Danni Ashe
Encyclopedia
Danni Ashe is the pseudonym
of an American nude model
and former stripper
, who was the founder and former CEO of Danni's Hard Drive, a pioneering adult web site. Danni started her site in 1995 and it went on to become one of the leading adult internet sites.
, United States. Her naturally large breasts (cup size 32FF) contributed to her popularity as an adult performer.
in Seattle. Never finishing high school, she started stripping at the age of seventeen using a fake ID. In an interview, Ashe once explained her career choice: "I guess I'm an exhibitionist. But that's not quite true. Part of the reason is that I developed huge breasts at an early age and breasts are a very sexualized thing. At an early age I was getting a lot of sexualized attention. Eventually, I just felt that stripping kind of put all that stuff out on the table."
After about five years of working in Seattle clubs, Ashe moved to Los Angeles and began modeling for men's magazines and soft-core pornographic video
s. She eventually worked as an exotic dancer
in various strip clubs throughout the United States as a featured performer. This resulted in an incident in a technically non-nude club in Jacksonville, Florida
. In interviews, Ashe has alleged that the club’s owner and its manager persuaded her to perform a topless dance, and encouraged her to sell softcore
videos of herself at the club. Ashe was subsequently arrested. Ashe pled guilty to “prohibited conduct” and was fined $50. Neither the club nor her agent helped her through this incident. This unpleasant experience marked a turning point in her career; Ashe never again performed as a stripper, seeking instead to work in an area where she would have more control.
theater franchise — showed her his company's new website. When she could not find anyone competent to help her design her own site as she had envisioned it, Ashe read The HTML
Manual of Style and Nicholas Negroponte
's Being Digital
during a vacation. On her return to the U.S., she created the Danni.com website in two weeks. The site was launched in July 1995 and contained content exclusive to her. Ashe announced the website to her friends prior to travelling to New York
with her husband. News of the site spread rapidly. When she reached the hotel in Manhattan, Ashe had a message from her ISP
stating that the volume of traffic her site received had overloaded their servers and caused their system to shut down. Danni.com was moved to its own server, which became famous for having a "working" light that never went out. Ashe jokingly described her server as a "hot box", and when she started charging a fee for access to the site, she named the members' area "The HotBox".
By 2001, the website had made a profit of $6.5 million the previous year and was estimated to be worth 30 million dollars. Ashe was considered the most downloaded woman on the internet with her image being downloaded a billion times. She is the only woman in the world who appeared on the cover of both the Wall Street Journal and Juggs
magazine.
Ashe's business grew, allowing her to hire staff and models. By 2003, she had 50 full-time employees, a studio in Los Angeles (16,000 square feet (1,500 m²), and an archive containing hundreds of thousands of photos, and thousands of hours of video. That year, Arena
magazine ranked her fourth among the "50 Most Powerful People in Porn" list. Ashe was making a million dollars a year.
Danni's Hard Drive was sold in 2004 to John Morisano. In 2006, Penthouse Media Group Inc bought Danni.com and Video Bliss Inc. (owners of the website) for $3 million.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of an American nude model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and former stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
, who was the founder and former CEO of Danni's Hard Drive, a pioneering adult web site. Danni started her site in 1995 and it went on to become one of the leading adult internet sites.
Biography
Ashe was born in Beaufort, South CarolinaBeaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
, United States. Her naturally large breasts (cup size 32FF) contributed to her popularity as an adult performer.
Early career
Ashe began working as a stripperStripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
in Seattle. Never finishing high school, she started stripping at the age of seventeen using a fake ID. In an interview, Ashe once explained her career choice: "I guess I'm an exhibitionist. But that's not quite true. Part of the reason is that I developed huge breasts at an early age and breasts are a very sexualized thing. At an early age I was getting a lot of sexualized attention. Eventually, I just felt that stripping kind of put all that stuff out on the table."
