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Heidi Lynne Fleiss (born December 30, 1965) is an American former
madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ''madam ...
. She ran an upscale
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
ring based in Los Angeles and is often referred to as the "
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
Madam". Fleiss has also worked as a columnist and was a television personality regularly featured in the 1990s in American media.


Early life

Fleiss was born and raised in the
Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
neighborhood of
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 ...
. Her father, Paul M. Fleiss (1933–2014) was a pediatrician and her mother, Elissa (née Ash) was an elementary school teacher. Their marriage ended in divorce. She has a brother, Jesse, and had another brother, Jason, who drowned. She also has three sisters: Amy, Kim, and Shana.


Prostitution and tax evasion

At the age of 22, Fleiss began managing a prostitution ring under Madam Alex after meeting her in 1987 via Fleiss's film-director boyfriend Iván Nagy. Fleiss stated in 2002 that Alex and she had "a very intense relationship" and that she "was kind of like the daughter she loved and hated, so she was abusive and loving at the same time." In the same interview, Fleiss said she worked as a prostitute for a short period to learn all aspects of the occupation. At the time, she was learning to take over Alex's business, there was a labor shortage as most of Alex's prostitutes were approaching middle age and setting their sights on retiring from prostitution. Alex tasked Fleiss with revitalizing the business by recruiting a new batch of young, attractive women. By 1990, Fleiss severed her links with Madam Alex and began her own prostitution ring. Fleiss has stated that she made her first million dollars after only four months in the business as a madam, and that on her slowest night, she made $10,000. By 1991, she was so successful that she was able to reject women who wished to work for her. In June 1993, she was arrested for multiple charges, including attempted pandering. Federal charges were filed in 1994, and Fleiss posted $1 million bail. The state trial began the same year and Fleiss was convicted. In May 1996, her state conviction was overturned, and her appeal bond was set at $200,000. She was convicted of federal charges of
tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
in September 1996 and sentenced to seven years in prison. Fleiss served 20 months at the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, California. She was released to a
halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...
on November 19, 1998, and ordered to perform 370 hours of community service. Fleiss's ring reportedly had numerous prominent and wealthy clients. When questioned by British TV presenter
Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show '' Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's ''Streetmate'' (199 ...
about revealing the names of her clients, she replied, "It's not my style."


Media appearances

In 1995, Nick Broomfield made a documentary about her prostitution ring called '' Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam''. In 2004, a
made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
was produced called '' Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss''. In 1996, after having been convicted of being a madam, and shortly before her incarceration for such offences, she was interviewed by Ruby Wax. Fleiss and reality-TV personality
Victoria Sellers Victoria Sellers (born 20 January 1965) is a British-American model, actress, comedian, and jewellery designer. Early life Born in London, Sellers attended Lycée Français de Los Angeles in West Los Angeles, University High School in West Los ...
hosted and produced an instructional DVD titled ''Sex Tips with Heidi Fleiss and Victoria Sellers'' in 2001. In January 2010, Fleiss was the third housemate to enter the final Channel 4 series of ''
Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...
'' in the UK; she was the second to be evicted. She did not return for the finale.


Business interests

In 2005, Fleiss announced plans to open a brothel in
Pahrump, Nevada Pahrump ( ) is an unincorporated town located at the southernmost tip of Nye County, Nevada, United States, about west of Las Vegas, Nevada. Pahrump lies adjacent to the Nevada–California border and the area had a population of 44,738 as of ...
called "Heidi Fleiss's Stud Farm". In 2007, Fleiss opened a
laundromat A self-service laundry, coin laundry, laundromat, or coin wash is a facility where clothes are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, and in the Unit ...
called Dirty Laundry in Pahrump, as her plans for the brothel had been put on hold due to a "slight complication." In 2009, she said that she had abandoned her plans to open such a brothel because she did not want to "deal with all the nonsense in the sex business". Instead, she said, she would focus on
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
, which she described as "perfect for Nevada" and "the wave of the future". She opened a fashion boutique in Los Angeles after being released from prison. , and since at least January 2017, Fleiss owns and manages the Flying S Ranch Ultralight Flightpark, an
ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...
private use airport in Pahrump, with FAA designation NV54.


