La Veneno

Cristina Ortiz Rodriguez, better known as La Veneno (March 19, 1964 - November 9, 2016) was a Spanish transgender vedette, singer and TV personality.

Early life
Born as Jose Antonio Ortiz in the small village of Adra, Almeria, she grew up feeling rejected by the townspeople, suffering several assaults from relatives and neighbors.

Begginings and rise to fame
In 1991 she moved to Madrid where she would later begin her transition and start working as a prostitute to support herself.

In 1996 she was discovered by TV host Pepe Navarro, as the cameras recorded her working the streets of Madrid. She was hired to appear regularly in the show Esta noche cruzamos el Mississipi and later La sonrisa del pelícano.

She managed to record the singles Veneno Pa' Tu Piel and El Rap de la Veneno and toured all over Spain. While making stelar appearences in several other TV shows she starred in the porn movies El secreto de la Veneno and La venganza de la Veneno.

Stay in prison
In April 2003 she entered a men's prison charged of insurance scam and came out in 2006.

Comeback
Coming out of prison with more weight on and in a very deteriorated state, she managed to make a comeback in television, appearing in shows like DEC where she discussed her life and was confronted by transgender activists who claimed she gave a bad image to the trans community.

In 2010 she was challenged in television to lose the weight she had gained in prison. Several months later she came back with 35kg less.

In February 2012 she had overcome the bulimia that made her lose another 20kg and was still suffering from depression and severe anxiety.

By March 2013 she got better and appeared on the talkshow Salvame Deluxe where she presented her new 23 year old boyfriend. This man would later run away with all of her savings and leave her with a small 300€ allowance.

In October 2016, 8 years after announcing it, she finally published her memoirs ''Digo! ni puta ni santa: Las memorias de La Veneno'' In this book she mentioned the sexual encounters she had over the years with many famous politicians and soccer players. In her last interview on Salvame Deluxe she admited to have recieved death threats for the release of her biography.

Death
On November 5 she was found by her boyfriend laying on the couch, bruised, semi-unconcious and with gash on her head. She was brought to the hospital where she had to be performed a surgical intervention. She was induced to a coma and passed away on November 9.

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