Hollywood Actress Dies After Botched Silicone Injection

A Southern California woman has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for killing Hollywood actress Cindyana Santangelo after performing an illegal silicone injection that caused the performer’s death.

Libby Adame, 55, was convicted earlier this month in Riverside County Superior Court of second-degree murder and practicing medicine without certification for the March 2025 procedure that ended in tragedy. Prosecutors said Adame injected silicone into Santangelo’s buttocks inside the actress’s Malibu home, despite having no medical license and a history of performing unsafe cosmetic procedures.

Santangelo, 58, was best known for television appearances on Married with Children, ER, and CSI: Miami, as well as her role in the 1989 music video for Young MC’s hit Bust a Move.

During Adame’s trial, Santangelo’s husband, Frank Santangelo, delivered emotional testimony describing the moment his wife began convulsing after the injection. “She started shaking uncontrollably,” he told jurors, adding that Adame “grabbed her things and ran” before paramedics arrived.

A Pattern of Illegal Procedures

Prosecutors argued that Adame’s actions were not an isolated mistake but part of a pattern of unlicensed medical work that stretched back years. Evidence presented in court showed that Adame had performed dozens of illegal silicone injections across Los Angeles County, often targeting clients who wanted affordable cosmetic enhancements.

In 2019, one of those procedures led to the death of Karissa Rajpaul, a 26-year-old aspiring model in Sherman Oaks. Adame was convicted in 2024 of involuntary manslaughter for that case and sentenced to four years and four months in prison, while her daughter and assistant, Alicia Galaz, received three years and eight months. Both women were granted credit for time served and later released on electronic monitoring.

That leniency allowed Adame to resume cosmetic work within a year, prosecutors said — a decision that would prove fatal for Cindyana Santangelo.

Deputy District Attorney Rachel Hernandez told the court that Adame knew the injections were dangerous long before Santangelo’s death.

She understood the risks, ignored them, and continued operating as if she were a doctor,” Hernandez said. “This was not a tragic accident. It was recklessness that cost another woman her life.

Investigators also cited security footage from 2018 showing Adame fleeing a South Gate salon as paramedics treated another woman who later died, suggesting she had been aware of the potential consequences for years.

The Actress Remembered

Santangelo’s death stunned Hollywood and her family. Born in Los Angeles, she began her career as a model and dancer before earning television roles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. She gained pop-culture recognition for her recurring character Sierra Madre, a dancer at The Jiggly Room in Married with Children, and appeared in episodes of ER and CSI: Miami.

In addition to her screen work, Santangelo had deep roots in the Los Angeles creative community. She was featured alongside Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett in the 2003 action-comedy Hollywood Homicide and inspired musicians including Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, who once called her “the Latin Marilyn Monroe” in Spin Magazine.

Following her death, Farrell wrote on social media that Santangelo “brought light to every room she entered” and described her as “a fearless performer with a laugh that could lift anyone’s spirit.”

Legal and Medical Fallout

Authorities said the case underscores the dangers of unregulated cosmetic procedures, particularly those involving injectable silicone. Unlike medical-grade fillers used by licensed surgeons, liquid silicone can travel through the bloodstream and block arteries, leading to embolism, stroke, or cardiac arrest.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that investigators routinely assist in such cases due to the high number of illicit “beauty operations” taking place across Southern California. “We continue to warn the public that unlicensed cosmetic procedures can be lethal,” the department said in a statement.

Adame’s sentencing brings some closure to Santangelo’s family after years of frustration. Outside the courthouse, her husband said the punishment “will never bring Cindyana back” but hoped it would prevent other tragedies. “My wife trusted someone who pretended to care,” he said. “If sharing her story saves one life, then she didn’t die in vain.”

A Cautionary Lesson

Libby Adame will serve a minimum of 15 years before parole eligibility, a sentence prosecutors say reflects both her repeated offenses and disregard for human life.

For many in Hollywood’s tight-knit entertainment community, the case serves as a stark reminder that behind the promise of beauty and fame, the lure of quick fixes can have devastating consequences.

Cindyana Santangelo’s death, like others before hers, has renewed calls for stricter enforcement against unlicensed cosmetic practices — and for greater awareness about the real risks hidden behind cheap procedures and false promises.

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