Jessie St. James is an American pornographic actress who was one of the biggest stars of the "Golden Age of Porn

Golden Age of Porn

The Golden Age of Porn or porno chic refers to a period in the history of pornography, approximately from the late-1960s to the early-to-mid-1980s. The period is idealized as a time in history where the difficulty to treat STDs had not achieved wide public notice...

".

Career

She made her debut in hardcore

Hardcore pornography

Hardcore pornography is a form of pornography that features explicit sexual acts. The term was coined in the second half of the 20th century to distinguish it from softcore pornography. It usually takes the form of photographs, often displayed in magazines or on the Internet, or films. It can also...

 pornographic films in 1975 with a small part in Blue Heat. She acted on and off for several years, then began working full time in 1979. Among her earlier films were Blonde Fire, "EASY", and Insatiable. St. James was older than most of her contemporaries, and played characters like housewives or schoolteachers in most of her notable roles. She worked with some of the top names of the 1970s and 1980s such as Brooke West, Desiree West

Desiree West

Desiree West is a retired pornographic actress.West began her adult film career in 1973 as one of the first African-American porn stars. She was said to have been a member of the Black Panther Party. She retired from the adult film business in 1980, although she appeared in films sporadically...

, Juliet Anderson

Juliet Anderson

Juliet Anderson , also known as Aunt Peg, was an American pornographic actress and adult movie producer, relationship counselor and author...

, Marilyn Chambers

Marilyn Chambers

Marilyn Chambers was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress and vice-presidential candidate...

, Lisa De Leeuw

Lisa De Leeuw

Lisa De Leeuw is an American pornographic actress, and one of the few falsely reported to have died of HIV.-Career:She appeared in almost 200 films and was inducted into both the X-Rated Critics' Organization Hall of Fame and the AVN Hall of Fame.-Alleged death:Headpress 25 noted that DeLeeuw...

, Samantha Fox

Samantha Fox (porn star)

Samantha Fox is an American actress and pornographic actress. She appeared in more than one hundred pornographic films between 1977 and 1984. In 2003, Fox was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.-External links:*...

, Seka

Seka

Seka is an American pornographic actress who appeared in many pornographic films during the late 1970s and the 1980s.-Career:...

, Serena

Serena (porn star)

Serena is an American former pornographic actress.A teenage runaway, Serena was discovered by a make-up artist. She began by modelling for men's magazines, then moved on to film. She starred in over 110 adult movies between 1970 and 1988.In 1978 Playboy magazine published an interview with her...

, Vanessa del Rio

Vanessa del Rio

Vanessa del Rio is a retired American pornographic actress.-Early years:Vanessa del Rio was born Ana Maria Sanchez and raised in Harlem, New York, the daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Puerto Rico background. Her mom would take her to see movies of Isabel Sarli whom Vanessa credits as a big...

, John Holmes

John Holmes (actor)

John Curtis Holmes better known as John C. Holmes or Johnny Wadd , was one of the most prolific male porn stars of all time, appearing in about 2,500 adult loops, stag films, and pornographic feature movies in the 1970s and 1980s...

, Paul Thomas, and Herschel Savage

Herschel Savage

Herschel Savage is an American pornographic actor and porn movie director.He was born Herschel Cohen to Russian Jewish parents in New York City....

. Her role in "Easy" with Georgina Spelvin

Georgina Spelvin

Georgina Spelvin is the stage name of Michelle Graham, a former American pornographic actress who is best known for her appearance in the classic film The Devil in Miss Jones.-Early life:...

 and Desiree Cousteau

Desireé Cousteau

Desireé Cousteau is a former pornographic actress of the 1970s and 1980s. She is best known for her roles in the 1978 film Pretty Peaches and 1979's Inside Desireé Cousteau.-Career:...

 established her as a star. By the mid-1980s she was regarded as a veteran of the adult industry. In the film Boogie Nights

Boogie Nights

Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...

Melora Walters

Melora Walters

Melora Walters is an American actress.-Personal life:Walters was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia to American parents. She was partly raised there and in Holland. Walters attended high school at Lake Forest Academy-Ferry Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois...

's character Jessie St. Vincent was partly based on her. Her work has been anthologized in several retrospectives of classic performances. She has been inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame and in 1998 to the XRCO Hall of Fame

XRCO Hall of Fame

XRCO Hall of Fame lists some of the most notable adult entertainment works and workers. The list is managed by X-Rated Critics Organization and inducted annually during the XRCO awards.-Actors:* 1985 John C...

.
St. James also shares the name of another adult film star using the same name who made a series of adult films between 2003 to 2006.

Partial Filmography

• Blue Heat (1978)
• Blond Fire (1979)
• Easy (1979)
• Fantasy World (1979)
• Female Athletes (1979)
• The Filthy Rich (1980)
• Insatiable
  Insatiable (pornographic movie)
  Insatiable is a classic pornographic movie released in 1980, at the close of the era of 'porn chic' in the US. It starred Marilyn Chambers and was directed by Stu Segall . It was followed by a 1984 sequel, Insatiable II, also directed by Daniels. The series was "enormously popular", and the first...
  
  (1980)
• Vista Valley P.T.A. (1980)
• Talk Dirty To Me (1981)
• Blondes Have More Fun (1981)
• Charli (1981)
• Centerspread Girls (1982)
• Swedish Erotica 43 (1982)
• Between Lovers (1983)
• Feels Like Silk (1983)
• Extremes Verlangen junger Hausfrauen(Silk Satin Sex) (1983)
• Only the Best (1986)
• True Legends Of Adult Cinema: The Golden Age (1992)
• Girls Who Were Porn's First Superstars (1999)

External links