After about five years of working in Seattle clubs, Ashe moved to Los Angeles and began modeling for men's magazines and soft-core pornographic video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
s. She eventually worked as an exotic dancer
Exotic dancer
The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. In the erotic sense, "exotic dance" is a often used to refer to practitioners of striptease...
in various strip clubs throughout the United States as a featured performer. This resulted in an incident in a technically non-nude club in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. In interviews, Ashe has alleged that the club’s owner and its manager persuaded her to perform a topless dance, and encouraged her to sell softcore
Softcore
Softcore pornography is a form of filmic or photographic pornography or erotica that is less sexually explicit than hardcore pornography. It is intended to tickle and arouse men and women. Softcore pornography depicts nude and semi-nude performers engaging in casual social nudity or non-graphic...
videos of herself at the club. Ashe was subsequently arrested. Ashe pled guilty to “prohibited conduct” and was fined $50. Neither the club nor her agent helped her through this incident. This unpleasant experience marked a turning point in her career; Ashe never again performed as a stripper, seeking instead to work in an area where she would have more control.
The Internet and beyond
Her first online activity was confined to Usenet newsgroups during late 1994 and early 1995. In the spring of 1995 she decided to create her own website when her husband — then a senior vice president of the LandmarkLandmark Theatres
Landmark Theatres is the largest art house movie theater chain in the United States. It is owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner through their 2929 Entertainment. The chain shows mostly first run independent, foreign film, and restored classics though some Landmark theaters also show more mainstream...
theater franchise — showed her his company's new website. When she could not find anyone competent to help her design her own site as she had envisioned it, Ashe read The HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
Manual of Style and Nicholas Negroponte
Nicholas Negroponte
Nicholas Negroponte is an American architect best known as the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also known as the founder of the One Laptop per Child Association ....
's Being Digital
Being Digital
Being Digital is a non-fiction book about digital technologies and their possible future by technology author Nicholas Negroponte. It was originally published in January 1995 by Vintage Publishing....
during a vacation. On her return to the U.S., she created the Danni.com website in two weeks. The site was launched in July 1995 and contained content exclusive to her. Ashe announced the website to her friends prior to travelling to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with her husband. News of the site spread rapidly. When she reached the hotel in Manhattan, Ashe had a message from her ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
stating that the volume of traffic her site received had overloaded their servers and caused their system to shut down. Danni.com was moved to its own server, which became famous for having a "working" light that never went out. Ashe jokingly described her server as a "hot box", and when she started charging a fee for access to the site, she named the members' area "The HotBox".
By 2001, the website had made a profit of $6.5 million the previous year and was estimated to be worth 30 million dollars. Ashe was considered the most downloaded woman on the internet with her image being downloaded a billion times. She is the only woman in the world who appeared on the cover of both the Wall Street Journal and Juggs
Juggs
Juggs is a softcore pornography adult magazine published in the United States which specializes in photographs of women with extremely large breasts. It has been called "the magazine of choice for breast men."...
magazine.
Ashe's business grew, allowing her to hire staff and models. By 2003, she had 50 full-time employees, a studio in Los Angeles (16,000 square feet (1,500 m²), and an archive containing hundreds of thousands of photos, and thousands of hours of video. That year, Arena
Arena (magazine)
Arena was a British monthly men's magazine. The magazine was created in 1986 by Nick Logan, who had started The Face in 1980, to focus on trends in fashion and entertainment. British graphic designer Neville Brody, who had designed The Face, designed Arena's launch appearance.The magazine featured...
magazine ranked her fourth among the "50 Most Powerful People in Porn" list. Ashe was making a million dollars a year.
Danni's Hard Drive was sold in 2004 to John Morisano. In 2006, Penthouse Media Group Inc bought Danni.com and Video Bliss Inc. (owners of the website) for $3 million.
External links
- Danni.com
- Roger EbertRoger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, "Hard Driving a Hard Bargain", May 1997, retrieved 2008-07-09. - Frontline: "American Porn": Interviews: Danni Ashe, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, 2002. - "An InnerView of Danni Ashe", AINews, 2000-01-24, retrieved 2008-07-07.