Vladimir Luxuria

Italian actress and politician

Vladimir Luxuria (; born 24 June 1965), is an Italian activist, television personality and actress. Luxuria was a Communist Refoundation Party MP, belonging to The Union coalition led by Romano Prodi. She was the first openly transgender member of Parliament in Europe, and the world's second openly transgender MP after New Zealander Georgina Beyer. She lost her seat in the election of April 2008. In the 2006 general election, Luxuria was elected to the Chamber of Deputies by the Lazio 1 constituency in Rome. She lost her seat in the 2008 election. After the retirement of Beyer and Luxuria, there were no transgender MPs reported in the world, until 2011, when Anna Grodzka was elected to the Polish parliament.

Although her Lazio 1 constituency was seen as a safe Communist seat, her election was not without difficulties, particularly after it was disclosed that she had been a sex worker for a time shortly after arriving in Rome due to the difficulty of finding a conventional job as a transgender individual. Clemente Mastella, the leader of the centrist UDEUR party (a fellow member of the coalition) called her "a ridiculous Cicciolina". Alessandra Mussolini, said, referring to Luxuria, that it was "better to be a fascist than a faggot" (meglio fascista che frocio). However, Luxuria's name was placed second on the list of Communist candidates for Lazio, after party leader Fausto Bertinotti, which increased her chances of being elected (Italy uses a system of proportional representation).

Her service in the Italian parliament got off to a rocky start, when in October 2006 Forza Italia MP Elisabetta Gardini insisted that she should not be allowed to use women's washrooms in the parliament building and called for the creation of a third washroom. Gardini described finding Luxuria presence there as a "sexual violence"; and later faced condemnations from coalition deputies for displaying prejudice tantamount to racism. Luxuria declared that she had used the toilets for years and that using the male lavatory would engender even greater problems. In the 2008 election, the Refoundation Communist Party joined a coalition of left wing parties known as the Rainbow Left. However, this group gained only 3.2% of the vote and lost all of its seats in parliament. Silvio Berlusconi's centre right coalition swept to victory. Luxuria was not re elected. Paolo Ferrero, then leader of the Communist Refoundation Party, said that he would be open to the idea of her returning to politics as a nominee for the 2009 European Parliament election after her win on L'Isola dei Famosi, but Luxuria said that she had no plans to re enter politics. In September 2006, she stated that the Vatican's ongoing influence in politics, specifically in regards to gay marriage, contravened clauses of the Italian Constitution.

YearTitleRoleNotes1995–2005Maurizio Costanzo ShowHerself – Recurring guestTalk show2000Tequila & BonettiTrans womanEpisode: "Il ladro"2004Con le unghie e con i dentiVladiTelevision film2004–2008Markette – Tutto fa brodo in TVHerself – Recurring guestVariety/talk show2008L'Isola dei FamosiHerself – ContestantReality show (season 6)2012–2013Fuori di gustoHerself – HostCooking program2013–2014Quelli che il CalcioHerself – ReporterSports/comedy program (season 21)2014Grande FratelloHerself – Recurring guestReality show (season 13)2015Miss ItaliaHerself – JudgeAnnual beauty contest2015L'isola di Adamo ed EvaHerself – HostReality show2017L'Isola dei FamosiHerself – Recurring guestReality show (season 12)2017–2021Domenica LiveHerself – Recurring guestTalk show (seasons 6–9)2017–presentPomeriggio CinqueHerself – Recurring guestTalk show (seasons 10–present)2018Tale e quale showHerself – ContestantTalent show (season 8)2019–2021Live – Non è la D'UrsoHerself – Recurring guestTalk show2020Lampadino e Caramella nel Magiregno degli ZampaRaffa Giraffa (voice)Main role2021Le IeneHerself – ReporterInformation program (season 25)Drag Race ItaliaHerself – Guest judgeTalent show (season 1)2022Back to SchoolHerself – ContestantReality show (season 1)Il cantante mascheratoHerself – ContestantTalent show (season 3)L'isola dei famosiHerself – OpinionistReality show (season 16)