Roberta Vasquez November 1984
Demi Moore, 1981
Ruth Guerri July 1983
Ron Jeremy
The former special education teacher began a drastic career change in 1978 when his girlfriend sent naked photos of him to “Playgirl.” The spread was so impressive that he started getting calls from adult film directors. Jeremy agreed to participate in hopes that it would help him break into the non-adult film industry. Now: He is still one of the most recognizable names in porn. Jeremy holds the Guinness World Record for most appearances in adult films with more than 2,000. Despite a health scare in 2013, the Queens native still stars in and directs pornographic films – he has even appeared in more mainstream movies, like “The Boondock Saints.”
Harry Reams
Before starring in trailblazing pornos such as “Deep Throat” – which landed him in very public legal troubles -and “The Devil in Miss Jones,” Reems appeared in multiple stag films or “loops,” which were silent, short explicit adult movies. Now: Reems died of pancreatic cancer in 2013. Years before his death, he became a devout Christian.
Vanessa Del Rio
Hailing from Harlem, del Rio quit her job as a computer programmer in 1974 to do porn because “they were paying $150 a day, exactly half my rent,” she once told “Vibe.” She initially left the industry in 1986 at the height of the AIDS crisis. Now: Del Rio came out of retirement in the late 1980s. She has since made cameos on “NYPD Blue” and the music video for the Junior M.A.F.I.A. song “Get Money.”
John Holmes
The legendary figure’s career started in the very early 1970s, before the “Golden Age” of porn. Just how many adult films Holmes appeared in is not known, as actors were not given credit prior to the eventual industry boom. Holmes famously told “Penthouse” that he had his member insured by Lloyd’s of London for the massive amount of $14 million – seven figures per inch, he said. When he wasn’t on-screen, Holmes was giving up criminals to the LAPD as an informant to support his drug and crime habit and stay out of jail. Now: Holmes was the inspiration for Mark Wahlberg’s character Dirk Diggler in the Paul Thomas Anderson film “Boogie Nights” and his alleged involvement in the still unsolved Wonderland murders of 1981 is the subject of the 2003 movie “Wonderland.” He died of complications related to AIDS in 1984. Even after he was diagnosed as HIV positive, Holmes still filmed two pornos, with his condition unknown to his co-stars.
Nina Hartley
As a sophomore nursing student at San Francisco State University in 1982, Hartley began stripping at the famed Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre. Two years later she made her adult film debut in “Educating Ninja,” and still graduated magna cum laude. Now: Hartley is still active in porn and has made her own little empire. She releases “Nina Hartley’s Guide” instructional videos and frequently works with her husband, BDSM adult film director Ernest Greene. The pioneer is also known for role in “Boogie Nights” in which she plays William H. Macy’s cheating wife and as a social activist, particularly on the topic of feminism. “Sex isn’t something men do to you,” she told ATTN. “It isn’t something men get out of you. Sex is something you dive into with gusto and like it every bit as much as he does.”
Marilyn Chambers
The Ivory Snow model appeared in the romantic comedy “The Owl and the Pussycat” alongside Barbara Streisand prior to her breakout role in 1972’s X-rated “Behind the Green Door” – which many consider the first adult film to feature an interracial sex scene. “Resurrection of Eve,” the follow -up to “Green Door” cemented Chambers as a big name in the industry. In 1985, she made national headlines for getting arrested while on stage performing her one woman, full-frontal nudity show “Feel The Magic,” at the Mitchell Brothers’ O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco Now: Chambers died in 2009 of a cerebral hemorrhage due to complications with heart disease.
Traci Lords
Although she only appeared in adult movies from 1984 to 1986, Lords left quite the impact on the industry. She starred in 1984’s Talk Dirty to Me Part III and shortly thereafter began making $1,000 per day. However, Lords was well under the age of 18 during the filming. The child pornography scandal that ensued changed the adult film industry forever. Now: Lords successfully switched over to mainstream roles after 1986. She has acted in “Gilmore Girls,” “Married… with Children,” “Will & Grace” and “Melrose Place,” among others. Her autobiography, “Traci Lords: Underneath It All,” was a New York Times Bestseller and in 1995 her debut album “1000 Fires” spawned the single “Control,” which is certified double platinum.
Ilona Staller
The Hungarian-Italian actress, better known as Cicciolina, was a popular radio host in Italy before entering porn. In 1978 she was the first woman to ever be pictured naked live on Italian television and five years later she made her adult film debut in “Telefono rosso.” She famously appeared in “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empress” alongside John Holmes, who participated in the X-rated film despite being HIV positive. Now: Slater is an active politician and activist in Italy. In February she announced that she is in the process of filming her final adult movie.
Buck Adams
Amber Lynn – who is also well-known in the adult film world – introduced Adams, her brother, into the world of porn around 1980. An actor, Adams also dabbled in directing X-rated movies. The siblings kept their relation a secret to industry insiders until they were booked to work together on the same film. Now: Adams’s prolific career — which included nearly 100 directing credits and more than 600 acting spots — ended in 2008 when he died of heart failure.
