Yurizan Beltrán (November 2, 1986 – December 13, 2017) was an American
pornographic actress
A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dis ...
,
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
, and
mainstream actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
. In addition to her successful pornographic and modeling career, Beltran also starred in the 2006
horror film ''Werewolf in a Women's Prison'' and the 2017
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
''
Rice on White.''
During her pornographic career, Beltran received positive attention from her critics and peers. Over the course of her career, Beltran received multiple high industry award nominations from
AVN,
NMA,
XBIZ
XBIZ is an American publisher of business news and business information for the sex industry.
In addition to its flagship "Xbiz.com" website, XBIZ publishes two monthly trade magazines, hosts winter and summer exhibition and industry conferenc ...
, and the
XRCO
The X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) is a group of writers and editors from the American adult entertainment industry who each year present awards in recognition of achievement within the industry. After the controversy and criticism of the ...
.
On December 13, 2017, she was found dead in her
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
apartment of an apparent
drug overdose.
Career
Beginning in 2003, Beltran began doing feature modeling and appearances in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
as a
Hooters girl
Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with ...
. In 2005, she began adult modeling when she decided to launch her first website, ''SweetYurizan.com''. In 2006, she appeared in her first mainstream film a low budget
horror film ''Werewolf in a Women's Prison.''
In 2005, Beltran was featured in her first adult film, a non-sex solo performance for JB Video titled ''Yurizan.'' In 2006 and 2007, Beltran only modeled, she was featured by
Hustler
Hustler or hustlers may also refer to:
Professions
* Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a:
** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks
** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs
** Male prostitute
** Pimp
** Business man, more gener ...
,
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
, and
Penthouse. She was also a covergirl for
Lowrider
A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...
, posing in a gold
bikini
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...
with a Chevrolet convertible in the magazine's December issue. In 2009, she returned to porn only shooting
lesbian, solo or non-sex films. She shot with
New Sensations,
Reality Kings
Reality Kings (company name: MG Premium Ltd.) is a brand launched by RK Netmedia, an internet-based hardcore pornography production company operating out of Miami Beach, Florida.
Acquisition by MindGeek
A merger notification (with Manwin) was ...
,
Digital Playground
Digital Playground Inc. is an American pornographic film studio, headquartered in Burbank, California. It has been called one of the five biggest porn studios and, in 2006, was described by Reuters as one of the handful of studios that dominat ...
, and
Twistys.com.
In the 2010 film ''Big Tits Round Asses 20'' by
Bang Bros, Beltran made her boy/girl scene debut. In 2011, she was nominated for Best Web Star
28th AVN Awards
The 28th AVN Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, presented by ''Adult Video News'' (''AVN''), honored the best pornographic movies and adult entertainment products of 2010. The ceremony was held on January 8, 2011 in the Pearl Concert Theater inside t ...
. Also in 2011, Beltran began working with
Brazzers
Brazzers (, company name: MG Premium Ltd.) is a Canadian pornographic video production company with headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and legal domicile in Nicosia, Cyprus. With an online network consisting of thirty-one hardcore pornogr ...
, and shot six films with them that year. In 2012, she continued her success and was nominated for Unsung Starlet of the Year at the
29th AVN Awards
The 29th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by ''Adult Video News'', honored the best pornographic movies and adult entertainment products of 2011 of the United States and took place January 21, 2012, at a new venue, The Joint inside the Hard Rock ...
as well as Best Latina Performer from
NightMoves Award
The NightMoves Awards are given annually in the pornographic film industry by ''NightMoves'', an Oldsmar, Florida-based magazine which was first published in 1987 and initially titled ''Sports South''. The awards began in 1993 and were initially t ...
s.
At the
30th AVN Awards
The 30th AVN Awards ceremony, or XXX AVN Awards, was an event during which ''Adult Video News'' (''AVN'') presented its annual AVN Awards to honor the best pornographic movies and adult entertainment products of 2012. Movies or products released ...
, Beltran was nominated for Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene for her work in ''Training Day: a XXX Parody'' with her co-stars
Chanel Preston
Chanel Preston is an American pornographic actress. She entered the adult film industry in 2010. She was the '' Penthouse'' magazine Penthouse Pet for March 2012.
Early life
Preston was born and raised in Alaska. She is of English, German, and ...
and Nyomi Banxxx.
In 2017, she played Jade in the
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film ''Rice on White'' directed by Talun Hsu.
Death
Beltran died of a
drug overdose at her apartment in
Bellflower, California
Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...
on December 13, 2017. She was found by her landlord, lying in her bed, beside a spilled
pill bottle. After about five months, the
LA medical examiner revealed her official cause of death was
bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014
It is ofte ...
inflammation of the lungscaused by an overdose of the prescription opioid
hydrocodone
Hydrocodone, also known as dihydrocodeinone, is an opioid used to treat pain and as a cough suppressant. It is taken by mouth. Typically it is dispensed as the combination acetaminophen/hydrocodone or ibuprofen/hydrocodone for pain severe eno ...
.
The adult studio PornStar Platinum, which Beltran was a part of, set up a
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
page for Beltran's family. The page closed after raising over $9,000 for funeral expenses.
There were a number of other high-profile deaths in the porn industry around the same time:
Shyla Stylez died in November 2017;
August Ames
August Ames (born Mercedes Grabowski; 23 August 1994 – 5 December 2017) was a Canadian pornographic actress. She appeared in more than 100 films, including a non-pornographic film in 2016, and was nominated for several AVN Awards. In 2017, at ...
committed suicide eight days prior to Beltran's death; and in January 2018,
Olivia Lua and
Olivia Nova died. Their deaths generated discussion regarding whether the adult industry is doing enough for performers’
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...
, focusing on the demands industry places on the physical and mental health of its performers, particularly female ones.
Filmography
Film
Television
Partial filmography
* ''Not Monday Night Football XXX'' (2006)
* ''Ticklicious'' (2009)
* ''Big Naturals'' (2009)
* ''Fly Girls'' (2009)
* ''Thats My Girl'' (2010)
* ''We Live Together'' (2010)
* ''Inside Story'' (2010)
See also
*
List of pornographic performers by decade
*
List of pornographic actors who appeared in mainstream films
Over the past five decades there have been a number of adult film actors who have appeared in mainstream films with varying degrees of success. In the 1970s, adult film actors Marilyn Chambers and Linda Lovelace tried crossing over to mainstream ...
References
External links
Official website*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beltran, Yurizan
1986 births
2017 deaths
Actresses from Los Angeles
American pornographic film actresses
Drug-related deaths in California
21st-century American actresses
Deaths from bronchopneumonia
Models from Los Angeles