Cindyana Santangelo, a model, actress, and rock music muse, has died at 58 following a medical emergency at her Malibu home, TMZ reported. She was pronounced dead Monday at a local hospital in Los Angeles. While the exact cause of death remains unclear, sources told the outlet she had recently undergone unspecified cosmetic injections.
Authorities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have found no signs of foul play, though an autopsy is pending to determine the cause of death.
Also known as Cindyana Lair, she was born in New York City to Puerto Rican, Italian, and Hungarian parents. Raised on the West Coast, she moved to London at age 19 to study acting, according to her IMDb biography.
Santangelo worked in both television and film from the early 1990s through 2009, with guest roles in popular series including CSI: Miami, ER, and Married… with Children. She also made a mark in the music world, starring in Young MC’s 1989 video for ‘Bust a Move’ and Jane’s Addiction’s 1990 video for ‘Stop’.
She’s perhaps best remembered for her spoken-word intro on Jane’s Addiction’s influential album ‘Ritual de lo Habitual’, where she boldly declares in Spanish that the band had “more influence over your children than you do.”
In a 2003 Spin Magazine interview, Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell called her “the Latin Marilyn Monroe,” recalling, “We met her, and I thought, ‘Holy Mother, this girl is just gorgeous.’”
Her passing marks the loss of a distinctive presence who bridged the worlds of television, fashion, and alternative music culture.
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