ago, when a spot at the clinician’s practice opened up, Michael Gourkani said. While Christina Gourkani had long naturally resembled Kardashian, she sought to amplify those similarities while working for the Walnut Creek clinician.
She relished the fame that came with looking like the reality TV celebrity. Her father described one trip to Las Vegas where people repeatedly stopped her for autographs, thinking she was the Southern California socialite.
“I’m not sure if it was a blessing or a curse,” said Michael Gourkani, of his daughter’s growing resemblance to Kardashian.
“She was very generous with her life, and she had such a fantastic look about her, and Kim Kardashian was almost identical,” Michael Gourkani said. “I don’t know whether that was good or bad – I think that was a huge influence on her trying to play the part, because she really liked the image and the lifestyle that Kardashian had.”
For her part, Christina Gourkani spoke openly on social media about her affinity for cosmetic procedures — ultimately making them a part of her online brand.
“Some of us fill our bodies with drugs, some of us with alcohol, some with unhealthy foods, some with stress, others with toxic abusive relationships,” she tweeted Dec. 15. “I fill my body with some plastic and a lot of love.”
Michael Gourkani said he knew little about Gomez, or why his daughter allegedly sought a procedure from her. He described his daughter as someone who was “was very calculated — she would not take a gamble, or a risk.”
Wagstaffe told the Bay Area News Group that Gourkani was told that the injections were silicone, but it was unknown if the substance injected in the illicit operation was actually silicone or something else entirely. Prosecutors were still waiting for the coroner’s full report and toxicology results as of Tuesday.
Nearly a month after his daughter’s death, Michael Gourkani said he was still trying to make sense of it. He pleaded for other people considering cosmetic surgery to only rely on licensed professionals.
“She is already in heaven, she is gone,” said Michael Gourkani, of his daughter. “The only thing that marks sense for us is not to have another human being get to be drawn into similar situations. At least, at the bare minimum, go with someone who is reputable, very well known. Somebody who knows what they are doing.”
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