The world's first trans reality star who 'paid with her life': Miriam Rivera shot to fame in controversial Sky show where men were 'duped' into dating her - and later took her own life after the fallout 'broke her'

Like many young women with one eye on fame and a glamorous lifestyle, Miriam Rivera decided reality TV could be her ticket to a better life after she ran away from home at 14 to escape her father who tried to exorcise her because she was transgender.

Thirteen years later, Miriam was found dead in an apparent suicide, after the fame she gained as the world's first transgender reality star quickly turned dark. 

When an opportunity came up to appear on a British reality TV dating show after being spotted in a girl band, Miriam, then 22, saw it as an opportunity to become a star - as well as hoping she might even find love.

However, the premise of the 2003 Sky One dating series There's Something About Miriam, saw six men competed to win the model's heart without knowing she was transgender and it was incredibly controversial. 

After they found out the truth, some of the contestants tried to sue and make sure it never aired, feeling they had been duped by producers. 

'My sister was exploited, then abandoned,' Miriam's youngest brother Ariel Mendoza, told the Guardian.

'She was alone in a foreign country. Miriam was a tough girl but it broke her. I really think they used her. The boys got more help than Miriam.' 

It brought Miriam, who was often known as the 'world's first transgender reality star', much notoriety - later appearing on Big Brother Australia in 2004 - but her fame came at a terrible price in the form of transphobic abuse. 

This included an incident in 2007 when she was pushed out of the fourth-story window of her New York apartment, leaving her with traumatic injuries. According to her friends, the treatment she received after the show caused a steep decline in her mental health. 

New Channel 4 documentary series Miriam: Death Of A Reality Star is set to delve into her extraordinary, life, death and legacy

Miriam Rivera, who passed away in 2019 aged only 38, was a Mexican model who rose to fame at 21 after appearing on the 2004 British programme There's Something About Miriam

Her death in 2019 has never been fully resolved - and her husband Daniel Cuervo has always insisted that she was murdered. 

Now, a new Channel 4 documentary series Miriam: Death Of A Reality Star is set to delve into her extraordinary, life, death and legacy. 

Using Miriam's own voice and words throughout, it also features interviews with Miriam's Mexican family, telling the story of her troubled childhood before she transitioned.

Ahead of the show airing, FEMAIL takes a closer look at the tragic tale of Miriam Rivera and what really happened on that day in 2019. 

Where was Miriam born and when did she transition?

Miriam (pictured in 2004) was forced to flee Mexico after her father performed an exorcism when she started taking hormones 

Miriam was born in Mexico in 1981.  

Named Hugo Cesar, she was assigned male at birth but felt different to her brothers, enjoying playing with dolls while they liked sports. 

She started taking hormones at just 11 years old and fled to Tijuana, on the US border,  aged 14 in a bid to improve her life. 

The Channel 4 show features an interview with her father, who carried out an exorcism on the reality star after she began taking hormones, forcing her to run away to America. 

Dating show: There's Something About Miriam 

There's Something About Miriam was a British reality TV show created by Remy Blumenfeld and Gavin Hay and produced by Brighter Pictures, a subsidiary of Endemol. Miriam pictured on the show

Tom (pictured learning that Miriam is trans) accepted the £10,000 prize money and a holiday with Miriam, but was still visibly shocked by the revelation. However, he later rejected the prize prior to the show airing and joined the other contestants in a lawsuit

Miriam was 21 when she starred in the controversial yet popular There's Something About Miriam on Sky One in the UK and Channel 10 in Australia. 

The contestants were flown out to a £2million Ibiza villa to woo 'one stunning babe' through a set of challenges and dates. 

Whoever Miriam picked would win £10,000 and a romantic holiday with her on a yacht. 

However, they were not told she was trans - and the aim was to shock them with the revelation at the end. 

A voiceover in the show said: 'These heroic guys have no idea that Miriam is as much Steve as Eve. As much Arthur as Martha. From the waist down, she's a man.'

It was only at the end of the final episode that Miriam revealed to the boys: 'I was born as a man'. 

When they found out, the contestants were visibly shocked and tried to sue the show to make sure it never aired. 

Winner Tom Rooke, who had been filmed kissing Miriam throughout the show, was left speechless and runner-up Scott Gibson was reportedly so angry that he vandalised the set.

'She was upset when they sued the show,' Ariel added.

'The press trashed her. People blamed her. Some still do. I recently saw a Facebook reel saying "Look who fooled some guys on TV by pretending to be a woman". After the show, Miriam went down and down. She looked sad whenever it was mentioned. Maybe she was ahead of her time but I hope her story teaches tolerance.' 

What happened after the show?

