Pop culture thrives on the idea that “sex sells,” the infamous phrase that praises women for their bodies; whether petite, bodacious, or flat chested. Fueled by the Hip-Hop and porn industries, value and sex appeal have become synonymous in our hyper-sexual society. But, there’s more to video vixens, reality TV stars and porn queens than their ass-ets…. at least that’s the case with these retired porn stars.
Heather Hunter
The first black woman to score a contract with porn production company Vivid Entertainment, Heather Hunter was the “IT” girl of porn in the 90s. Known for her interracial and lesbian scenes, Hunter gained notoriety everywhere, even inspiring a name drop in the early Lil’ Kim track “Big Momma Thang.” Hunter, who started out as a dancer on Soul Train, has over 60 videos under her belt and was inducted into the Adult Video News Hall of Fame in 2003.
Since retiring in 1993, she’s released three albums; one house and two rap. Double H: The Unexpected was released in 2005 and produced by Scott Storch and DJ Premier. In 2006, she opened an art gallery in Dumbo, Brooklyn called Artcore-NYC. Now she’s a fulltime photographer. IMDb credits her saying, “I want to have a chance to change and evolve, and not be pigeon-holed as an adult star.”
Katsuni
A photo posted by CELINE Tran (@katsuni) on May 28, 2013 at 9:33pm PDT
Celine Tran aka Katsuni, is of French and Vietnamese descent and quite the globetrotter, using her brand as a porn star to crossover into mainstream acting and modeling. Before breaking into the industry, she studied political science at the Grenoble Institute of Political Science. According to IDMb, she’s received more than 35 awards for her “hardcore anal scenes.” Complex ranks her as #3 on their The Top 50 Hottest Asian Porn Stars list. Her career as a showgirl has taken her from New York to Sydney and Barcelona just to name a few. To add to her accolades, she received the Erotic Dancer Award for “Best Adult Entertainer” in 2010. In 2011, she began hosting Les Mangas sexy de Katsuni, a show about adult Japanese anime on a mainstream French network. Since retiring in 2013, she started a lingerie line called “Petit Coeur.”
Tyffany Million 
Gorgeous Lady of Wrestling, Tyffany Mellon entered the porn industry in 1992 after being harassed by the organization for accusations of being a lesbian. Ironically, she went on to star in 129 adult films, both heterosexual and lesbian. Coined the “dirty girl” of porn, she went on to start her own production company, Immaculate Video Conceptions and she retired after marrying her husband in 1994.
She now goes by her birth name — Sandra Margot-Escott and works as a bounty hunter and private investigator. She briefly had her own reality show on WE in 2007 called Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter.
Karrine Steffans
Men want a woman with sexual experience, but can’t stand to think about how she got that experience… A photo posted by Karrine & Co.® (@karrineandco) on
Video vixen Karrine Steffans, known as Superhead for her superlative sexual abilities, used her past of sleeping with the biggest names in Hip-Hop (Jay Z, Ja Rule, etc) to write a series of Vixen memoirs, three of which made it on to the New York Times Best Seller List. Introduced to Hip-Hop by ex-boyfriend Kool G Rap, Karrine went on to star in over 20 music videos; (“Hey Papi” by Jay Z, “Danger” by Mystikal, “Fatty Gurl” by Keith Murray to name just a few)
In 2005, she released Confessions of a Video Vixen, detailing her abusive and traumatic childhood along with her raunchy sexapades with top rappers. Following her first memoir, she released The Vixen Diaries, The Vixen Manual, SatisiFaction and most recently Vindicated earlier this year. She’s also spoken at various college campuses about her experiences and the expectations of women in the industry. Karrine now runs a health and wellness website called The Gorgeous Girl Guide.
Kendra Wilkinson
A photo posted by @kendra_wilkinson_baskett on Jul 7, 2015 at 3:02pm PDT
The former girlfriend of Hugh Heffner, Kendra Wilkinson posed in three nude pictorials and became the poster girl for The Playhouse on the hit reality series The Girls Next Door. She left the show in 2009 after meeting her soon to be husband, then Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Basket. She soon scored a spin-off series; Kendra on E!, the same network.
Since then, she’s become a wife and mother to two children; Alijah and Hank IV Baskett. Kendra is also a New York Times best-selling author for her memoir Sliding Into Home as well as competitor on the twelfth season of Dancing With The Stars. She’s even continued to remain relevant on the reality TV scene with her own show Kendra on Top, as well as appearing with her husband on WeTV’s Marriage Bootcamp.
Kelly Nichols
Porn legend Kelly Nichols made her mark during the Golden Age of Adult Cinema in 1979. At the time, she was only one of the few. “They wanted to make me into a star right away. I got the cream of the crop jobs…” she said on the Susan Block Show in 2014. With only 36 videos filmed, Kelly’s considered a pioneer of porn. In 1983 she did three SAG films and also played Jessica Lange’s stunt double in King Kong. After retiring from the camera, she remained in the industry, however rebranding herself as a makeup artist.
“In the meantime, I’ve gone back to an art form; I’m learning to airbrush… and doing murals and doing these shows…” she told Susan.
Sinnamon Love
A photo posted by Sinnamon Love (@sinnamonlove) on Jun 4, 2015 at 8:23pm PDT
Sizzling Sinnamon Love was raised in Flint, Michigan but lived a privileged life attending both private and magnet schools, which is why it comes as no surprise that she’s college educated, a feminist and writer. She got her start in porn in 1993 and has had a long run in the adult entertainment industry with over 250 movies under her belt. She’s appeared on the cover of men’s magazines and has made countless appearances on Playboy TV & Radio.
In 2010, she toured with the Punany Poets of HBO’s Real Sex and has been featured on the Jerry Springer Show & The Tyra Banks Show. In 2011 she was admitted into the AVN Hall of Fame. Since retirement, she’s been able to hone in on her craft as a writer, penning a relationship column and she has contributed to a handful of books. She’s most recently gained attention for her activism on behalf of Autism awareness and needs, as well as developing recipes for her newest venture, CanelaisKitchen.com, a gluten-free food initiative.
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