7 Jews Who Made It Big In Porn
Image by Getty Images
Last week, the news surfaced that “Queen of Porn” Jenna Jameson . Jameson, who has been married twice before, is engaged to Israeli Lior Bitton (who works in L.A.’s diamond business and has been charged with stealing merchandise from his stores).
Jameson’s Instagram page is filled with photos of challah and other kosher dishes she’s been cooking up; she’s even dropping Hebrew words on Twitter.
As it it turns out, Jameson will be in great company — several other members of the tribe are (or have been) major stars in the adult film industry. In honor of Jameson’s high-profile conversion, we give you seven of the most famous Jews in porn. You might not want to Google them in an office or other public place.
Ron Jeremy
Real name: Ronald Jeremy Hyatt
Jeremy is arguably the most famous porn star of all time. Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Queens, Jeremy went on to star in well over 2,000 adult films. He’s also been featured in almost every realm of popular culture since the 1980s — through small parts in films such as “Ghostbusters” and music videos for bands like Sublime and Guns N’ Roses — even if he now looks more like your goofy Jewish uncle than a porn legend.
James Deen
Real name: Bryan Matthew Sevilla
Deen is the most famous Jew — and one of the most famous people, period — working in the adult film world today. His unassuming “nice guy” demeanor has even won him female fans outside of the industry. He has also been very open about his Jewish upbringing (among other things, the public now knows he lost his virginity at a Jewish summer camp).
Nina Hartley
Real name: Mary Louise Hartman
Hartley, now 56, is a bona fide porn legend, having starred in over 1,000 adult films and directed 18. After winning eight Adult Video News Awards throughout her career, she’s now a sex educator and speaker.
Joanna Angel
Real name: Joanna Mostov
Joanna Angel is believed to be the first porn star to enter the industry after living in an Orthodox home. After working at a kosher restaurant in Teaneck, New Jersey, and attending Rutgers University, she founded her own porn website and became one of the leaders of so-called “alt-porn” movement.
Michael Lucas
Real name: Andrei Treivas
Lucas — who was born in Russia and has lived in New York and Israel — has been one of the more successful Jews in the industry, as both a gay pornographic actor and an entrepreneur. His company Lucas Entertainment is the biggest gay adult film company in New York and has made some of the most expensive gay pornos of all time. He is fiercely pro-Israel and pro-gay rights, and in 2009 his film Men of Israel was the first adult movie to feature only gay Jewish actors.
Naomi
Real name: Naomi Russell
Russell, who was one of the more popular porn starlets in the late 2000s, has stated that her father is a rabbi. She was born in Los Angeles and has Israeli ancestry.
Seymore Butts
Real name: Adam Glasser
Butts – or Glasser, take your pick – was born in the Bronx to Jewish parents, whom he has said were involved in the “shmattah business.” As the Showtime reality series “Family Business” pointed out, his mother Lila has also been involved with the production and distribution of some of his films.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
