• LGBT+ community mourns the loss of transgender advocate and actress Cecilia Gentili at age 52
• Gentili was remembered for her advocacy, acting, and efforts to fight for the rights of undocumented immigrants, sex workers, and LGBT people
• Gentili turned to creating art later in life, including publishing a book and starring in a one-woman show
Here is what happened:
The recent passing of transgender advocate and actress Cecilia Gentili has left the LGBTQ community in mourning. She died at the age of 52 on Feb. 6, as confirmed in a statement posted on her Instagram page. The post asked for privacy, time, and space to grieve, and was met with an outpouring of love from fans, friends, and loved ones. U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed her condolences, writing, “Our community will never be the same without you, Cecilia. Thank you for giving us so much, relentlessly, every single day.”
Cecilia’s former costars from the show “Pose” also remembered her, both on and off screen. Angelica Ross described her as a fierce advocate, while Dominique Jackson honored her as an activist, icon, trailblazer, mother, wife, actress, comedian, sister, and a phenomenal human being. A native of Argentina, Cecilia spent much of her life in New York fighting for the rights of undocumented immigrants, sex workers, and the LGBTQ community. After coming out in 1984, she sought asylum in New York in 2012.
In her later years, Cecilia turned to creating art, publishing a book entitled “Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t A Rapist” in 2022 and starring in her one-woman show “Red Ink” the following year. The play, which debuted at New York’s Rattlestick Theater, documented her early life and struggles with religion. In an interview with Interview magazine, Cecilia expressed her happiness at the success of her off-Broadway show, stating, “I’m really, really happy. I cannot lie.”
