Marilyn Ann Taylor, known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress, singer and vice-presidential candidate. She was known for her 1972 hardcore film debut, Behind the Green Door, and her 1980 pornographic film Insatiable. She ranked at No. 6 on the list of Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time by AVN, and ranked as one of Playboy's Top 100 Sex Stars of the Century in 1999. Although she was primarily known for her adult film work, she made a successful transition to mainstream projects and has been called "porn's most famous crossover".
Marie Louise Hartman, known professionally as Nina Hartley, is an American pornographic film actress and sex educator. By 2017 she had appeared in more than one thousand adult films. She has been described by Las Vegas Weekly as an "outspoken feminist" and "advocate for sexual freedom", and by CNBC as "a legend in the adult world".
Sharon Kane is a former American bondage model and pornographic actress. She has appeared in many adult magazines and pornographic films, in both dominant and submissive roles.
Jeff Stryker is an American porn star who has starred in bisexual, gay, and straight adult films. He lives in California.
Ashlyn Gere is an American pornographic film actress who has also performed in mainstream film and television, including appearances on the science fiction television series The X-Files and Space: Above and Beyond. Gere is an inductee into the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.
Jenna Haze is an American director, model, and former pornographic actress.
Jessica Drake is an American pornographic actress and sex educator.
Zazel: The Scent of Love is an American erotic film, photographed in October 1995 and released in 1997. In occultism, Zȃzȇl is a spirit associated with Saturn. The film was produced by Cal Vista Studios—reportedly made at a cost of $237,000—and was directed by Dutch fashion photographer and filmmaker Philip Mond, who also did the camera work and designed the costumes and special make-up. It was Mond's second adult erotic feature after Sex Off the Runway—and like his previous film, Zazel also featured a bevy of Penthouse Pets, including 1994 Pet of the Year, Sasha Vinni; 1995 Pet of the Year, Gina LaMarca; and 1999 Pet of the Year, Nikie St. Gilles.
John Leslie Nuzzo was an American pornographic film actor-director-producer. Usually credited under the name John Leslie, he also worked under a variety of pseudonyms, including John Leslie Dupre, Frederick Watson, and Lenny Lovely.
Elegant Angel Productions is a pornographic film studio located in Canoga Park, California and owned by Patrick Collins. The company is considered one of the early pioneers of gonzo pornography, and its films have won numerous awards.
Michelle Sinclair, known professionally as Belladonna, is an American former pornographic and erotic actress, director, producer, and model. Since announcing her retirement from pornography in 2012, she has acted in several mainstream films, including Inherent Vice and The Ladies of the House.
A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of distinct pornographic subgenres and attempt to present a sexual fantasy; the actors selected for a particular role are primarily selected on their ability to create or fit that fantasy. Pornographic videos are characterized as either softcore, which does not contain depictions of sexual penetration or extreme fetishism, and hardcore, which can contain depictions of penetration or extreme fetishism, or both. The genres and sexual intensity of videos is mainly determined by demand. Depending on the genre of the film, the on-screen appearance, age, and physical features of the actors and their ability to create the sexual mood of the video is of critical importance. Most actors specialize in certain genres, such as straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, bondage, strap-on, anal, double penetration, semen swallowing, teenage, orgy, age roleplay, fauxcest, interracial or MILFs and more.
VCA Pictures is an American pornographic film production and distribution company. The company was founded by Russ Hampshire, and was formerly a major player during the 'Golden Age of Porn'. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s VCA produced big budget, plot-oriented feature films. In 1982 VCA sold 12,000 units of Insatiable on its first day of release, making it the top selling video that year in America. In the 1990s Hampshire served one year in jail for the interstate transportation of obscene materials. In 2003, VCA was bought by Hustler Video, a subsidiary of Larry Flynt-owned Larry Flynt Publications. VCA maintains a separate identity within the LFP conglomerate. VCA distributed the 1998 documentary Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes, and in 2004 provided footage for the HBO documentary Pornucopia.
Caballero Home Video is an American pornographic film studio, based in Canoga Park, California founded by Noel C. Bloom. It was previously known as Caballero Control Corporation. The company was founded in 1974, making it one of the oldest U.S. porn studios still in existence. Caballero was one of the largest studios during the Golden Age of Porn, and produced several of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed pornographic films of the 1980s and early 1990s. Its dominance of the adult video market saw it called the "General Motors of Porn". Its films starred some of the most successful and best known performers of the period, such as Marilyn Chambers, Seka, Amber Lynn, Stacey Donovan, Ginger Lynn, John Holmes, Joey Silvera, Traci Lords, Nina Hartley, Ron Jeremy and Christy Canyon. Previous company Presidents include Al Bloom. Throughout the 1980s it was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages due to its films being illegally pirated. It also acquired the U.S. rights to rival studio Cal Vista's entire catalogue of more than 150 films. Caballero is a contributor to the Free Speech Coalition.
Stoya is an American pornographic actress, actress, model, and writer.
Asa Akira is an American pornographic film actress, writer and adult film director. Akira has appeared in 689 adult films as of June 2023. In 2013, she became the third Asian performer to win the AVN Female Performer of the Year Award. Akira hosted the 1st and 2nd ceremonies for the Pornhub Awards. She was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame, XRCO Hall of Fame, and Brazzers Hall of Fame.
Angela Gabrielle White is an Australian pornographic film actress and director. She has been inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame, and in 2020 became AVN's first three-time Female Performer of the Year winner.
Chanel Preston is an American pornographic actress. She was the Penthouse magazine Penthouse Pet for March 2012.
The 29th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News, honored the best pornographic movies and adult entertainment products of 2011 of the United States and took place January 21, 2012, at a new venue, The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. Movies or products released between Oct. 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2011 were eligible. The ceremony was televised in the United States by Showtime. Comedian Dave Attell hosted the show for the second time. He first presided over the 27th ceremony held in 2010, and shared the 29th ceremony with co-hosts Bree Olson and Sunny Leone. The awards show was held together with the Adult Entertainment Expo and Internext at the same venue.
Seinfeld: A XXX Parody is a 2009 pornographic film that parodies the series Seinfeld which ran from 1989 until 1998. Like other porn parodies, it has the same characters, settings and other production elements of the original show but adds an explicitly sexual element that was not present in the series. Written by A.J. Slater and directed by Lee Roy Myers, the plot is based on the episode "The Soup Nazi". The film stars James Deen, Kristina Rose, Eric John, Steve Pomerants, Evan Stone, Ashlynn Brooke, London Keyes, Natalie Norton, Tony DeSergio, Sasha Grey, Sadie West and Cassandra Calogera. Released to DVD on June 29, 2009, the movie received positive reviews from critics, who enjoyed the acting, casting, sexual content and comedy. In addition to the positive reception, it also earned ten nominations at the 27th AVN Awards.
