Miriam Rivera: Trans ‘There’s Something About Miriam’ star dies
Miriam Rivera fronted controversial TV show There’s Something About Miriam
Transgender TV personality Miriam Rivera has died aged 38, under what her husband alleges are suspicious circumstances.
The Mexican-born star, who became one of the first transgender people on mainstream British TV via 2003 reality series There’s Something About Miriam, was reportedly found hanged in Hermosillo, Mexico in February.
News of her death only surfaced as her husband Daniel Cuervo gave an interview to the Daily Mail.
Trans model Miriam Rivera has died
Cuervo, who was in New York when Rivera was found dead on February 5, says he believes her death has been “passed off” as a suicide.
He said: “On the morning of February 5, Miriam called me [in New York] from Mexico, telling me she was feeling sick and vomiting blood, so I told her to get to the hospital.
“She called me again before leaving the hospital at 12pm and that was the last time we spoke.”
Miriam Rivera (Facebook)
Cuervo had sought to have her body flown to New York, but learned she had already been cremated.
He claims that when attempting to arrange the funeral, an anonymous man called and warned him: “Don’t come back to Mexico or we’ll kill you too.”
Another friend of Rivera, Jeanett Ørtoft, told the outlet: “Some say she was killed for going against human trafficking, others say that she took her own life.”
Controversial series There’s Something About Miriam accused of ‘tricking’ men
2003 Sky series There’s Something About Miriam saw several men face off in a Bachelor-style contest to woo Rivera, without knowing that she is transgender.
The contestants reacted poorly to the news, which later sparked a joint lawsuit that was settled for an undisclosed amount.
The show was decried by LGBT+ campaigners and reviewers, with one critic noting: “The whole premise of There’s Something About Miriam was not a celebration of transgender people’s lives. It was designed to elicit horror from the winning contestant discovering that his dream date had a penis.”
Rivera later also appeared on the fourth season of Big Brother Australia.
