Stormy Daniels
Mainstream Roles: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Saturday Night Live
In 2018, the world of porn was dominated by one name: Stormy Daniels. This was because of Daniels’ legal dispute with then-President Donald Trump in which she claimed that Trump and his team paid her $130,000 in hush money to cover up their affair. Despite that notoriety, Daniels has had a career away from adult entertainment and political scandal. Daniels has starred in such films as
The 40-Year-Old Virgin and
Knocked Up as well as FX’s
Dirt. She even appeared on
Saturday Night Live as herself.
Mainstream Roles: Bigg Boss, Splitsvilla, Jism 2
Sunny Leone wasn’t just a porn star. She was one of THE names in the industry. Before shifting to modeling and acting, Leone was named the
Penthouse Pet of the Year in 2003 and was dubbed one of
Maxim‘s top 12 porn stars in 2010. Her shift to mainstream happened in 2011 when she participated in the Indian reality show
Bigg Boss and hosted
Splitsvilla. But it wasn’t until Leone starred in Bollywood director Pooja Bhatt’s erotic thriller
Jism 2 that she was taken more seriously as an actor.
Shu Qi
Mainstream Roles: The Transporter, The Eye 2, The Assassin
The Transporter star first starred in Hong Kong soft-core porn movies like
Viva Erotica and
Sex & Zen II. Qi even appeared in the Chinese edition of
Playboy magazine. But that all seems to be in the past for Qi as her transition to actor has been well-received. She is currently the winner of two Golden Horse Awards, which is considered to be a prestigious awards competition, and in 2014, Qi was among the highest paid actresses in Taiwan.
Traci Lords
Mainstream Roles: Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Serial Mom, Cry-Baby
Shortly after Lords came onto the scene, she became one of the most sought after adult film stars. It was all smooth sailing until the FBI discovered that Lords was using a fake birth certificate, making all of the movies she made during this time child pornography. Always triple check those sources, people. Lords went on to make guest appearances on shows like
Melrose Place, Married with Children, and
Roseanne. She also starred in the John Waters comedy
Cry-Baby, the vampire thriller
Blade, and Kevin Smith’s
Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
Nina Hartley
Mainstream Roles: Boogie Nights, American Dummy
Before her memorable performance as Little Bill’s wife in
Boogie Nights, Hartley was a returning star of the
Debbie Does series. She’s also starred in
Bubbles Galore, the award-winning documentary
Sticky: A (Self) Love Story, and a Tupac music video. But really Hartley’s legacy goes hand-in-hand with her advocacy. Over the years, she’s been an outspoken feminist as well as a supporter of the sex positivity movement and free speech.