The program was filmed in 2003, and aired on Sky One in the UK and Channel 10 in Australia the following year amid great controversy. Pictured, the contestants' reaction to Miriam revealing she's transgender

There's Something About Miriam also aired in Poland and Argentina in 2005, before being broadcast in the United States in October 2007. Miriam and Tom pictured on the show

After the show aired, years of torture from the media and the public followed Miriam. 

Criticism of the show included a comment from the British Medical Journal, which wrote: 'The premise was not a celebration of transgender people's lives. 

'It was designed to elicit horror from the winning contestant, discovering that his dream date had a penis.'

Meanwhile, the male contestants tried to sue the show and prevent it from ever being aired. They filed 'personal injury' lawsuits to the network for psychological and emotional damage. 

This meant that the show was originally meant to air in November 2003 but legal proceedings stopped it airing until February 2004.  

Winner, 23-year-old Tom Rooke initially accepted £10,000 and a holiday with her. But he was visibly shocked when he was told she was transgender at the end of the show. 

He later rejected the prize prior to the show airing and joined the other contestants in a lawsuit.

The men alleged conspiracy to commit sexual assault, defamation, breach of contract, and personal injury in the form of psychological and emotional damage.

Miriam said she enjoyed the notoriety the show brought her, but years of torture and abuse followed. Pictured on Big Brother 

They eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.

Tom, Aron Lane and Toby Green initially gathered at the Cafe Royal in Piccadilly, London and were told they were being considered for a show called Find Me A Man. 

While the atmosphere was fun and relaxing, things became odd when a psychiatrist approached the men and asked them questions about their sexual preferences and experimentation. 

One bizarre questions recalled was 'How would you feel if your best friend and your mum got together?'.

Slowly, the prospects dwindled down to 30-40 men, who were then led into another room with a catwalk that had chairs running up either side of it.

The potential contestants were made to observe women - who were wearing very little - and give each a 'hotness' grade on a clipboard.

Tom reflected afterwards: 'Now thinking about it, it's not only embarrassing, it's quite shameful.

'I'd like to think that my current self, if I was ever in that situation and that was asked of me, not only would I refuse but I would definitely vocalise my opinions. It was really crass. Horrible.'

Miriam herself suffered with declining mental health after the show - and a terrible assault in 2007 damaged her confidence even further.  

There's Something About Miriam has been widely described as 'cruel' and 'exploitative', and a similar format is yet to be reproduced anywhere in the world. Miriam pictured in 2004

Miriam's friends have previously spoken out about an assault in 2007 that saw Miriam be pushed out of the fourth-storey window of her New York apartment. She later disappeared for six months, claiming she had been kidnapped at gunpoint.  

While past reports have described the fall as an accident, a friend of the star, Jeanett Ørtoft, has in past clarified to the Daily Mail Australia that it was an assault, saying that 'some masked men threw [Miriam] out from the fifth floor [of her New York apartment] and she broke almost every bone in her body'.

Nikki Exotica - known in the trans community for her music - who was close with Miriam at that period of her life, told the podcast how horrific Miriam's injuries were.

'She was in a whole body cast, half her head was shaved, she had brain surgery, she had haemorrhaging, her whole front of her forehand was cracked open so they had stitches, she had her arms in a sling, she had her legs in a sling - she was badly messed up and she was in a coma for, I think, five days before I found her,' she revealed.

Determined to move on, Miriam spent most of her time after the attack in Europe, never again engaging in showbiz or music - which was her dream before - and instead getting caught up in the party scene.

She was, during this time, also understood to have taken up sex work to pay off hospital bills, which racked up.

In 2015, Nikki said she saw how much Miriam had transformed over the years when the pair met up for a night out in Las Vegas.

'A lot of girls didn't like her... you know, the same for me. I think that's how we connected,' she explained.

However, Nikki admitted that during that visit, she saw a strange new side to her old friend.

'She would just do weird stuff... like, shady, like exactly what the girls were calling her! I don't know if it was maybe brain damage from the accident but she was doing some weird stuff she never really did to me in the past.'

A hurt Nikki admitted that they'd lost contact. 

Danish model Jeanett Ørtoft (left), who befriended Miriam (right) while she was enjoying a party-girl lifestyle in Europe, revealed that she could see the star's growing disenchantment with the scene over time. Both pictured together in an undated photo

Tribute: In a Facebook post, Ms Ørtoft wrote: 'RIP, dearest Miriam. Jan 1981 - Feb 2019. The news about you being taken away from this world far too early and in this way broke my heart and left me in shock and tears'

Danish model Jeanett Ørtoft, who befriended Miriam while she was enjoying a party-girl lifestyle in Europe, revealed that she could see the star's growing disenchantment with the scene over time.

'Miriam sometimes felt like, even surrounded by so many people, feeling so alone,' she explained.

'Knowing so many people but knowing that they look at her but they didn't see her. They listen to her but they don't hear her.

'She would just wanna get out of there and say 'let's bounce girl'.'

