Asia Carrera Lemmon (born Jessica Steinhauser, August 6, 1973) is an American former
pornographic actress.
Early life
Asia Carrera was born Jessica Steinhauser
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to a German mother and Japanese father, the oldest of four siblings.
She was raised in
Little Silver, New Jersey
Little Silver is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,131, an increase of 181 (+3.0%) from the 2010 ...
, and attended
Red Bank Regional High School. At the age of 16, she taught English at
Tsuruga College in
Tsuruga, Fukui
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 66,123 in 28,604 households and the population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Geography
Tsuruga is l ...
, Japan.
["The Women of Porn", '']Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', March 2002, page 128
At 17 years old, Carrera ran away from home due to overwhelming parental pressures and attempted suicide several times.
She received a full scholarship to Rutgers University, but dropped out after realizing she could make large sums of money dancing and modeling.
Soon after leaving Rutgers, she moved to Los Angeles.
Carrera is a
member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of
Mensa,
with an IQ of 156.
Career
Adult film career
Carrera's adult film career started in 1993 and appeared in over 350 adult films. In 1995, she became the first Asian performer ever to win the AVN Female Performer of the Year Award. Carrera retired from the film industry in 2003, following her marriage to Don Lemmon.[
Carrera lent her voice to several erotic ]hentai
Hentai () is a style of Pornography in Japan, Japanese pornographic anime and manga. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as ''eroge'').
The developme ...
OVAs for publisher Pink Pineapple, such as ''Inmu'' (2001) and ''Shusaku'' (1999). In October 2001, Carrera attended the Big Apple Anime Fest in New York City for her voice roles and along with Kobe Tai was an Opening Night Guest of Honor at the fest's Midnight Anime Concourse.
Carrera was also in the 2012 documentary '' After Porn Ends'', which documents the lives of actors after they leave the adult film industry. In the documentary, she discusses her membership in Mensa. Despite being a celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
member of the group, the organization refused to link to her website because it contained pornographic elements.
Other work
In 1998, she appeared in an uncredited cameo role in the film ''The Big Lebowski
''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, directed, produced and co-edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows the life of Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted ...
'' in the faux pornographic movie ''Logjammin within the film.
Carrera was a guest reviewer for ''Maximum PC
''Maximum PC'', formerly known as ''boot'', was an American magazine and website published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs. Compon ...
'' magazine.
Personal life
Carrera is an atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. In November 2014, she wore a colander
A colander (or cullender) is a kitchen utensil perforated with holes used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables. The perforations of the colander allow liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes ca ...
on her head for her Utah driver's license photograph. State law normally prohibits the wearing of hats in driver license photos, but there is an exception for religious headwear and Carerra's colander was worn in honor of the religion of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. She is one of about a dozen "Pastafarian" Utahns who have worn a colander in their official state ID photos.
In September 1995, Carrera married adult film director Bud Lee. They divorced in 2003, but remain good friends. She married nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and Human nutrition, nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disci ...
and author Don Lemmon on December 19, 2003. The couple moved to St. George, Utah, where she gave birth to a daughter on March 4, 2005. On June 10, 2006, Lemmon was killed in a car accident outside of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. Seven weeks later, on July 31, Carrera gave birth to the couple's second child. In June 2012, she gave birth to a boy whom she later placed for adoption.
In 2015, she was arrested for DUI with "a reported blood alcohol content of .254 percent – more than three times Utah’s .08 legal limit." She pleaded no contest in exchange for avoiding jail time and was sentenced to house arrest
House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
.
In 2015, Carrera began studies at Utah Tech University
Utah Tech University (UT), formerly named Dixie State University (DSU), is a polytechnic four-year public university in St. George, Utah, in southwest Utah (also known by the longtime nickname of " Utah's Dixie" region). UT offers doctoral degre ...
, where she was joined two years later by her 11-year-old daughter. At that time, Carrera's daughter was the youngest student to attend college at Utah Tech, and the youngest full-time college student in the state of Utah.
Carrera has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Utah Tech, a Master's in Education from Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
, and a Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University School of Law.
Awards and nominations
* 1995 AVN Female Performer of the Year
* 2000 AVN Best Couples Sex Scene – Film (''Search for the Snow Leopard'')
* 2000 AVN Award nominee - Best Actress – Film
* 2001 AVN Hall of Fame inductee
* 2007 XRCO Hall of Fame
The XRCO Hall of Fame lists well-known adult entertainment works and workers. The list is managed by X-Rated Critics Organization and inducted annually during the XRCO Awards. The first XRCO Awards were presented in Hollywood on February 14, 198 ...
inductee – XRCO Members' Choice
References
Citations
Sources
* Nakamura, Eric (1999)
"Big Money Shot: Asia Carrera"
Giant Robot.
* Pollard, Nate (2011)
"Interview: Asia Carrera"
Verbicide.
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrera, Asia
1973 births
Living people
Actresses from New York City
Actors from Monmouth County, New Jersey
Red Bank Regional High School alumni
Utah Tech University alumni
Texas A&M University alumni
Rutgers University alumni
American women bloggers
American bloggers
American female adult models
American pornographic film actresses
American people of German descent
American pornographic film actors of Japanese descent
People from Little Silver, New Jersey
People from St. George, Utah
Pornographic film actors from New Jersey
Pornographic film actors from New York (state)
American atheists
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
American actresses of Japanese descent
Mensans