TV Tonight: Miriam – Death of a Reality Star

Using Miriam’s own voice and words throughout, this series will restore Miriam as the star of her own story: a trans trailblazer who remains an icon for many in the transgender community.

In a crowded field, 2004’s There’s Something About Miriam stood out as one of the most controversial reality shows of the early noughties.  Set in a luxury Ibiza Villa, six unsuspecting men went head-to-head to win the heart of Miriam Rivera, a stunning supermodel from Mexico. It was only at the end of the final episode that Miriam revealed to the boys: “I was born as a man”.

What followed was global infamy and a tabloid savaging, and fifteen years later Miriam was tragically found dead in her mother’s apartment in an apparent, (though disputed), suicide.

Miriam: Death of a Reality Star: is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary time in television history, this series will look at Miriam’s life before, during and after reality TV fame.

Drawing on rich archive and with exclusive access to Miriam’s family and close friends from the trans community, each episode will take the audience into the colourful worlds she inhabited – from New York drag ballroom to the streets of Mexico; trans porn to international escorting.

And running throughout will be the stranger-than-fiction, behind the scenes story of the show itself – its genesis, production and its fallout – at a time when attitudes to trans people were very different to today.