Robbie Xtravaganza - another close friends of Miriam's - said it was visible that while she was enjoying her time in Europe, the accident's aftermath and years of sex work were clearly taking a toll on her.

'She was really enjoying overseas... but you know, she'd been through some s**t at that point...

'You know a lot of girls they don't want to do sex work... but they don't have a real choice.

'That's the avenue that they're kind of pushed down... so now they have struggles with addiction because they need whatever substance they need... in order to numb themselves to perform in order to make sure they have food... shelter... that night.

'She really was in a place where she didn't wanna be bothered with all that... s**t. Do you know what I mean? She was over it, she just wanted like peace and quiet.'

When did Miriam die?

While the cause of death remains shrouded in mystery, her husband Daniel Cuervo, who is based in New York City, has always suspected foul play was involved. Both pictured together

Miriam was found tragically dead in her mother's apartment in Mexico in 2019. 

Though authorities claimed it was a suicide, her close friends and family - including her husband Daniel Cuervo, believe she was murdered. 

All of her friends were shocked to hear of Miriam's death in 2019 - and they were even more bewildered to learn that she had taken her own life in Mexico.

Robbie thinks that the idea that Miriam killed herself is 'bulls**t'.

'I emphatically said hell f and no did she commit suicide,' he insisted. 'Never ever ever ever in a million zillion years would that be the case.

'You'd have make her come from Heaven and tell me to my face that that was the truth and I still wouldn't believe her.'

'She would never do that to herself and leave her mother alone. There would be no way that she would do that.

'It wouldn't even matter if she was in such a dark place personally or if she felt that hopeless... she would suffer the rest of her life in that helpless, hopeless place not to hurt her mother.'

Robbie added that it was especially unusual because Miriam had lost her older brother to suicide just a few years prior.

Nikki was also suspicious of the timing - given that her friend had survived and overcome such horror following the 2007 attack.

'I don't know why life got so hard for her again... I just cant understand it,' she told the podcast.

'I'm just shocked that she took her own life at that point. She was such a strong person... she wanted to keep on going and get better... I couldn't understand this, why so later down the line? It didn't make any sense to me.'

While the cause of death remains shrouded in mystery, her husband Daniel Cuervo, who is still based in New York City, has always suspected foul play was involved.

Mr Cuervo has in the past told Daily Mail Australia that he believed his wife's death may have been 'passed off' as a suicide after she refused to accept work as a prostitute.

'On the morning of February 5, Miriam called me [in New York] from Mexico, telling me she was feeling sick and vomiting blood, so I told her to get to the hospital,' he said, recalling the day Miriam died.

'She called me again before leaving the hospital at 12pm and that was the last time we spoke.'

At 2pm, Miriam was found dead by hanging at her home in Hermosillo, Mexico.

When Mr Cuervo learned of Miriam's death, he enquired about the possibility of flying the body to New York.

He was informed the body had already been cremated, leaving no opportunity to perform an autopsy.

Mr Cuervo claimed an unknown male called him when he was trying to arrange Miriam's funeral and said: 'Don't come back to Mexico or we'll kill you too.'

Miriam's close friend Jeanett Ørtoft also previously echoed similar sentiments about the death being suspicious.

'Some say she was killed for going against human trafficking, others say that she took her own life,' she said.

The news of Miriam's death shocked Ms Ørtoft, who said her friend was 'looking forward' to the future when they last spoke.

'The last time I was on the phone with her, a few weeks before her death, she told me she was just about to finish a degree and was looking forward to that,' Ms Ørtoft said. 'She told me she wanted to write a book about her life.'

However her brother Ariel Mendoza and friend Daniella Real share their views in the Channel 4 documentary, and believe she took her own life. 

Miriam's death has never been fully resolved - as her husband always claimed she was murdered but others blamed the impact of fame

Sky later removed There's Something About Miriam from its platforms and apologised

Real believed the reality show gave Miriam fame, which was negative and permanently harmed her. Meanwhile Mendoza believes she was struggling with depression. 

The programme marks 20 years since the original reality show, and five years since Miriam's death. 

Sky later apologies and removed There's Something About Miriam from its platforms. 

The Channel 4 documentary Miriam: Death Of A Reality Star will air on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  

Colin Barr, Creative Director, Factual/Factual Drama, Expectation TV said: 'Miriam's story is a fable for the ages, not only shining a light on the perils of fame but our shifting attitudes to towards gender identity.

'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.'

Alisa Pomeroy, Head of Documentaries, added: 'Miriam's story is particularly special and revealing as it's one that is utterly unique to its time. 

'Hers is a tale that couldn't have pre-existed the early noughties, reminding us of a time that - although only 20 years ago - now feels light years away in terms of attitudes and representation.'

Miriam: Death Of A Reality star airs this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on Channel 4 from 9pm.