Belladonna (born Michelle Anne Sinclair;
May 21, 1981
) is an American actress,
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
, producer,
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
, and pornographic and
erotic actress. She retired from the sex industry in 2008.
Since retiring from pornography, she has acted in several films, including ''
Inherent Vice
''Inherent Vice'' is a novel by American author Thomas Pynchon, originally published in August 2009. A darkly comic detective novel set in 1970s California, the plot follows sleuth Larry "Doc" Sportello whose ex-girlfriend asks him to investiga ...
'' and ''
The Ladies of the House.''
Personal life
![Belladonna pornstar adjust](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Belladonna_pornstar_adjust.jpg)
Michelle Anne Sinclair was born in
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
,
the second of eight children.
She grew up in a
traditional conservative Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
family.
Her father, a retired
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
, was a Mormon
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. The family has German, Scottish, and Cherokee Indian roots.
Sinclair dropped out of high school and moved out of her parents' house at 15.
Prior to her professional career, she held jobs at 7-11, Victoria's Secret, Sears and Subway.
[Exclusive Interview]
at Freeones on September 11, 2007
She married Aiden Kelly in 2004,
with whom she has a daughter.
Career
She was introduced to the adult industry when an agent came to Utah to see one of her friends, who introduced him to her.
The next day she flew to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
with the intention of joining the industry.
Immediately prior to starting her porn career she was dancing in a club in Utah.
The pseudonym "Belladonna" came in part from a friend in Utah named Bella; later, an early agent suggested Bella Donna as it means "beautiful woman" in Italian.
Her motivation to join the adult industry was mainly financial.
Her career began in 2000 when she was 18.
Her first film was ''Real Sex Magazine''.
One of her early films featured Sinclair in a rough group sex scene with twelve men, staged in a prison.
She has since appeared in over 300
adult films, including titles such as ''Service Animals 6 & 7,'' ''She-Male Domination Nation,'' ''Bella Loves Jenna,'' ''Back 2 Evil,'' ''Weapons of Ass Destruction,'' and ''Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge.''
In 2002 she featured in the multi award-winning
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
themed ''
Fashionistas''; its director
John Stagliano
John Stagliano (born November 29, 1951), also known as Buttman, is an American entrepreneur, former pornographic film actor, producer and director who founded and owns the Evil Angel pornographic film studio.
Early life and career
Stagliano ...
described her as "a woman with the most incredible sexual abilities I’ve ever seen."
[Belladonna QA]
at Good Vibrations, April 2007 As well as Stagliano she has often been directed by
Nacho Vidal
Ignacio Jordà González (born 30 December 1973), better known as Nacho Vidal, is a Spanish pornographic performer, director, producer, writer, and camera operator.
Early life
Ignacio Jordà González was born in Mataró (Barcelona) in Catalo ...
,
Jules Jordan
Jules Jordan (born May 25, 1972) is an American adult film actor, director, and producer known for his work in gonzo pornography.
Jordan entered the adult film industry as a clerk for a video store. While working in sales, he recruited mode ...
and
Rocco Siffredi
Rocco Siffredi (born Rocco Antonio Tano; 4 May 1964) is an Italian Pornographic film actor, pornographic actor, director and producer.
He took his stage name from the character Roch Siffredi played by Alain Delon in the French gangster film '' ...
.
In 2003 she signed a contract with Sineplex, for whom she also directed.
[interview #2 (March 2003)]
at RogReviews.com
Appearances
She has appeared several times in the
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series ''
Family Business
A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...
'', which focuses on the life of porn director
Adam Glasser
Adam Glasser (born March 18, 1964), known professionally as Seymore Butts, is an American pornographic film director, producer, and occasional performer who has produced hundreds of films in the gonzo genre of pornography (faux reality-based adu ...
a.k.a. "Seymore Butts". In 2004 she was one of a number of porn stars photographed by
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (born February 16, 1952) is an American documentary filmmaker and portrait photographer based in New York City. The majority of his work is shot in large format.
Early life
Greenfield-Sanders was born on February 16, ...
for a "
coffee table book
A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...
" on the
adult industry
The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...
, ''XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits''; she also appears in the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
documentary ''
Thinking XXX
''Thinking XXX'' is a 2004 documentary television film about the process photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders went through to create his book ''XXX: 30 Porn Star Portraits''.
Content
The film shows Greenfield-Sanders as he shoots portraits o ...
'' about the making of the book.
In a 2007 interview with the Salt Lake ''City Weekly'',
Sinclair expressed some regret about aspects of her career in pornography, particularly her early notoriety for performing acts and scenes that many other performers regarded as extreme or taboo. Lamenting the lack of guidance from more experienced actresses, Sinclair described an extended period of
clinical depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
. Sinclair stressed in this same interview, however, that she took responsibility for all her decisions and that she was never forced to perform.
In 2011, she was named by
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
as one of the 12 most popular stars in porn. CNBC noted that while she had stepped back from acting to pursue directing and producing, she has maintained a loyal fan base, and has been nominated for 42 AVN awards and won 10 in the course of her career.
''Primetime'' special
![Belladonna Erotica Los Angeles 2009 (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Belladonna_Erotica_Los_Angeles_2009_%281%29.jpg)
Her career in the pornography business was followed for two years by a crew from
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
, culminating in a January 2003 interview with
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and ''Primetime'' newsmagaz ...
as part of a ''
Primetime Thursday'' segment on pornography.
At one point in the interview Belladonna broke down in tears, when Sawyer asked her, "You keep describing these awful things that happened to you. Yet, you keep smiling. Why?" Belladonna's smile wavered and her eyes watered up. "It's so I don't start crying," she said.
