Holly Woodlawn, actress and Warhol superstar, Died at 69

  Actor

Holly Woodlawn was born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl on October 26, 1946, and died on December 6, 2015.

She was a transgender Puerto Rican actress and Warhol superstar who appeared in his movies Trash (1970) and Women in Revolt (1972).

Born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, to the former Aminta Rodriguez and an American soldier of German descent, and grew up in Miami Beach, where she came out at a young age.

She adopted the name Holly from the heroine of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and in 1969 added the surname from a sign she saw on an episode of I Love Lucy.

After changing her name, Holly began to tell people she was the heiress to Woodlawn Cemetery.

In 1962, Holly left Florida at the age of 15, heading north.

Holly recollects that “I hocked some jewelry and … made it all the way to Georgia, where the money ran out and … had to hitchhike the rest of the way” to New York City.

By 1969, Holly had considered sex reassignment surgery, but decided against it.

Holly Woodlawn passed away at age 69 in December 2015.