Peter North
North began his career as a star of gay porn films in the mid-1980s. He later switched over to straight X-rated movies and began directing as well. The”North Pole” series of films are the North’s most notable works.’ According to his personal website, North, whose real name is Alden Brown, chose Peter North as his porn name because “Your penis is also referred to as your Peter and when you are erect, it faces North. Plus, I am from the North.” Now: He has his own company, Northstar Associates, and still regularly directs and appears in adult films. North has also written several books, including “Penetrating Insights” which is “a guide to meeting and dating beautiful women.” It is available on Amazon for the large sum of $194.99
John Leslie
Leslie was the first male star to successfully switch from adult film acting to directing. He took the industry by storm in 1973 with “Sensuous Delights.” Following John Holmes’ downfall, Leslie took over as the most prominent male star in porn. Now: He died of a heart attack in 2010. Earlier that year, Leslie took part in a documentary on the adult film industry titled “After Porn Ends.”
Jamie Gillis
A true Manhattanite, Gillis, an openly bisexual man, graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University and first ventured into the adult film world after reading an advertisement in the “Village Voice” while he was a taxi driver. He starred in nearly 500 films. Now: Gillis died from Melanoma in 2010. His legacy includes creating and directing the influential “On The Prowl” porn series. The gonzo-themed films inspired the “On the Lookout” filming scene from “Boogie Nights.”
Herschel Savage
Another New York City-native, Savage gave up on his dream of being a broadway star 1976. Two years he shot to stardom for his role in “Debbie Does Dallas.” he reportedly made $150 a day filming the successful film. Now: Savage was out of the adult industry from 1988 to 1997. He is still active in porn and has achieved some mainstream fame as well, with a cameo in NBC’s sitcom “Just Shoot Me.”
Casey Donovan
At the height of his fame in the early 1970s, Donovan made history by becoming one of the first gay male porn stars. In 1971,Donovan starred in the gay porn flick “Boys in the Sand,” which was released before “Deep Throat.” It was the first hit adult film — “Variety” notably gave it a rave review. Now: Donovan was a victim of the 1980s AIDS epidemic. He died in 1987 of pulmonary infection.
Peter Berlin
A gay sex icon, Berlin was an auteur of sorts in the adult film industry when he started. In the 1970s, he was his own photographer, model, and fashion designer. “Nights in Black Leather” and “That Boy,” both of Berlin’s first two starring roles, are still seen as seminal for gay porn. Now: He was the subject of the 2005 documentary “That Man: Peter Berlin,” which led to a revival of sorts for Berlin’s fame. A year later, he launched a personal webcam site, which he still posts on.
Amber Lynn
Buck Adams’ sister began as a model, transitioned to posing nude for magazines, and eventually became in porn star in a short timespan in the early 1980s. Aside from adult films, Lynn gained national fame at the time for her stripping career, which at a time helped her earn $32,000 a week. Now: Drugs, primarily crack, took a hold of Lynn’s life for nearly two decades. She is now sober and has her own radio show on LATalkRadio.com.
Ginger Lynn
The first woman to be film a scene with Peter North, Ginger Lynn’s prominence in the industry launched after her 1983 spread in “Penthouse.” For the following three years, she was the most recognizable name in adult films, and even testified in the Traci Lord underage porn trial. Now: Lynn occasionally still appears in porn films. She has had some success in mainstream roles, appearing in movies such as “American Pie: Band Camp,’ “Young Guns II” and “The Devil’s Rejects.” She famously dated Charlie Sheen in the 1990s.
Juliet Anderson
Better known among her fans as Aunt Peg, Anderson jumped into the business at the ripe age of 39 after ditching her dreams of filming documentaries. She used her stardom to branch out and star and host events such as comedy shows involved nudity and legal interactions — such as Q&A sessions — with fans. Now: Anderson died in 2010 of a heart attack. Prior to her death, she was awarded with an honorary Doctor of the Arts from The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in 2007.
Seka
Seka, whose real name is Dorothiea Ivonniea Hundley, owned multiple adult book stores before she entered the industry. She appeared in 200 adult films, with a break between the early 1980s and 1990s due to the AIDS epidemic. Seka has enjoyed mainstream fame at the height of her career, appearing on “Saturday Night Live,” — when she dated comedian Sam Kinison — and multiple daytime talk shows, include Oprah Winfrey’s. Now: Seka runs her own fanclub and as of 2007 released her first X-rated film in more than a decade.
Bambi Woods
Bambi Woods was not prepared for the level of fame she received for 1978’s “Debbie Does Dallas,” an adult film she appeared in solely because of personal financial issues. She became a celebrity of sorts. Woods only appeared in two other X-rated movies, both sequels to “Dallas.” Now: Like straight out of a Hollywood film, barely anything is known about Woods. She disappeared from the national spotlight in the mid 1980s. Over the years there have been multiple reports that range from saying she is dead to that she is living a normal normal life. Neither have ever been confirmed.