Cindyana Santangelo, an actress widely recognized in the entertainment industry as the "Latin Marilyn Monroe," has died at the age of 58. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death after reports emerged that she had recently received cosmetic injections in her Malibu home.
According to law enforcement officials, first responders were called to Santangelo's residence on Monday afternoon for a medical emergency. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed that its Homicide Division has opened an investigation, though no evidence of foul play has been found as of yet. "Investigators have no evidence of foul play, but detectives are waiting for the results of Cindyana's autopsy before making a final determination," TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources.
Authorities learned that Santangelo had recently undergone cosmetic procedures at home, but no direct link has been established between the injections and her death. "There is no evidence it is linked to her passing," RadarOnline.com reported, quoting police sources familiar with the situation.
Santangelo had a long and varied career across television, film, and music videos. She gained widespread recognition after Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell dubbed her the "Latin Marilyn Monroe." She appeared in multiple television series throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including "ER," "CSI: Miami," and had a recurring role as Sierra Madre, a dancer at The Jiggly Room, on the popular sitcom "Married With Children."
Her film credits include a supporting role in Hollywood Homicide, where she starred alongside Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett.
Santangelo was also featured in numerous music videos, most notably Young MC's 1989 hit "Bust a Move," where she danced in iconic stop-sign printed shorts. The role helped cement her place in pop culture history as a standout presence in the golden era of MTV.
Her final Instagram post, shared on March 8, showed a selfie without a caption. "Hello beautiful!" one commenter wrote, while another added, "Gorgeous!"
The last public sighting of Santangelo was in June 2012, when she briefly spoke with photographers after experiencing car trouble, according to TMZ.
