TRANSGENDERED SHOWGIRL JAHNA STEELE DEAD

Jahna Steele, a Las Vegas transgender legend, has died, according to her close friends.

Steele rose from a Texas altar boy to the title of Las Vegas' sexiest showgirl. She was a member of the "Crazy Girls" topless revue at the Riviera before being outed in 1992 by the syndicated TV show "A Current Affair."

The Texas native underwent a sex change in her early 20s.

She dropped out show business for a number of years when she was battling some personal problems.

"Like many entertainers, I had some problems," she told Vegas Confidential in a 2004 interview, when she returned to Las Vegas after years in Hawaii when she performed in a version of "Boylesque."

Her last job on the Strip was reportedly as an emcee for "La Cage," the long-running female impersonators show at the Riviera.

-- NORM CLARKE, Vegas Confidential