# Is any woman that was in a porn film a "porn star?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637 "2010-04-28T16:16:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/1 "2010-04-28T16:16:13Z")
I hear the word “porn star” used to refer to literally any woman that has performed in a porn film, regardless of her popularity or fame, or how many films she appeared in. Is there a dividing line between “she did porn” and “porn star”, or is any woman who appeared in porn a “star?” What about male porn actors? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/2 "2010-04-28T16:28:03Z")
“She did porn” = that ice skating thug who sold her honeymoon tape. “Porn Star” = appeared in a commercially made film. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/3 "2010-04-28T16:28:56Z")
Hmm… I think we need a definition of “star” to begin with. If a non-porn movie is “starring” a certain actor/actress, it means they have a lead role or their character/part is a focus of the movie. Since most porn I’ve seen has individuals who are the lead or focus of the movie (however short in duration) I would argue that yes, they are “stars.” Therefore, porn stars. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/4 "2010-04-28T16:33:56Z")
The porn industry has its own “star” system, and of course not every performer is a “star” within the industry, but if, for whatever reason, a performer gains any kind of media attention or noteriety outside the industry (like say they slept with Tiger Woods), the mainstream media will use the term “porn star” just because they think it sounds more interesting and sensationalist than “she did a few scenes under a Vivid contract.” So, no, not every porn actress is regarded as a a “star” within the industry, but that doesn’t mean the MSM won’t call her one anyway. ETA with the advent of the internet, I think the use of therm “porn star” has gotten even more gratuitous, and if it serves the interest of the media, it can and will be applied to practically anything online that involves nudity or sexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/5 "2010-04-28T16:52:37Z")
No, I don’t think so. I know two women who have been in porn, and neither of them would be considered ‘porn stars’. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/6 "2010-04-28T16:57:19Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The porn industry has its own “star” system, and of course not every performer is a “star” within the industry, but if, for whatever reason, a performer gains any kind of media attention or noteriety outside the industry (like say they slept with Tiger Woods), the mainstream media will use the term “porn star” just because they think it sounds more interesting and sensationalist than “she did a few scenes under a Vivid contract.” > > So, no, not every porn actress is regarded as a a “star” within the industry, but that doesn’t mean the MSM won’t call her one anyway. > > ETA with the advent of the internet, I think the use of therm “porn star” has gotten even more gratuitous, and if it serves the interest of the media, it can and will be applied to practically anything online that involves nudity or sexuality. I think that’s exactly right. It’s become an easy handle for the mainstream media to use. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/7 "2010-04-28T17:00:57Z")
I imagine there’s two levels of ‘stars’ within the porn industry. There will be those who are famous amongst porn officionados, but unknown outside of that (my friend works with an ex gay-porn star, and has been in pubs with him when he’s been stopped and asked for his autograph. He now works in IT). Then there are a few whose fame breaks into the mainstream consciousness. Two that I’m aware of, and I’m not remotely a porn regular I might add, are [Linda LoveLace](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Lovelace) and [Ron Jeremy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Jeremy). ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/8 "2010-04-28T17:21:48Z")
I have an xgf that did some porn, and she was _no star_. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/9 "2010-04-28T18:28:35Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I hear the word “porn star” used to refer to literally any woman that has performed in a porn film, regardless of her popularity or fame, or how many films she appeared in. > > Is there a dividing line between “she did porn” and “porn star”, or is any woman who appeared in porn a “star?” What about male porn actors? I tend to view the term as a pejorative. For instance, [Kristine DeBell](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213374/) was very plainly the star of her first film, the X-rated _[Alice in Wonderland](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074113/)_. But as you can see from her IMDB credit list, she had a solid TV and film career after that - not an amazing one, but better than most actors. Or [Sibel Kekilli](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1402546/). After she won the Golden Bear for her work in _[Gegen die Wand](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347048/)_ her “porn past” as “Dilara” was unearthed by a tabloid. Are these women, who undeniably starred in porn films, “porn stars”? If not, isn’t the term a pejorative for “actress who had explicit sex on film”? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/10 "2010-04-28T18:47:58Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > I have an xgf that did some porn, and she was _no star_. But did she do any movies? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/11 "2010-04-28T20:11:31Z")
