Queen of Porn

Background:

“The funny thing about being a porn star is that everyone automatically assumes that they can sleep with you. This is what I do for a living. I don't just let anyone get into my pants.” Jenna Jameson

An American pornographic actress, entrepreneur and writer who began her career as a stripper and nude model before establishing herself as the world's most renowned porn star, Jenna Jameson first came to the attention of erotic film fans in 1993 and by 1996, had nabbed the three top newcomer awards from prestigious pornographic film industry organizations, namely X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO), Adult Video New (AVN) and FOXE. She has since received stars in both the XRCO and AVN Halls of Fame. Her well-known films include Blue Movie (1995) and Brianna Loves Jenna (2001).

Having been dubbed “The Queen of Porn,” Jameson has also gained some prominence in mainstream show business. Starting with a minor role in Howard Stern's film Private Parts (1997), she continued with work in E! Television's “Wild On,” Comedy Central's “The Man Show,” Fox's “Family Guy” and NBC's short lived political drama “Mister Sterling,” among others. She also won a G-Phoria award for her voice role in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002). Her autobiography, “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale,” was one of New York Times’ best sellers in 2004. In the future, she is set to play roles in three horror films, Zombie Strippers (2007), Sin Jin Smith (2007) as well as Horrorween 3D (2008).

Aside from acting, Jenna is also known as an entrepreneur. In 2000, she formed a pornographic entertainment company called Club Jenna, which she co-owns with second husband Justin Sterling. It was initially an individual website, which grew into managing similar websites of other stars. It also began producing pornographic films in 2001. By 2005, Club Jenna had grossed $30 million (U.S.) with profits calculated at half that.

One of FHM's “100 Sexiest Women in the World” (2005 and 2006), Jameson filed for divorce from husband Justin Sterling in December 2006. She was previously married to porn actor Brad Armstrong (legally divorced in 2001). Her love life has also been linked to Marilyn Manson, Tommy Lee and Nikki Tyler, and more recently, musician Dave Navarro and ex-UFC champion Tito Ortiz (began dating fall 2006).

JJ

Childhood and Family:

Jenna Marie Massoli, who would later be famous as Jenna Jameson (nicknamed JJ), was born on April 9, 1974, in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Lawrence Massoli, a program director for an NBC associate and police officer, and Judith Brooke Hunt Massoli , a Las Vegas showgirl. When Jenna was 2, her mother was diagnosed with skin cancer and died shortly afterward, leaving her and older brother Tony under the custody of her Italian-American father. The cancer treatments undergone by her mother led the family to bankruptcy and forced them to move several times, which included moving in with Jenna's paternal grandmother and living in a trailer. As a youngster, Jenna took ballet lessons and competed in beauty pageants.

Jenna has been married twice. On December 20, 1996, she tied the knot with Canadian-born porn actor Brad Armstrong (aka. Rodney Hopkins; born on September 23, 1965), but the couple became estranged after only 10 weeks in March 1997 and finally divorced in March 2001. She then was married to former pornographic studio owner and on-screen sex partner Justin Sterling (aka. Jay Grdina; born on October 11, 1967) on June 22, 2003 in a Roman Catholic-style ceremony. The two met in the summer of 1998 and became engaged in 2000, before her divorce from Armstrong. After the marriage, Jenna planned to retire from acting in pornographic films permanently and have children. In November 2004, she was diagnosed with skin cancer and shortly after, miscarried. She was incapable of becoming pregnant again, even after vitro fertilization. The cancer was successfully removed by operation, but her marriage collapsed. She filed for legal separation from her husband in December 2006.

Brianna Loves Jenna

Career:

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Jenna Jameson lost her virginity when she was a young teen to a boy she liked while drunk at a party. While living in Montana, she was gang-raped by several boys from another high school and eventually met a tattoo artist, Jack, who soon became her boyfriend. Originally wanting to become a showgirl and follow in her mother's footsteps, she tried her hand at stripping after Jack's encouragement, and in 1991, although underage, started dancing in Las Vegas strip clubs. Almost at the same time, she also posed for nude photos for photographer Suze Randall in Los Angeles and was paid $300 per day. By age 20, she had appeared in various men's publications like Penthouse, Hustler, High Society and Cheri. She later left Randall.

