Cecilia Gentili, trans Latina activist and actress, dies at 52
A towering presence in New York’s transgender community has died. In a post to her Instagram account on Tuesday, it was announced that the 52-year-old Argentina-born Cecilia Gentili had passed away. “Our beloved Cecilia Gentili passed away this morning to continue watching over us in spirit,” the tribute read. “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.” An undocumented immigrant and then asylum seeker from Argentina, Gentili came to the U.S.
pursuing a safer life to live authentically as a trans woman. She lived undocumented for 10 years, hustling, doing sex work which came with drug use.
After surviving arrests and an immigration detention, she accessed recovery services and won asylum. Among Gentili’s accomplishments was her work as a co-founder of her namesake COIN Clinic (Cecilia’s Occupational Inclusion Network) at Callen-Lorde, a New York-based leader in LGBTQ health care.
