Venus Xtravaganza (May 22, 1965 – December 21, 1988) was an American transgender performer. She came to national attention after being featured in Jennie Livingston's 1990documentary filmParis Is Burning, about New York City ball culture including vogue dancing; her life as a trans woman and eventual murder form a story arc within the film. Xtravaganza was featured on the original 1990 theatrical release poster for the film.
Early life
Born to an Italian American and Puerto Rican family, she took the name Venus in her early teens. As is the tradition of the gay ball culture, she adopted the name Xtravaganza upon becoming a member of the House of Xtravaganza in 1983. The house, like similar houses, is named in the style of European fashion houses (e.g., House of Chanel) and is an affiliation of young drag queens, transgender and gay youth who have come together around the underground Harlemdrag ball scene.
Career
In Paris Is Burning, she notes the racial and socioeconomic barriers faced by many in the ball scene, saying she dreamed of being "a spoiled, rich, white girl living in the suburbs" in order to gain access to the lifestyle she envisioned for herself. In one of her interviews, she describes the transphobia she experienced during her time as a sex worker, one time having to flee for her life by escaping through a window, after a client had become enraged upon discovering she was not a cisgender woman. On sex work, she observed: "If you're a married woman living in the suburbs, a regular woman, married to her husband... and she wants him to buy her a washer and dryer set, in order for him to buy that I'm sure she'd have to go to bed with him anyway – for him to get what he wants, for her to get what she wants. So in the long run, it all ends up the same way." At the time the documentary was filmed, she was an aspiring model. She was saving money for sex reassignment surgery.
Featuring a host of ballroom legends (Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Venus Xtravaganza, and more), it reveals stories of both triumph and tragedy while amplifying the experience of queer joy; it would ...
She then reminds her viewers, “Let’s not forget to be demure, divas.” ... Demure ... TikTok creators Devin Halbal and Selyna, and the late “Paris is Burning” star drag queen Venus Xtravaganza, “who paved the way for a girl like me to thrive.” ... .
From the brilliant mind of Lebron, basically ... “You see how I do my make-up for work? Very demure. Very mindful ... Lebron has mentioned taking inspiration from “demure divas who have come before” her, such as Paris Is Burning star Venus Xtravaganza ... .
From the brilliant mind of Lebron, basically ... “You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful ... Lebron has mentioned taking inspiration from “demure divas who have come before” her, such as Paris Is Burning star Venus Xtravaganza ... .
Lebron also made a video in which she says it’s demure to pay homage to those who came before you—name-dropping ballroom stars like Venus Xtravaganza, a transgender performer featured in ...
Amazon PrimeVideo... Contents ... Some people would rather chill at home and watch movies with their friends ... Related ... Dorian Corey, Pepper LaBeija, and Venus Xtravaganza remain iconic to this day and the movie is filled with hilariously quotable dialogue.
A documentary about Jersey City native Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza, an iconic transgender member of the early New York City ballroom scene, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival Thursday and will have two more screenings at the festival ....
A moving and timely documentary following the unsolved murder of Venus Xtravaganza, star of the legendary Paris Is Burning as Venus’ two families — biological and ballroom — come together to seek answers and celebrate her legacy.
He was 29 ... 21 ... Prolific drag queens, trans women, and voguers like Venus Xtravaganza, Pepper Labeija, and Willi Ninja were interviewed for “Paris Is Burning,” although the film faced controversy when its subjects initially received little compensation.
I became an Xtravaganza during the time when I first came out ... Jose Xtravaganza. ... People adopted the “shade” and the “reading” and would quote Venus [Xtravaganza], Pepper [LaBeija], Junior [LaBeija], and Dorian [Corey] ... Jose Xtravaganza..
Relaxed on a bed before a window overlooking her overgrown Jersey City backyard, Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza shared stories of the community she had found in New York City’s underground ballroom scene and dreams of a glamorous future.
recently declared an old house a historic landmark—one formerly lived in by ballroom legend Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza ... “Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza’s story is our story.” ... More than just Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza.
SCNOW Morning News
25 Sep 2023
SCNOW Morning News
25 Sep 2023