The publicity provided by the interview boosted Belladonna's career.
The interview has since been used by a number of
anti-pornography groups to support their case that pornography is exploitative of the women who appear in it; nevertheless, Sinclair remained an active performer in the industry. In later interviews, Sinclair claimed that she had never intended to make "anti-porn" statements.
In one interview, when she was asked if she were happy with how the interview came out, her reply was, "I am not happy about ''Primetime'' but I would love to see the whole story air one day so everyone can see how much I had to say that was FOR the porn industry. If you know me you know that I loved shooting!"
ABC contacted her once to do a follow-up to the interview; she refused saying, "No thank you. I don't want to be embarrassed again."
Several figures in the porn industry objected to her comments on the program.
In an interview with ''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...
'', Sinclair admitted that despite being depressed at the time, the interview was embarrassing and that when she watched it, there were elements in the piece that were untrue.
Retirement from pornography, acting career and subsequent endeavors
In August 2007, Sinclair decided to semi-retire from performing with other people over concerns of
STDs, specifically
herpes
Herpes simplex is a viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. Infections are categorized based on the part of the body infected.
Oral herpes involves the face or mouth. It may result in small blisters in groups often called cold ...
. She thought she had contracted herpes in 2002 and was worried the disease had spread; however, it was later discovered that it was a skin rash rather than herpes. Regardless, she still decided to semi-retire.
In 2008, she came out of retirement, and filmed a number of hardcore scenes. She appeared in Digital Playground's ''
Pirates II
''Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge'' is a 2008 American pornographic action-adventure film and sequel to the 2005 film ''Pirates''. Produced by Digital Playground, and written and directed by Joone, it stars Jesse Jane, Evan Stone, Steven St. C ...
'', the sequel to their top-selling DVD, ''
Pirates''. She has also appeared recurringly in ''
James Gunn's PG Porn
''James Gunn's PG Porn'' is a web series created by brothers James Gunn, Brian Gunn, and Sean Gunn. It consists of a series of pornography spoofs, with a humorous event occurring just before the supposed commencement of pornographic sexual acts. ...
''. Her last adult film was ''Odd Jobs 4'' in 2008.
Belladonna was featured on the cover of the second album of British
metalcore band
Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria are a British Rock music, rock band from York, North Yorkshire, consisting of guitarists Ben Bruce and Cameron Liddell, drummer James Cassells, lead vocalist Danny Worsnop, and bassist Sam Bettley.
Initially formed in 2006 ...
, titled ''
Reckless & Relentless
''Reckless & Relentless'' is the second studio album by British rock band Asking Alexandria. It was released on 5 April 2011 through Sumerian Records and was produced by Joey Sturgis. Announced on 22 December 2009, recording for the album began ...
'', released in 2011.
She also later featured in their short film ''Through Sin + Self Destruction''.
In July 2012, she announced via Twitter that she was "no longer interested in having sex on camera" and would be pursuing her other interests.
In 2014, she made her non-pornographic feature film debut in John Wildman's ''
The Ladies of the House'', a horror film about a group of female cannibals. She appeared in
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...
's film ''
Inherent Vice
''Inherent Vice'' is a novel by American author Thomas Pynchon, originally published in August 2009. A darkly comic detective novel set in 1970s California, the plot follows sleuth Larry "Doc" Sportello whose ex-girlfriend asks him to investiga ...
'' as Clancy Charlock in 2014 and in a short film titled ''Dream Murder Machine'' in 2018. She also considered becoming a
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
positive
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
and instructor.
Awards
AVN Awards
![Belladonna at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Belladonna_at_AVN_Adult_Entertainment_Expo_2012.jpg)
The
AVN Award
The AVN Awards are List of movie awards, film awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine ''AVN (magazine), AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') to recognize achievement in various aspects of the creation and m ...
s are sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine ''
AVN'' (''Adult Video News''). Belladona has been nominated for 43 AVN Awards, of which she has won 10. In 2011, she was inducted into the
AVN Hall of Fame
The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.XRCO Award
The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organization annually to people working in adult entertainment and it is the only adult industry awards show reserved exclusively for industry members.
Once every calendar year, XRCO ...
s are given by the
X-Rated Critics Organization
The X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) is a group of writers and editors from the American adult entertainment industry who each year present awards in recognition of achievement within the industry. After the controversy and criticism of the ...
annually to people working in adult entertainment.
F.A.M.E. Awards
The
Fans of Adult Media and Entertainment Awards
The Fans of Adult Media and Entertainment Awards (or F.A.M.E. Awards) were created in 2006 by ''Genesis'', Adam & Eve, WantedList, Playboy Radio and '' AVN'' as a means for the general public to vote for their favorite adult film stars, di ...
(F.A.M.E.) were created in 2006 by
''Genesis'' magazine, WantedList.com and ''
Adult Video News
''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. '' The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what ''Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...
'' magazine, and
Adam & Eve as a means for the public to vote for their favorites.
Ninfa Prize
Ninfa Prizes are awarded at the annual Spanish pornographic film festival, the
Festival Internacional de Cine Erótico de Barcelona.
XBIZ Awards
AFWG Awards
NightMoves Awards
See also
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belladonna
1981 births
Alt porn
American pornographic film actresses
American film producers
American pornographic film directors
American pornographic film producers
Women pornographic film directors
Women pornographic film producers
Living people
People from Biloxi, Mississippi
Film directors from Mississippi
21st-century American actresses
Former Latter Day Saints
Sex positivism
Feminism and pornography
Erotica
Pornographic film actors from Mississippi
21st-century American women
American women film producers