Miriam Rivera, Reality TV's First Trans Star, Will Be the Subject of a New Documentary

Ian West - PA Images

This article contains a mention of suicide.

LGBTQ+ reality TV is a budding subgenre, but before queer seasons of shows like The Ultimatum and Are You the One, there was Miriam: Death of a Reality Star. The titular Miriam Rivera is widely recognized as the first openly trans reality TV star. Two decades later, a new documentary series will tell her story, from her first appearances on the small screen to her untimely death.

Miriam: Death of a Reality Star is set to air on the U.K.’s Channel 4 later this month, Pink News reported. Consisting of three hour-long episodes, “the series will restore Miriam as the star of her own story: a trans trailblazer who remains an icon for many in the transgender community,” according to a press release from Channel 4. In 2004, Miriam starred in the reality TV show, There’s Something About Miriam, a six-episode British series in which six men competed for the then-21-year-old model’s heart. However, the show was structured such that it was not revealed to the contestants or audience that she was trans until the final episode after she had chosen her suitor.

Due to the transphobia inherent in the very idea of the show — that a trans woman's identity is a scandalous "reveal" — it remains wildly controversial. Morgan M. Page, a trans writer who produced a 2021 podcast series about Miriam, called the show “one extended joke that they’re playing on the male contestants that the woman they’re pursuing is transgender.” But that didn’t stop the show from receiving high ratings. Nor did the lawsuit that some of the contestants filed in an attempt to prevent the show from airing, alleging defamation and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.

Subsequently, Miriam was cast as a guest on Big Brother Australia 2004, and went on to get involved in Manhattan’s ballroom scene and later get married. Then, in 2019 she was found dead in her apartment in Mexico. While the police classified her death as a suicide, her husband, Daniel Cuervo, disputed this characterization and said that he suspected foul play, per Variety.

According to the documentary’s synopsis, the series will paint a more complete portrait of Miriam’s life and promises “exclusive access” to Miriam’s family and close friends and an exploration of the “colorful worlds” Rivera inhabited, from the New York ballroom scene “to the streets of Mexico; trans porn to international escorting,”

Listen to the trailer for "Harsh Reality," which tells the story behind the controversial 2004 show “There's Something About Miriam.”

Colin Barr, a creative director at the production company Expectation TV, which is producing the show, called Miriam’s story “a fable for the ages” in the Channel 4 press release. “This series is a chance to restore Miriam’s reputation as a true pioneer who was ahead of her time but was made to pay a heavy price for it.”

Miriam: Death of a Reality Star will air on Channel 4 on April 29; there are no details yet on whether it will become available for streaming.

If you are in crisis, please call, text, or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

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