Sydnee Steele

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Sydnee Steele
Born (1968-09-23) September 23, 1968 (age 55)
Other namesSydnee, Sidney Steele, Sydnee Steel
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Spouse
(m. 1992; div. 2001)

Sydnee Steele (born September 23, 1968)[1] is an American sex therapist, author, free speech activist, and former pornographic actress.[2] She appeared in over 300 pornographic films before her retirement in 2005.

Early life[edit]

Steele was born in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of a college professor.[3] She is of Greek descent.[4][5] She has described herself as having been a very shy and introverted child, relating in a 2001 interview with AVN, "I used to hide behind my parents' legs when people would say hi to me."[6] Before entering pornography, she held a position as a financial officer at a yacht company in Texas.[6]

Career[edit]

Actress[edit]

In the early 1990s, while working as a jewelry saleswoman in a Dallas shopping mall, Steele met Michael Raven, a car salesman who sold her a new Miata.[3][7] They married, finding a common interest in pornography and swinging, and moved to Los Angeles, California to turn their hobbies into careers.[3][6] Their marriage lasted for ten years,[8] during which Raven became a well-known pornographic film director.[9] The couple opted not to have children.[10]

Steele was introduced to the industry through a friend, A.J. Crowell, who at the time was publisher and owner of Sundown, a Texas adult entertainment listings guide. Her debut performance in the adult entertainment industry involved being painted like a zebra in a three-girl scene in The Queen's Challenge (1997), with Anna Malle and Jade St. Clair.[6][11] Her first big feature film was Flashpoint (1997), directed by pornographic actor and director Brad Armstrong, whom she met at a Gentlemen's Expo.[11] She remained freelance in the early part of her career, working with many adult film production companies including Elegant Angel, Metro Studios, New Sensations, Sin City, VCA Pictures and Vivid Entertainment.[6]

In 2001 she signed an exclusive contract with Wicked Pictures, becoming a "Wicked Girl".[6] After that she performed in mostly plot-based pornographic films (also known as features) and began winning awards. She was awarded the 2002 AVN Award for Best Actress for her role in the film.[12] She was again nominated for Best Actress in 2003 for Falling From Grace and in 2004 for Lost And Found.

After her Wicked contract she says she received media coverage in nationally distributed publications, including The New York Times, Time and Premiere.[6] She was featured in The Learning Channel's Public and Private, where she explains her ideas on the differences between sex in her private life and sex on camera.[13]

In 2004, while filming Pillow Talk, directed by Devinn Lane, she told Adult Video News that she had fallen in love with a man from outside the industry, and would only perform girl-girl scenes.[14] It would turn out to be her last pornographic film. Steele left the industry in April 2005.[15]

In 2007, she was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.[16]

In 2009, she appeared on an episode in the non-pornographic television series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, alongside Tommy Wiseau, and she appeared on several episodes in the softcore porn series Co-Ed Confidential.[17] She also starred in a movie titled "Cougar School" in 2009.[18]

Retirement[edit]

From 2002 to 2004 Steele wrote "The Steele Factor", a monthly column discussing pornography, sexuality and free speech for AVN.[19] She has written several articles for AVN Online and Club Magazine.[2]

After retiring from pornography, Steele studied under Dr. Patti Britton, author of The Art of Sex Coaching, to become a certified Pranic practitioner and sex coach, to help couples learn new sexual techniques to improve their sex lives and their relationships.[2][15] Steele has written a book with hypnotherapist Luke Chao entitled Seducing Your Woman (Burman Books, June 1, 2006, ISBN 978-0-9737166-7-2), a book meant as a guide for men to assist in building sexual confidence and knowledge.[15]

In July 2007, Steele was scheduled to speak on "Sex and love -- making your time away from the office really count and how to not wind up as one of your clients" as a relationship consultant at the New York State Bar Association's Family Law Section, but she was canceled when her past as a pornographic actress was revealed.[20][21][22]

Awards[edit]

