Cecilia Gentili, Beloved Transgender Advocate, Author, and Actress, Has Died

Beloved actress, author and transgender activist Cecilia Gentili has passed away. Gentili was a commanding queer presence in New York City and beyond, an asylum seeker from Argentina who spent her life fighting for the rights of undocumented immigrants, sex workers, and LGBTQ+ people. Friends and family notified the public of her passing through a post on her Instagram page on February 6.

“Our beloved Cecilia Gentili passed away this morning to continue caring for us in spirit,” the tribute reads. “Please be kind to each other and love each other fiercely. We will be sharing more updates on services and what is to come in the coming days. “At this time, we ask for privacy, time and space to grieve.”

Gentili was in the midst of a period of creative flourishing, having published his impressive debut book. Missing: Letters to everyone in my hometown who is not my rapist in 2022, and presenting his autobiographical off-Broadway show Red ink in 2023. In an interview about production late last year, Gentili said Them that he hoped the show would entertain people, but also force them to deal with the often harsh realities of trans life. “I wanted them to laugh, but I also wanted them to wonder why we have to make life so difficult for trans people,” she said.

Among her many accomplishments, Gentili was Policy Director at GMHC (formerly Gay Men’s Health Crisis), a New York City-based AIDS services organization, and founder of Trans Equity Consultingan organizational development consulting firm that sought to focus on trans women of color, immigrants, sex workers, and incarcerated people.

As an actress, Cecilia performed one-man shows including The knife cuts in both directions and appeared as Mrs. Orlando in PoseFX’s groundbreaking drama about the experiences of trans women of color against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York.