Trudy Silverheels

Trudy Lynn (Bootsy) Silverheels was born on a horse ranch near Bagdad, Arizona, on June 13, 1986. Her birth name was "Linda Yazzie." She adopted her colorful pen name when she was only eight years old. Having spent most of her early childhood in Arizona and New Mexico, she moved at age twelve (along with her family) to Mexico City. Four years later she completed high school in Coyoacan, D.F., Mexico, and immediately enrolled as a full-time student at Mexico's National Autonomous University. Upon graduation, she returned to the United States for graduate studies. During her years at the University of Texas in Austin, she served as a resident-volunteer at the Griffoun Society, posing for life classes and sitting for member artists. In 2004 she married the artist Percy Cabot and with him established a permanent home and studio in Houston, Texas. She also kept a retreat house in Mexico City, where she did most of her writing. She died peacefully in her sleep on September 17, 2014. She was twenty-eight years old.