Personal life

In 2003, Fleiss accused her ex-boyfriend, actor
Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; born November 29, 1961) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his supporting roles in films such as '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' (1991), '' Passenge ...
, of
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...
. Fleiss eventually moved to
Pahrump, Nevada Pahrump ( ) is an unincorporated town located at the southernmost tip of Nye County, Nevada, United States, about west of Las Vegas, Nevada. Pahrump lies adjacent to the Nevada–California border and the area had a population of 44,738 as of ...
, a small town near
Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in Nort ...
while caring for 25 parrots.
Drew Pinsky David Drew Pinsky (born September 4, 1958), commonly known as Dr. Drew, is an American media personality, internist, and addiction medicine specialist. He hosted the nationally syndicated radio talk show '' Loveline'' from the show's incept ...
, who treated Fleiss for
substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
, performed
brain scan Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incr ...
s on her that showed significant
frontal lobe The frontal lobe is the largest of the four major lobes of the brain in mammals, and is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere (in front of the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe). It is parted from the parietal lobe by a groove be ...
dysfunction, which Pinsky surmised was behind her inability to empathize with people, and her propensity for doing so with birds. In 2009, Fleiss was treated for substance abuse at the Pasadena Recovery Center, which was filmed for the third season of ''
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew ''Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew'', later called simply ''Rehab with Dr. Drew'', is a reality television show that aired on the cable network VH1 in which many of the episodes chronicle a group of well-known people as they are treated for alcoh ...
''. One of her fellow patients was Sizemore, against whom her prior restraining order had lapsed. Both Fleiss and Sizemore consented to appear together on the show before filming began, and their reunion, depicted in the third episode, was amicable, though Fleiss subsequently expressed mixed feelings about his presence there. During the filming of the program, Fleiss left the center and was involved in an accident with her SUV near her home in Nevada. She subsequently returned to rehab. After completing treatment for substance abuse, Fleiss briefly became engaged to
Dennis Hof Dennis Leroy Hof (October 14, 1946 – October 16, 2018) was an American brothel owner. He owned seven legal brothels in Nevada, most notably the Moonlite BunnyRanch. Hof was also a Republican candidate in 2018 for the Nevada Assembly, whi ...
, owner of Nevada's
Moonlite BunnyRanch The Moonlite BunnyRanch is a legal, licensed brothel in Mound House, Nevada, United States, east of Carson City. First opened in 1955, it came to national attention under Dennis Hof, who owned the brothel from 1992 until his death in 2018. H ...
. Fleiss said in 1994 that she is a vegetarian. In August 2013, Nevada police found nearly 400 marijuana plants growing at her
Pahrump, Nevada Pahrump ( ) is an unincorporated town located at the southernmost tip of Nye County, Nevada, United States, about west of Las Vegas, Nevada. Pahrump lies adjacent to the Nevada–California border and the area had a population of 44,738 as of ...
, home, but did not arrest Fleiss and submitted their report to the district attorney's office. In 2022 Fleiss announced that she would be moving to Missouri after someone shot one of her parrots with a
pellet gun A pellet is a non-spherical projectile designed to be shot from an air gun, and an airgun that shoots such pellets is commonly known as a pellet gun. Air gun pellets differ from bullets and shot used in firearms in terms of the pressures encounte ...
.


Filmography


Published works

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References


Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleiss, Heidi 1965 births Living people 20th-century American Jews American people convicted of tax crimes American brothel owners and madams American prisoners and detainees American prostitutes Television personalities from Los Angeles American women television personalities Criminals from Los Angeles Prisoners and detainees of California People from Pahrump, Nevada 21st-century American Jews