[1] A transgender woman,[2] Humphreys inspired lyrics, songs and artwork by Reed, and accompanied him on the road as a hairdresser and tour manager during the mid-1970s.

[4] Humphreys was of Mexican Native descent, and her sister Gail Garcia told Reed biographer Aidan Levy: "We knew since he was little he was gay.

"[5] Humphreys attended cosmetology school in Bayonne, New Jersey,[4][6] and was rumored to have lived in Philadelphia at some point before meeting Reed.

[5] One member of their tour party recalled that Reed and Humphreys would often destroy their hotel rooms: "They were so fucking blitzed they would rip the carpet off the floor, the wallpaper off the walls...

"[5] Humphreys is featured in an illustration (by David Edward Byrd) on the back cover of Reed's 1974 album Sally Can't Dance.

Humphreys is depicted reflected in Reed's sunglasses, and is credited in the liner notes as "René de la Bush.

The last time the two were known to have seen one another was in early 1979 when Humphreys briefly attended one of Reed's band practices, returning a leather bag containing some of the musician's belongings.

[5] Noted rock critic Lester Bangs, who was a friend of Reed's then-guitarist Robert Quine, often wrote negatively about Rachel during his tenure as editor of Creem.

[6][9][13][14] Although Humphreys's official cause of death remains unknown,[9] she died at Saint Clare's Hospital,[9] an institution that specialized in helping those with AIDS during the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Humphreys was buried on 16 February 1990 at Potter's Field on Hart Island off the coast of the Bronx alongside thousands of other individuals who died during the AIDS epidemic.

Actor Michael Imperioli published a novel in 2018 titled The Perfume Burned His Eyes, in which a young man moves from Queens to Manhattan, befriending Reed and Humphreys in the process.