“Porn star” is like “supermodel” these days. > [@SanVito](#): > > Then there are a few whose fame breaks into the mainstream consciousness. Two that I’m aware of, and I’m not remotely a porn regular I might add, are [Linda LoveLace](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Lovelace) and [Ron Jeremy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Jeremy). I think Jenna Jameson might qualify as well. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/12 "2010-04-28T20:14:53Z")
Hey, we’re all porn stars in our own bedrooms, babies. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/13 "2010-04-28T20:33:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Hmm… I think we need a definition of “star” to begin with. If a non-porn movie is “starring” a certain actor/actress, it means they have a lead role or their character/part is a focus of the movie. Since most porn I’ve seen has individuals who are the lead or focus of the movie (however short in duration) I would argue that yes, they are “stars.” Therefore, porn stars. Yes, a porn movie will have individuals who are the primary focus, but they’ll also usually have folks in the background, too, just like any other movie. I can see saying that someone who was the focus of a movie is a porn star, but what about someone whose entire porn career was just as “fluffer #3”, or whatever? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/14 "2010-04-28T22:31:40Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Are these women, who undeniably starred in porn films, “porn stars”?? No, they are the rare examples of someone with a past in porn who builds a decent mainstream career. I don’t know about Kristine DeBell, but Sibel Kekilli had simply been a chick who starred in a few porn flicks, but never a “porn star”. She then went into mainstream acting and became a movie star (at least in Germany). After that, her past was exposed by the yellow press, but it didn’t hurt her career. Now I cannot define the term properly either, but a “porn star” is certainly a different animal, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/15 "2010-04-29T00:28:17Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > “Porn star” is like “supermodel” these days. > > I think Jenna Jameson might qualify as well. And, of course, [Traci Lords.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traci_Lords) (The greatest living argument in American history for lowering the legal age of consent to 15. Don’t give me any shit about “kiddie porn.” If you are an adult male, and you would not do 15-year-old Traci Lords, you are gay. You are so gay Richard Simmons would go out of his way to kick your sorry gay ass; and then he would go fuck 15yo Traci.) I read a magazine interview once where she said, “I’ll be eighty years old and when I’m walking down the street somebody will say to another, ‘She used to do porn.’” But she accepts it all gracefully. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/16 "2010-04-29T00:32:27Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > What about male porn actors? They’re known simply as “lucky.” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/17 "2010-04-29T02:14:39Z")
Male porn stars always say that it’s not as much fun as it looks like, but I think they’re just saying that because they don’t want competition. I find it hard to believe they get up in the morning and think, “man, I don’t want to go to work and get my dick sucked by two chicks at once today. I think I’ll call in sick.” ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/18 "2010-04-29T02:32:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And, of course, [Traci Lords.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traci_Lords) (The greatest living argument in American history for lowering the legal age of consent to 15. Don’t give me any shit about “kiddie porn.” If you are an adult male, and you would not do 15-year-old Traci Lords, you are gay. You are so gay Richard Simmons would go out of his way to kick your sorry gay ass; and then he would go fuck 15yo Traci.) > > I read a magazine interview once where she said, “I’ll be eighty years old and when I’m walking down the street somebody will say to another, ‘She used to do porn.’” But she accepts it all gracefully. Having never seen her porn, I just looked up some pictures, and in the ones where I assume she was roughly the age she was starring in porn, she looks like a less-squinty, big-haired Renee Zellwegger. She is not unattractive – cute enough, really – but she is not exactly what I would call hot, let alone so hot that any straight guy wouldn’t want to have sex with her is gay. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/19 "2010-04-29T02:33:52Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Having never seen her porn, I just looked up some pictures, and in the ones where I assume she was roughly the age she was starring in porn, she looks like a less-squinty, big-haired Renee Zellwegger. She is not unattractive – cute enough, really – but she is not exactly what I would call hot, let alone so hot that any straight guy wouldn’t want to have sex with her is gay. You just saw her stills. You never saw her in action. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637/20 "2010-04-29T02:35:28Z")
If she’s so hot that any man would be gay for not wanting to fuck her, then that should be obvious by just looking at her. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-woman-that-was-in-a-porn-film-a-porn-star/537637.md?page=2)