Venus Xtravaganza (May 5, 1965 – December 21, 1988)[1] was an American transgender woman.[2] She came to national attention after her appearance in Jennie Livingston's 1990documentary filmParis Is Burning, in which her life as a ballroom family member and performer forms one of the film's several story arcs.
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 moved in with her grandmother at 343.5 8th Street in Jersey City, NJ in order to be pursue her true identity. 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]
On December 21 1988, Xtravaganza was found strangled under a bed at the Fulton Hotel at 264 West 46th Street in New York. It was estimated that her body had been there for three or 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 family.[6]
InParis 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 CemeteryinNorth Arlington, New Jersey.
In the fall of 2013, a New York City theatre group presented a murder mystery play centered around a fictionalized account of Xtravaganza's murder. Members of the House of Xtravanganza stated in a press release on Facebook that they were not involved in the show's production and withheld their endorsement. In a later press release, they condemned the work as "inappropriate, opportunistic, and disrespectful to Venus' legacy."[7] Xtravaganza's biological family also expressed displeasure with the play.[5]
In the reality television competition program RuPaul's Drag Race, contestants and judges frequently allude to lines from Paris Is Burning, many of them Xtravaganza's. A notable example occurs in the second episode of the fourth season, when competitor Willam Belli refers to the opposing team in a challenge as "a bunch of overgrown orangutans", a read (insult) Xtravaganza used in the documentary.[8]
The House of Xtravaganza remains active in the ball circuit, nightlife, and LGBTQ activism. It is one of the oldest active houses in New York City.
In the documentary film How Do I Look, an award in her name was given to Jazmine Givenchy. The text of the award reads: "THE VENUS XTRAVAGANZA LEGENDS AWARD Presented To JAZMINE GIVENCHY Celebrating Black History And Culture Through The Rich Traditions Of The BALLROOM/HOUSE COMMUNITY". February 20, 2004.[9]
On March 31, 2023 (also Trans Day of Visibility), the City of Jersey City, NJ designated the Pellagatti family home at 343.5 Eighth Street[10] as a historic landmark.[11][12]
On June 6, 2024 the film "I'm Your Venus" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. A moving and timely documentary, the film follows Venus' two families, biological and ballroom, as they come together to seek answers and celebrate her legacy.
