Jahna Steele

Early life and career

Born in San Antonio, Texas as John Matheny, Steele was a Miss Gay USA pageant winner in the Texas finals under the name Jhoana Reis. She later changed her name legally to Jahonau Erica Steele. She joined the cast of the Crazy Girls Revue at the Riviera in Las Vegas during the late 1980s. In 1991, Steele was voted "the sexiest showgirl on The Strip"

Outing and its effects

Most people in Las Vegas, including the producer who hired her and her costars, "knew she was transgender but didn't care." She was outed on a 1992 edition of the television program A Current Affair. The story of her outing and its negative effect on her showgirl career was featured in The National Enquirer.
After being fired from Crazy Girls Revue, Steele was a frequent talk show guest and sang in nightclubs across the United States before moving to Hawaii. She also appeared as a guest star in a second-season episode of NYPD Blue ("Don We Now Our Gay Apparel"), playing the character Candace La Rue. Steele later returned to school, and "learned how to do things other than entertaining" so that she'd have something to fall back on, studying computer courses and working for United Blood Services before she worked for a women's health facility and got certified in nonprofit management.

Transsexual beauty contest hostess

Steele made her comeback in 2004 when she hosted The World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Contest at the Riviera. A documentary feature film based on the pageant, Trantasia, recognized Steele's pioneering place in the history of the transsexual community.  Steele was also featured on several segments of Entertainment Tonight in connection with Trantasia.  Following the success of the film, Steele continued her singing career and was the spokesperson for Tingari Skin Care System. Steele was working on her "kiss-and-tell" autobiography, Always a Lady  when she died in Las Vegas. The cause of death was accidental overdose of cocaine, morphine and hydromorphone.