Damarys Ruiz: Miss Venezuela Dies After Living 15 Years On The Streets


Damarys Ruiz, a former Miss Venezuela contestant, dies after a long fall from stardom. According to Mail Online, the former beauty queen spent the last 15 years of her life living on the streets after she competed in the Miss Venezuela pageant back in 1973. As a talented, intelligent 26-year-old, Ruiz impressed judges during the ’73 beauty pageant. Despite having a positive future in front of her, Ruiz decided not to capitalize on her good looks or her good fortune.

The report states that Ruiz went to Caracas and began selling homemade crafts and “junk jewelry.” At the time she had been living with her brother, who treated her poorly. In 2000, Ruiz was able to get away from her brother, whom she says was jealous of her. Back in 2005, Ruiz told the media about living with him, and just how tough her life had been — of course, it didn’t get any easier for her.

“He used to starve me. He often threatened me and often hit me. I repeatedly called the police but they never did anything,” she said at the time.

Damarys Ruiz died of unknown causes, her body found in a park. According to Scallywag and Vagabond, none of Ruiz’s family members have gone to the hospital, and her body has not been officially identified or claimed.

“I saw her two or three times in the week and I talked to her for long hours. Her life ended up with great depression, without receiving support from her family or friends. She couldn’t see any way to escape the trap she was in. She was a beautiful woman inside and outside. My cute little old lady. This lady was wonderful, educated and a great conversationalist. She was a lawyer and studied several years in the university and had opinions about everything. I loved to listen to her and her stories, anecdotes, we talked about everything,” said Rosalba Gomes, who knew Ruiz for the past two years (via Mail Online).

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Ruiz never had a formal boyfriend, and thus never married. It is unknown how many living relatives Ruiz has, or if any have been contacted. However, many believe that her body will go unclaimed as no one has come forward yet despite the amount of publicity that has surrounded this case.

[Photo by Keith Tsuji/Getty Images]

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