Belladonna

Words don't seem useful when attempting to describe Belladonna. I'm tempted to say a number of different things, to use a number of different metaphors, but it seems futile. She is, without much doubt, the most explosive, intense performer in the history of adult films. Jenna Jameson may have her millions and flirt with crossover appeal, but she never fucked like Belladonna does.

Born Michelle Sinclair in Utah, daughter of a Mormon bishop, Belladonna was a troubled adolescent that fit the profile of girls who enter sex work. She is tattooed like a Maori princess (she has a large sacred heart inked over across her chest) and in interviews throughout her eight-year career has indicated that this is not just a job for her, it's a way of life. She is such a sexual being that it is almost scary.

She's now almost twenty-seven and has made about 250 films. Several years ago she was featured on ABC's Primetime Live as an example of the degrading business of porn. They followed her around and caught her on air crying and regretting her career path. Of course this was completely out of context, and she has renounced that profile. ABC has an onerous history of running stories on porn and prostitution that on the one hand titillates for ratings while on the other tut-tuts from a ridiculous moral stance.

Okay, so what makes her so great? She is not a conventional beauty, with a gap in her teeth. She does, though, have a fantastic all-natural body, which is toned without being over muscular. But looks are not her selling point. This woman was born to have sex. Some people are born to play the piano, hit a golf ball, or design video games, Belladonna was born to fuck on camera. I haven't seen all of her films (it's hard to imagine anyone has, maybe not even her) but I've never seen her not give 100 percent. She explains it in a scene from a film called Two in the Seat 3, that when she has sex she looks in the eyes of her partner (a lot don't) and her gaze is like a piercing of the soul. She has sex in both an animalistic and mystical sense.

If that weren't enough, when watching her scenes you can expect almost anything. Much of her work involves anal sex. In a scene from Weapons of Ass Destruction, Jules Jordan, much like a magician, introduces larger and larger objects past her sphincter. At a certain point this becomes less erotic than just fascinating/disgusting, depending on your point of view. She also doesn't shy away from rough sex, particularly choking. There's a scene in Cumback Pussy 45 in which she participates in a threesome with Mark Davis and Monica Mayhem. Davis wraps his hand around her throat and her already olive complexion starts to resemble a beefsteak tomato, but her eyes are alive with ecstasy.

Of all the films I've seen her in, perhaps the most disquieting scene occurs in Easy Cheeks. This film is a throwback to the pre-video days of Boogie Nights, and Belladonna plays a cop. She is attacked by a bad guy, who slugs her and then anally rapes her. Now, there's a lot in porn that is degrading, disturbing and decadent, but depicting non-consensual sex is a rarity. One can only imagine that Belladonna is one of the few big-name adult performers who would be willing to perform this scene. I wouldn't call it sexy but it is compelling.

Belladonna recently retired from performing (though she does have a production company and directs). She has contracted STDs, which is a risk in the business (much in the same way that brain damage is a risk in boxing). Just after she announced her retirement, though, she was back on her web site writing that she was reconsidering. She seems to be a woman who has sacrificed a great deal for her "art," as well as gaining a lot. What ever her decision, she leaves a large legacy of outstanding work.