Belladonna

Pornstar Belladonna might only be in her early thirties but her adult film resume rivals that of the great late 1980s starlets. She's broken many boundaries in porn, from making anal sex look glamorous to buzzing off all of her hair and still managing to be one of the most requested starlets in xxx movie history.

Belladonna was born in the southern town of Biloxi, Mississippi. Her Mormon family moved to Salt Lake City, where she was raised along with her 6 brothers and sisters. Her upbringing was in a poorer household and she often took care of her younger siblings while her parents worked. Fed up with her strict upbringing Belladonna became disinterested in her home life and moved out at the age of 15. She moved in with a few friends and worked several random retail jobs at the local mall.

A few years later at the age of 18 one of Belladonna's close friends suggested she move to Los Angeles. He had some connections in the adult film industry and promised to put in a good word for her. The next day Belladonna was on an airplane headed for California. She immediately obtained work from her friend's contact.

After a couple of nude photo sets Belladonna shot her first hardcore scene for Real Sex Magazine with partner Chris Cannon. The director was both shocked and thrilled to find out Belladonna was up for any kind of kinky sexual act they could come up with. Her first scene involved watersports and anal sex, which she agreed to before filming. It was very rare at the time for a new starlet to immediately be open for so many typically taboo ideas. Word quickly spread about this sexy up-and-comer. As a result Belladonna was booked solid for several months. She continued to shoot action-packed hardcore films for producers all across the country.

Evil Angel loved Belladonna's energy and arranged to make her director for a few DVDs. Her first directorial debut was Evil Pink in 2003. Later on that year she signed a contract with Sineplex. Not only did she star in several of their films, they had her direct DVDs as well. For the next few years Belladonna shot for some of the biggest porn producers around, from Jules Jordan to Rocco Siffredi.

To date Belladonna has starred in over 300 adult films. With all of the movies under her belt it is still hard to find a scene that isn't completely over the top. Gangbangs, bukkake, orgies, gagging and rough sex all seem to be sexual acts she performs in her films. From the start Belladonna was labeled an extreme performer who wasn't afraid to get dirty by her fellow adult film partners.

Belladonna was on top of the world, or so it seemed from the outside. For approximately 21 months a film crew from ABC Television followed Belladonna periodically to capture her career in the adult industry. In January of 2003 Diane Sawyer interviewed her and played the footage on Primetime Thursday. The segment showcased her industry accomplishments but also featured a much darker side of Belladonna's life. Her sister was interviewed and she revealed Belladonna's suicide attempt. Belladonna also broke down in tears during the interview and claimed she usually smiles to keep from crying. The porn industry reacted to her segment with mostly frustrated opinions. A few applauded her for sticking up for the industry while others felt the news program focused only on the negative aspects of Belladonna's life. The press from her national exposure boosted her career significantly, which she took with mixed emotions. ABC wanted to shoot a follow up piece with Belladonna a year later and she declined.

For several years Belladonna dated Nacho Vidal and the two became engaged, but it was short-lived. On April 11, 2004 Belladonna married Aiden Kelly in Las Vegas. The two had a daughter a year later.

During this period Bella filmed two scenes for pornstar Jenna Jameson's production company. Club Jenna's Bella loves Jenna and I Dream of Jenna 2 pushed her career solidly into pornstar status. Belladonna knew she had a solid fan base and wanted more artistic freedom. She decided to launch her own production company under the Evil Angel umbrella. She directed several Gonzo films for her new company and frequently starred in them. Belladonna was an impressive movie maker and her efforts led to winning an AVN Award for Best Director of a Non-Feature in 2008.

After achieving nearly 40 Adult Video News (AVN) award nominations and winning 10, Belladonna dabbled with semi-retirement. She would go on to produce more films but temporarily halted the majority of her on-camera work. Citing STD concerns on August 9, 2007 Belladonna announced on her MySpace page that she was no longer performing with other people. On her page she posted the following: "I will only be doing solo scenes for extras on my movies and also directing, dancing and signing. This is a really big decision for me... it's time to let my body relax. I'm not leaving the business."

Shortly after her announcement Belladonna often posted online about her retired life, family life and bout with depression. In an interview with City Weekly, a Salt Lake City publication Belladonna admitted she often questioned her past movie choices and claimed she never had an adult film star mentor. Her lack of guidance led to Belladonna accepting anything the producers thought would make for a good scene, no matter how extreme the task. However, Belladonna also boldly stated that no one made her do anything she didn't want to do on camera but wished she took things slower at the beginning of her career.

One year later in 2008 Belladonna emerged out of retirement to film Digital Playground's Pirates II, which was a sequel to Pirates, one of the top-selling adult movies of all time. Her role in Pirates II earned her two AVN Awards in 2011, one for Best Supporting Actress and another for Best All-Girls Couples Sex Scene. Belladonna continues to make movies on occasion but the bulk of her work is still behind the camera. In 2011 she was honorably inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame and named by CNBC as one of the 12 most popular stars in porn.