NY NY - Venus Xtravaganza, 23, New York City, 21 Dec 1988

[David_Lohr]

Venus Xtravaganza was born Thomas Pellagatti in New Jersey on May 22, 1965. She reportedly joined the House of Xtravaganza in 1983 and appeared in the documentary film Paris Is Burning.

Few details appear to be available online about her death. Venus was supposedly found stuffed under a bed in a New York City hotel room on or about December 25, 1988. It is believed she died as a result of strangulation on December 21, 1988.

According to a relative, the killer was never caught. It remains unclear if a suspect or person of interest was named.

I am seeking additional information about Venus' murder.

 

[David_Lohr]

As an FYI, I have filed a records request with the NYPD. However, that agency typically takes a significant amount of time to respond.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Bump

 

[dotr]

"Paris is Burning" was shown on tv the other day and i was so moved by it and in particular, Venus. It broke my heart that this sweet soul was murdered and her body found on Christmas day.
Was this a one off for the killer, does he have any other victims, did they find his dna?

The Transit of Venus: Paris Is Burning Returns - SF Weekly
''About 20 minutes into the film, there she was: Venus Xtravaganza.
Even dressed at her most casual, she was graceful and utterly feminine, because she was utterly herself. Venus participated in the drag balls because the House of Xtravaganza was her chosen family, but at the end of the day she was a woman''.

 

[sans_soleil]

She touched so many people's hearts through that documentary (a classic in the lgbt community). I strongly recommend the documentary to anyone, it really offers an insight to ballroom culture, LGBT youth, trans women in the community. It's wonderful. There are two other trans women in the doc that appeared on the beach (Brooke and Carmen Xtravaganza), a lot of people were wondering what happened to them, and I am happy to report according to posts online they both seem to be doing fine according to reports over the years. Many others have passed since the doc was released.

 

[DS2021]

Bump

 

[dotr]

• Updated: Jun. 07, 2023
• Venus was here. Jersey City pays tribute to trans icon by marking childhood home as historic landmark
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• Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza home to become historic landmark
• She was murdered at the age of 23, a fact that is only revealed at the end of “Paris is Burning,” a film that otherwise brims with life.
  
  No one was ever arrested for her murder.
  
  Now, after generations have seen Venus’ impact, members of the New York ballroom scene and her family are finding new ways to honor her. In addition to the historical landmark, there is a documentary in the works, though those involved are tight-lipped about what it will focus on and where it may be released.''

“LGBTQ people live in our cities and towns, but we often are invisible,” Livingston said. “There are virtually no statues of us. Historically, there aren’t so many records of us, of our own chosen families, our ways of expressing ourselves, of our relationships to our families of origin, to our accomplishments.”

 

[sds71]

I'm Your Venus | 2024 Tribeca Festival | Tribeca

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.

tribecafilm.com

 

[dotr]

"Jun 6, 2024
Filmmaker Kimberly Reed speaks exclusively with The Queer Review's editor James Kleinmann about her powerful and profoundly moving new feature I'm Your Venus which receives its world premiere at Tribeca Festival 2024. @tribeca Venus Xtravaganza emerged as a global trans icon after being featured in Jennie Livingston's groundbreaking 1991 documentary Paris Is Burning. Venus was murdered before that film’s release, and I’M YOUR VENUS picks up the story of a trail gone cold as her two families - biological and ballroom - come together to seek answers and celebrate her legacy.Kimberly Reed's film DARK MONEY was an award-winning selection at the Sundance Film Festival, was promptly named one of Vogue's "66 Best Documentaries of All Time," shortlisted for an Oscar, nominated as Best Documentary of the Year by IDA and for four Critics’ Choice Awards, and won the prestigious duPont Columbia Prize for Broadcast Journalism.''