Jameson was once addicted to cocaine. She gradually lost weight and became too thin to model. A friend sent her to live with her father, who was living in Redding, California, in order to detox. In 1993, she had her first taste of appearing in an erotic film with a softcore movie by Andrew Blake, opposite girlfriend Nikki Tyler, whom she had met modeling for Randall. Jameson explained that she began acting in pornographic films in revenge for her boyfriend cheating on her. They eventually broke up in 1994.

After overcoming her addiction, Jameson moved to Los Angeles in 1994 to live with Tyler and resume her modeling career. The same year, she also appeared in Up and Cummers 11, helmed by Randy West. She only performed girl-on-girl scenes at first, but later that same year made her first film with a man in Cherry Pie, in which she played a character named Betty Blueballs. After appearing in another hardcore film, Silk Stockings (1995), she signed an exclusive contract with Wicked Pictures, a then small pornographic film production company, in 1995 and her first big-budget film, Blue Movie, was released shortly after. As Alice, a reporter investigating a porn set, she won an Adult Video News for Best Couples Sex Scene, shared with T.T Boy. In 1996, she proved herself a popular young starlet by bringing home top awards from three major industry organizations and received the XRCO Best New Starlet award, the FOXE Video Vixen and the AVN Best New Starlet award. She was the first actress to win all three awards.

Also in 1995, Jameson began her regular appearances in radio Shock Jock Howard Stern's morning show, a job she held until 2005. This led to a venture into mainstream features in 1997 when she had a brief nude scene in Stern's autobiographical film, Private Parts, directed by Betty Thomas. Both projects served as a major part in boosting Jameson's career. She went on to appear in Extreme Championship Wrestling PPV (1997), as the valet for the Dudley Boys, and in 1998, appeared as a recurring interviewer for the ECW. Jameson's career in mainstream entertainment was further established in the late 1990s. She hosted several episodes of E! Entertainment Television’s “Wild On,” gave household tips on Comedy Central's “The Man Show” (1999-2001), and was seen in the syndicated shows “Entertainment Tonight” and “Extra.” In 1999, the porn star was garnered with two lifetime achievement awards, one from Adult Video News and the other from the Hot D’Or Awards in Cannes, the industry's version of the Academy Awards.

Jameson had made more than fifty adult films by the new millennium. However, it was not until 2001 that she experienced her most flourishing project to date with Brianna Loves Jenna. Directed by future husband Justin Sterling, the movie sold 100,000 copies on video and DVD. The same year, she also teamed up with other industry stars for the documentary Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy, and provided her vocals to a 2001 episode of the animated series “Family Guy.” Next, she had a fictional character in the straight-to-video comedy Dirt Merchant (2002), which starred Danny Masterson, made a cameo appearance as a stripper in the Robert DeNiro-Billy Crystal comedy Analyze That (2002), and branched out into video games by voicing the prostitute Candy Suxxx on the well-liked Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), from which she won a G-Phoria for Best Voice Performance - Female. The following year saw Jameson have a recurring role as herself in the NBC political drama “Mister Sterling,” appear in E! Entertainment's “True Hollywood Story,” where she discussed overcoming inner demons and becoming the industry’s most powerful porn actress. Also in 2003, she singed a seven-year deal with Vivid Entertainment that allowed her to direct and star in 15 movies.

Jameson's mainstream popularity received a boost in 2004 with her autobiography, “Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale,” which she wrote with ex-New York Times music writer Neil Strauss. Shortly after its release, the book became a best seller, debuting at No. 9 on the Times’ list. Two years later, in 2006, she voiced P-Whip for Comedy Central's animated series “Samurai Love God.”

As for her upcoming projects, Jameson will star with Robert Englund in the comedy/horror film Zombie Strippers (2007), have a supporting role in the Ethan Dettenmaier helmed horror Sin Jin Smith (2007), starring Jonathan Davis, and make a cameo in Horrorween 3D (2008) for director Joe Estevez.

Awards:

• G-Phoria: Best Voice Performance - Female, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, 2003

• Adult Video News: Best All-Girl Sex Scene - Video, I Dream of Jenna, 2003

• Adult Video News: Best Couples Sex Scene - Film, Blue Movie, 1996