Despite being born with beauty and brains, a former Miss Venezuela pageant winner died at the age of 68 after spending the last 15 years of her life in homelessness.

Damarys Ruiz was a model who found fame after she was crowned Miss Venezuela in 1973 while representing her home state of Sucre at the age of 26. The former beauty queen also obtained a law degree, according to The Daily Mail.

However, she decided not to pursue a career in law, and instead began selling homemade crafts and jewelry in Caracas. She also began living with her brother, who friends say envied her and restricted her from socializing with others.

Back in 2005, Ruiz opened up to a local media outlet about her possessive brother, saying, "He used to starve me. He often threatened me and often hit me. I repeatedly called the police but they never did anything."

Eventually, she said that she ran away in 2000 and began living on the streets because she had nowhere to go. She also said that she never had a serious romantic relationship.

Her body was recently discovered in a public park in Caracas, Venezuela's capital.

A hospital spokesman said her body had still not been formally identified by a member of her family since none of her relatives turned up, despite the publicity.

Rosalba Gomes, who says she became friends with Ruiz two years ago, said, "I saw her two or three times in the week and I talked to her for long hours. Her life ended up with great depression, without receiving support from her family or friends. She couldn't see any way to escape the trap she was in," she said.

Gomes also described her as "a beautiful woman inside and outside."

She added, "This lady was wonderful, educated and a great conversationalist. She was a lawyer and studied several years in the university and had opinions about everything. I loved to listen to her and her stories, anecdotes, we talked about everything."