Sharon Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Sharon Mitchell is a former erotic actress, with a pornography career spanning over two decades.
actress and dancer who toured with the Martha Graham
company, before becoming an adult actress in the mid-1970s.
During her career in hardcore adult films, she appeared in over 200 movies and directed 38. She made many appearances as a bondage model in underground magazines and, in the 1990s, made the transition from sex films to bondage and S&M videos, nearly always playing the role of a dominatrix.
She is a member of the AVN Awards Hall of Fame, Legends of Erotica and XRCO Hall of Fame.
As an erotic performer, Mitchell was a soft butch
lesbian. She also performed sex scenes with men (often as part of a bisexual threesome
with another female performer), but this was usually in her early career. She contracted herpes, chlamydia and trichomoniasis
during her career.
During her adult work, Mitchell was addicted
to heroin for nearly two decades, a condition she eventually overcame. She contracted hepatitis
from needle use. She subsequently referred to her 16-year addiction to heroin as her "blackout years."
Mitchell had a relationship with production assistant and adult actress Tigr Mennett that was the basis of the 1986 movie Kamikaze Hearts.
On March 30, 1996, she was attacked
and rape
d by a stalker who almost killed her. After that incident, she briefly left the sex industry
, only to return to make sporadic appearances until retiring permanently in 2003, and earned a Ph.D. from the (non-accredited) Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She was the Director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
, which she established in 1998 until it closed it doors in May 2011.
from the San Francisco-based Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality
an unaccredited degree-granting institution.
In 1998, she founded the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
, an organization which provides information and STD testing to workers in adult entertainment. As of 2004, they were testing 1,200 adult performers a month. In 2011, a security breach led to over 12,000 adult performers' personal information being released publicly. A privacy breach lawsuit was filed against the institute and they closed their doors in May, 2011.
Adult film career
An adopted only child, raised Catholic, and briefly married at age 17, she was an Off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
actress and dancer who toured with the Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
company, before becoming an adult actress in the mid-1970s.
During her career in hardcore adult films, she appeared in over 200 movies and directed 38. She made many appearances as a bondage model in underground magazines and, in the 1990s, made the transition from sex films to bondage and S&M videos, nearly always playing the role of a dominatrix.
She is a member of the AVN Awards Hall of Fame, Legends of Erotica and XRCO Hall of Fame.
As an erotic performer, Mitchell was a soft butch
Soft butch
A soft butch or stem is a woman who exhibits some stereotypical butch and lesbian traits without fitting the masculine stereotype associated with butch lesbians. These traits may or may not include short hair, clothing that was designed for men, and masculine mannerisms and behaviors...
lesbian. She also performed sex scenes with men (often as part of a bisexual threesome
Threesome
A threesome is a group of three engaged in the same activity. In relation to a sexual activity a threesome refer to the activity involving three people of any gender or sexual orientation...
with another female performer), but this was usually in her early career. She contracted herpes, chlamydia and trichomoniasis
Trichomoniasis
Trichomoniasis, sometimes referred to as "trich", is a common cause of vaginitis. It is a sexually transmitted disease, and is caused by the single-celled protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis producing mechanical stress on host cells and then ingesting cell fragments after cell death...
during her career.
During her adult work, Mitchell was addicted
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
to heroin for nearly two decades, a condition she eventually overcame. She contracted hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
from needle use. She subsequently referred to her 16-year addiction to heroin as her "blackout years."
Mitchell had a relationship with production assistant and adult actress Tigr Mennett that was the basis of the 1986 movie Kamikaze Hearts.
On March 30, 1996, she was attacked
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d by a stalker who almost killed her. After that incident, she briefly left the sex industry
Sex industry
The sex industry consists of businesses which either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment...
, only to return to make sporadic appearances until retiring permanently in 2003, and earned a Ph.D. from the (non-accredited) Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She was the Director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
The Adult Industry Medical Associates P.C. , also known simply as AIM or AIM Medical, was an organization that tested erotic actors for HIV and other STDs on a scheduled basis....
, which she established in 1998 until it closed it doors in May 2011.
Awards
- 1982 CAFA Best Supporting Actress for Blue Jeans (Tied with Lisa De LeeuwLisa De LeeuwLisa De Leeuw is an American pornographic actress, and one of the few falsely reported to have died of HIV.-Career:She appeared in almost 200 films and was inducted into both the X-Rated Critics' Organization Hall of Fame and the AVN Hall of Fame.-Alleged death:Headpress 25 noted that DeLeeuw...
) - 1983 CAFA Best Actress for Sexcapades
- 1983 CAFA Best Supporting Actress for Night Hunger
- 1984 AVN Best Actress – Film for Sexcapades
- 2008 XBIZ AwardXBIZ AwardXBIZ Awards are given annually to honor "individuals, companies, performers and products that play an essential part in the growth and success of adult entertainment". Organized by the adult industry trade magazine XBIZ, the awards were first given in 2003...
Lifetime Achievement-Industry Contribution
Partial filmography
- Joy (1977)
- Hot Dreams (1983)
- Debbie Does Dallas : The Next Generation (1997)
- 9to5 – Days in Porn9to5 – Days in Porn9to5 – Days in Porn is a 2008 German documentary film about the United States porn industry written and directed by Jens Hoffmann. It is also known as "The Porn Diaries".-Background:...
(2009)
Partial list of magazine appearances
- 1990: Tight Ropes 2/04 (House of Milan|HOM)
- 1991: Motorcycle Mistress Mamas #1 (Lyndon Distributors Limited|LDL)
- 1991: Special Request #2 (HOM)
- 1992: Boss Bitch in Bondage #1 (LDL)
- 1992: The Taming of June Bauer #1" (LDL)
- 1994: Punished (bondage magazine)|Punished 3/10 (HOM)
- 1995: Tied & Tickled 2/009
Sex worker health work
After the end of her adult career, Mitchell obtained a degree in human sexualityHuman sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
from the San Francisco-based Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality
Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality
The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality is a non-accredited degree-granting institution and resource center in the field of sexology located in San Francisco, California. Degree and certificate programs focus on public health, sex therapy, and sexological research...
an unaccredited degree-granting institution.
In 1998, she founded the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation
The Adult Industry Medical Associates P.C. , also known simply as AIM or AIM Medical, was an organization that tested erotic actors for HIV and other STDs on a scheduled basis....
, an organization which provides information and STD testing to workers in adult entertainment. As of 2004, they were testing 1,200 adult performers a month. In 2011, a security breach led to over 12,000 adult performers' personal information being released publicly. A privacy breach lawsuit was filed against the institute and they closed their doors in May, 2011.
External links
- Voice of Health in a Pornographic World, The New York Times
- Interview with SexHerald.com
- Biography at LukeIsBack.com
- Biography at Dr. Sharon Mitchell's website