X-Rated Critics Organization

  • 2000 Unsung Siren

Adult Video News

Adam Film World Guide

  • 2003 Best Supporting Actress – Video (Breathless)[24]

Partial filmography[edit]

  • Cougar School (2009)
  • Pillow Talk (2004)
  • Island Girls (2003)
  • Sex Through the Ages (2002)
  • My Father's Wife (2002)
  • Snob Hill (2000)
  • Nymphomercials (1999)
  • V-World Matrix (1999)
  • Blowjob Fantasies 2 (1998)
  • Taboo 17 (1998)
  • Dirty Dancers 12 (1997)

References[edit]

  1. ^ The month and day of her birth, September 23, are given on "About Me" Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine at Sydnee Steele’s Sexual Empowerment Coaching site, but sources differ as to the year; Her myspace page states her to be 35 as of 2007-07-16, which would mean 1971-09-23; IAFD state 1968-09-23, and New York Law Journal states 38 as of 2007-06-08, which would mean 1968-09-23
  2. ^ a b c "About Me" Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine at Sydnee Steele’s Sexual Empowerment Coaching site. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  3. ^ a b c "Naked Capitalists", Frank Rich, The New York Times, May 20, 2001, Retrieved 2007-07-12
  4. ^ "Sydnee Steele Pornstar". SydneeSteele.net. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  5. ^ "sydnee steele". iafd.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sydnee Steele: Still Shy, But Definitely Wicked" Archived 2007-04-06 at the Wayback Machine, Mike Ramone, AVN, 2001-10-05, Retrieved 2007-07-12
  7. ^ Dines, Gail; Humez, Jean M. (2003). Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Read. Sage. p. 56. ISBN 978-0761922612.
  8. ^ Review, Cinema (December 2002), "ACR On-Set Special! Behind the Scenes with Wicked Pictures Latest Video Breathless!", Cinema Review, USA, pp. 20–21+24
  9. ^ "It's Sin City Night at The Tera Show" Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine Tod Hunter, AVN, 2002-03-13, Retrieved 2007-07-12
  10. ^ Bunting, Susan J. (2001). Human Sexuality 2002-2003 (27th Ed.). Mcgraw-Hill College. pp. 199–200. ISBN 978-0072506907.
  11. ^ a b "Sydnee Steele", interview with Shannon T. Nutt, 2004-05-05, Pornstar Empire. Retrieved 2007-07-12
  12. ^ a b "Wicked Pictures Timeline" Archived 2007-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Wicked Pictures. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  13. ^ Lee Carver (2002-06-08). "Sydnee Steele Interview". Adult DVD Talk. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  14. ^ "Wicked Girl Sydnee Steele And Some Pillow Talk On Her All-Girl (And One Lucky Guy) World" Archived 2007-04-06 at the Wayback Machine, Heidi Pike-Johnson, AVN, 2004-12-07. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  15. ^ a b c Mike Ramone (2006-05-12). "Life After Porn: Former Wicked Girl Steele Now Sex Coach, Author". AVN. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  16. ^ a b "2007 AVN Award Winners Announced". Adult Video News. 2007-01-16. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  17. ^ "IMDb for Sydnee Steele, Co-Ed Confidential". IMDb.
  18. ^ "Cougar School". IMDb. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  19. ^ The Steele Factor, first column Archived 2005-11-12 at the Wayback Machine 2001-01-18, last column Archived 2005-11-29 at the Wayback Machine 2004-01-12, by Sydnee Steele, AVN. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  20. ^ "Ex-Porn Star Dropped From N.Y. Bar Section Agenda", Joel Stashenko, New York Law Journal, June 8, 2007, Retrieved 2007-07-12
  21. ^ "Shamed Analyst Sues Fox Over 'Borat'". Nymag.com. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  22. ^ Lattman, Peter (2007-06-08). "New York State Bar Ass'n Drops Ex-Porn Star from Meeting". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  23. ^ [1] Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "Evil Angel, The Fashionistas Dominate Adam Film World 2002 Movie Awards". AVN. 2003-05-01. Retrieved 2014-02-12.

External links[edit]