Cecilia Gentili, a prominent transgender activist, author, and actress, died on February 6, 2024. She was 52 years old. The news of her passing was shared via a post on her Instagram page, which read:
“Our beloved Cecilia Gentili passed away this morning to continue watching over us in spirit. Please be gentle with each other and love one another with ferocity. We will be sharing more updates about services and what is to come in the following days. At this time, we’re asking for privacy, time, and space to grieve.”
Gentili was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1971. She came out as transgender at the age of 15, and faced discrimination, violence, and harassment in her home country. She fled to Spain in 1992, where she worked as a sex worker and experienced more abuse and exploitation. She eventually moved to the United States in 1999, where she sought asylum and started a new life.
In the US, Gentili became involved in various organizations and causes that focused on the issues and needs of transgender people, immigrants, and sex workers.
She worked as the director of policy at GMHC, a New York-based AIDS service organization, from 2016 to 2019, where she fought for people living with HIV/AIDS and championed legislative causes such as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which was signed into law in 2019.
She also founded Trans Equity Consulting, a firm that specialized in LGBTQ diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting, and aimed to center trans women of color, immigrants, sex workers, and incarcerated people.
Cecilia Gentili was also a writer who published her debut book Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist in 2022, which was a collection of letters addressed to the people who harmed her, helped her, or ignored her in her hometown. The book was a powerful and cathartic memoir that exposed the trauma and resilience of Gentili’s life.
She is survived by her partner, Oscar Diaz, and her chosen family of trans sisters and brothers.
