Jeannie Pepper (born July 9, 1958) is an American
pornographic actress
A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...
. She began in the business in 1982 at age 24 and has appeared in over 200 adult films. She was still an active actress as recently as 2011, participating in the mature adult genre.
Pepper 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.African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
woman to be recognized with that honor. She won
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 m ...
''Erotic Video Award'' in 1987
and was inducted into the
XRCO
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 ...
Hall of Fame in 2008.
Impact on black female sexuality
Pepper became an adult film actress and nude model in her twenties, citing an enjoyment of viewing pornography and having sex. She expressed enthusiasm on becoming a member in an industry with few black female stars.
Pepper said in an interview, "I just wanted to show the world. Look, I'm black and I'm beautiful. How come there are not more black women doing this?"
Pepper did a photoshoot in Paris in 1986 wearing only a white fur coat and heels, while being photographed by her photographer husband, John Dragon.
Pepper has stated that she found much self-esteem and fearlessness in showing the world her beauty; she felt she embodied black female sexuality.
Filmography
Mainstream films
Pepper played Mrs. McReynolds in ''
High School High
''High School High'' is a 1996 American comedy film about an inner city high school in the Los Angeles, California area, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Mekhi Phifer, Louise Fletcher, Malinda Williams, and Brian Hooks. It is a spoof of movies c ...
'' (1996) and the photographer's model in ''Las Vegas Serial Killer'' (1986).
Music videos
Pepper was featured in a 1996
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...
music video,
"How Do You Want It?" alongside other African-American porn stars.
References
Further reading
* Gerrie Lim,
Dreaming of Jeannie: AVN Hall of Famer Pepper Finds a Home in Cyberspace, ''
AVN Online'', November 1, 2001.
* Mireille Miller-Young,
Hardcore Desire: Black Women Laboring in Porn — Is It Just Another Job?", ''
ColorLines Magazine: Race, Action, Culture'', Winter 2005.
External links
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African-American pornographic film actors
American pornographic film actresses
Living people
1958 births
Actresses from Chicago
Pornographic film actors from Illinois
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
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