American performer and dancer
Venus Xtravaganza |
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| Born | May 22, 1965
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| Died | December 21, 1988(1988-12-21) (aged 23)
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| Cause of death | Strangulation (murder) |
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| Occupation | Performer |
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| Years active | 1978 or 1979 – 1988 |
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| Notable work | Paris Is Burning |
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Venus Xtravaganza (May 22, 1965 – December 21, 1988)[1] was an American transgender performer.[2] She came to national attention after her appearance in Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary film Paris Is Burning, in which her life as a trans woman forms one of the film's several story arcs.
Early life
Xtravaganza was born on May 22, 1965, in Jersey City, New Jersey.[3] Her parents were of Italian-American and Puerto Rican descent.[4] She had four brothers.[5] Xtravaganza took the name Venus in her early teens.
Career
Xtravaganza states in Paris Is Burning that she began cross-dressing and performing at age 13 or 14, placing her earliest performances around 1978 or 1979.[1][6] Eventually, her family caught on to her lifestyle, and because she did not "want to embarrass them, ... [she] moved away."[6] She relocated to New York City in order to be able to perform freely. Her ball career began in 1983 when House of Xtravaganza founder Hector Valle invited her to join the house.[1] She stated that he "was the first gay man I ever met."[6]
On her 15th birthday, Valle took her to Greenwich Village, threw her a party, and bought her a cake.[6] After Valle died from AIDS-related complications in 1985, Angie Xtravaganza assumed the role of house mother, and she took on Venus Xtravaganza as her mentee and drag daughter. At the time of filming Paris Is Burning, Xtravaganza was an aspiring model. She said, "I [want] my sex change to make myself feel complete."[6]
Death
On Christmas Day in 1988, Xtravaganza was found strangled under a bed at the Duchess Hotel in New York.[2] It was estimated that her body had been there for four days before discovery. Shooting for Paris Is Burning was ongoing, and the film's final minutes include Angie Xtravaganza reacting to her death. Angie Xtravaganza said she felt that Venus was one to take too many chances, that she "was too wild with people in the streets", and that she feared "something [was] going to happen to [her]."[6] Angie Xtravaganza was the first person detectives approached with the news of Xtravaganza's death, and it was she who broke the news to the latter's biological parents.[6]
In Paris Is Burning, Xtravaganza describes a time she narrowly escaped an attack by a man who discovered she was transgender during an intimate encounter, and it is possible her murder occurred during a similar situation. Her killer was never found.[5] She is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, New Jersey.
