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7 September 2017 2:29 AM

Actress and transgender pioneer Holly Woodlawn dies

By Attitude Magazine

Transgender actress, Andy Warhol muse and inspiration behind Lou Reed’s iconic hit Take A Walk on the Wild Side, Holly Woodlawn, has died. She was 69 years old.

Woodlawn died in her Los Angeles hospice after battling brain and liver cancer for much of 2015. Her death was announced via a Facebook post from longtime friend and fellow Warhol muse Joe Dallesandro, who wrote:

“I arrived to the hospice and went to Holly’s room, #403. I was next to her talking and telling her all the love that was being sent her way from everyone. It was like she knew I was there.

“I am sorry to say at 3:06pm Los Angeles time, Holly Woodlawn passed away.”
HollyWoodlawnMay07

The Puerto Rican actress starred in Warhol’s films Trash (1970) and Women In Revolt (1972). In recent years, she performed in her own cabaret show across the US.

Growing up in Miami Beach, Florida, Woodlawn left home at the age of 15, heading north and hitchhiking all the way to New York. Lou Reed refers to Woodlawn’s journey in his song Walk on the Wild Side, whose opening verse describes the hitchhiking journey and gender transition of “Holly”:

“Holly came from Miami, F-L-A
Hitchhiked her way across the USA
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says, “Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.”

Friends and admirers took to social media today to pay their respects:

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