Businesswoman, Model, and Writer
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$10 Million
"I am very driven by fame and success; I like to succeed at everything I do." Success has been extremely important for Jenna Jameson, and the actress and writer has been very focused throughout her life. She made her mark in the pornographic film industry, but has done much more than that in her career. She's one of the most commonly recognized actresses in her industry, and has been dubbed the "Queen of Porn" by some. In 1993 she began acting in the industry after working as a glamour model and a stripper. She found that the business was lucrative, and that her looks and talents were in demand.
Since she started out in the film industry, Jameson has won more than 35 awards for adult films. She also founded an entertainment company based around adult products with her then-husband. The couple later divorced. While there are many who only think of Jameson as a pornographic actress, she has also crossed over in mainstream films at times. She had an appearance in Private Parts (1997), and she also guest-starred and guest-hosted on several other television shows. She wrote an autobiography in 2004, which was on the New York TImes' Bestseller List for six weeks. Here's what you need to know about her.
Big Dreams for a Vegas Girl
Jameson was born in Las Vegas, NV, and her father was a police officer. Her mother was a showgirl, dancing at the Tropicana. Her mother died before Jenna's second birthday, and the treatments she underwent for her cancer caused financial hardship for the family. They lived in trailer homes in Montana, Nevada, and Arizona, as well as with Jameson's grandmother. She has an older brother named Tony, and was raised as a Catholic. She frequently entered beauty pageants when she was a child and was enrolled in dance classes for a number of years, even though she didn't become a dancer as a career.
"I've always wanted to be a professional dancer, I'd always wanted to be a ballerina. I trained for 13 years but it never came to be," she said. Instead of becoming a dancer, she used her beauty and talents to secure work in the film industry. She moved out of her home when she was 16, and entered her first relationship that was serious. It was at that time she also got her first tattoo, and began to explore life on her own instead of being tied to her father and brother. Her family remained relatively close, though, and Jameson was frequently in touch with her brother as she grew to find her own place in the world.
Early in her career she wanted to be a showgirl like her mother, but she found that she wasn't quite tall enough and frequently would be rejected for that reason. Eventually she started working at Disneyland Resort, but after two months she left because she wasn't getting the hours or schedule that worked for her. In 1991, on the advice of her boyfriend, she used a fake ID to start dancing in strip clubs. She was underage, and after six months of work she was reportedly earning $2,000 per night. She hadn't yet graduated from high school.
Moving From Dancing to Films and the Business World
"My definition of courage is never letting anyone define you," Jameson has said, and she certainly didn't allow anyone to define how she was going to live her life. She struggled with the lifestyle that came with being a dancer, and eventually started doing nude photo shoots, as well. When health problems from poor eating and related issues became too much, her brother sent her to Redding, California where her father was living, in the hopes that she would be able to get healthy again. Her father nearly failed to recognize his own daughter getting off the plane because she had gotten so thin.
Fortunately, she was able to recover her health and pursue an acting career. She started with smaller films, and eventually worked her way up to the more mainstream pornographic films that she became known for. By the time 2001 came around, Jameson was being well-paid for her work and she was in demand. She was often paid $60,000 for the filming of a single DVD, which was typically a day and a half. She also earned up to $25,000 per night dancing. But she tried to reduce her workload, with two weeks of dancing and five films per month as her limit.
Jameson has since retired from pornographic films, stating in 2008 that she would no longer work in the industry. In 2013 she was still working as a webcam model, and she had developed a thriving business with her husband. ClubJenna, an internet pornography company, is still operated by Jameson and her husband. Both are committed to the business, even though Jameson doesn't perform in the industry any longer. Fans of Jameson can still see her as a webcam model and follow her business ventures in order to stay apprised of what the star is doing next.
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