Watch Entertainment Stars Video 2025 - For many actors, the road to fame isn't easy. Their childhood is filled with fantasies about making it big in Hollywood, but the reality is much more depressing. Big-budget film roles are scarce, which means many actors have to settle for second-best jobs. It's not much of a surprise that struggling artists turn to the adult film industry during tough times. While some people stumbled upon the adult industry out of pure chance, others did it because they were good at it. But just because these people made it big as adult film stars don't mean they wanted to do it forever. After a few years of raking in cash from films, seedy sites, and X-rated magazine photoshoots, some of the top adult entertainment stars retired from the industry in favor of a less... exposed career.
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Jill Kelly
Jill Kelly is best known for her work in adult entertainment despite appearing in various mainstream films and starting her own production company. In fact, she was invited into the AVN Hall of Fame, which is only open to adult film stars with "a minimum of 10 years in the industry." Aside from acting in, producing, and directing pornography films, Jill Kelly has appeared in over 50 mainstream B movies, including Big Sister 2000, He Got Game, and The Legend of the Roller Blase Seven. But it's no secret that pornography was her primary claim to fame. Kelly got her start in the industry as a stripper at the Babydolls theater. She was so desperate to enter the industry that she gave the club false identification to allow her to work there because she was only a teenager at the time. Later, she participated in live pornography shows in San Francisco, which led to landing roles in adult films. What is Kelly up to now?
Amber Rayne
Amber Rayne AKA Meghan Wren began her acting career as a child actress, not an adult entertainment star. Rayne was born in Detroit, Michigan, where she worked as an extra in mainstream movies and films. But once she hit her 21st birthday in 2005, Rayne entered the porn industry. Ten years later, she announced her retirement from an adult film. This retirement wasn't permanent, however. Later in 2015, Rayne performed in her last adult film Wanted because of promises she made to Stormy Daniels six years earlier. As for other jobs she had within the industry, Razyne worked as an editor, director, producer, fluffer, and BDSM lifestyle influencer.
Sasha Grey
Out of the biggest stars on the early 2000s online platforms, Sasha Grey is at the top. Her first film, Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge, was released in 2006 and instantly set the tone for the rest of her X-rated career after asking her costar to punch her "in the stomach." Well, that's an interesting way to get your name out there. Plus, she rode the new technological wave that created an entirely new and convenient way to experience adult content. Grey is so iconic, in fact, that she won an award for Female Performer of the Year in 2008, emphasizing how influential she was during her five years of performing in the adult industry. She filmed her last porn movie in 2009 at just 21 years old and officially retired in April 2011. Despite her retirement, however, Grey's name continues to be a chart-topper around the world for her past performances. The Economist reported that the industry's revenue skyrocketed to around $40-$50 million during the 2000s!
Stormy Daniels
Stormy Daniels is a notorious name both in pornography and mainstream media. Why? She might have risen to fame through pornography, but she achieved mainstream stardom during the infamous (and very public) scandal involving former U.S. President Donald Trump and his ex-attorney Michael Cohen. Trump and his team claim that Daniels is a fraud, yet it's not hard to believe that a president would pay $130,000 in hush money to cover up an affair. Before the scandal, Daniels was primarily known for her work as a pornographic actress and director. She began her career as a stripper at just 17 in Baton Rouge. Daniels was recruited into adult entertainment while working as a stripper, leading her to work for Wicked Pictures and appear in American Girls Part 2 for Sin City.
Sibel Kekilli
Sibel Kekilli was a porn star for around six months in Germany with the stage name Dilara, but she kept that stage of her career private until it was released by the media after her success in a mainstream film. Her father told Bild, "The disgrace is too great for the family... I can never forgive her for it. I don't want to ever see her again." Harsh, much? Despite her father's opinion, Kekilli managed to make a name for herself even after retiring from pornography. For instance, she's popularly remembered for starring as prostitute Shae during the early seasons of the HBO series Game of Thrones. But many fans of the fantasy hit might not know that Kekilli first rose to fame in the film Head-On as the lead actress, winning two Lola film awards for her performance.
Traci Lords
Traci Lords has starred in numerous cult classics, like Serial Mom and Blade, but she’s probably most infamous for appearing in Penthouse magazine when she was only 16. After that, she went on to star in numerous adult films like What Gets Me Hot! in 1984 as well as appearing in the magazines Velvet, Juggs, and Club. Lords starred in some of the first porn films during the industry's "golden age," was hailed as the "Princess of Porn," and made more than $1,000 per day as the best-paid sex performer ever. But her career in the industry wasn't made to last as she transitioned to mainstream acting in the late '80s.
Sunny Leone
Now considered a notable model and actress for American and Indian productions, Sunny Leone was once a prominent performer in adult entertainment. Named Penthouse Pet of the Year in 2003 (weird name, but whatever) and performed for Vivid Entertainment up to 2010. During those years, she rose through the ranks of porn stars, landing a top 12 spot. After appearing in her first Bollywood film — erotic thriller Jism 2 — Leone officially transitioned away from pornography into mainstream acting in 2013. She announced to MTV, "I am lucky that the audience is accepting me. I have come my way from [porn industry]. I don't have any plans as of now to go back there."
