Nina Hartley: A Profile

Bio

Nina Hartley was born on the 11th of March 1959, Berkeley, California. It is here where she grew up under her real name, Marie Louise Hartman, and attented the Berkeley High School until graduation in 1977. Nina was born to a Lutheran father and a Jewish mother, who were both members of the communist party (in fact, her father was backlisted from jobs in 1957 due to his membership). It was twelve years after this, in 1969, when her parents began studying Zen (a branch of Mahayana Buddhism) and due to Nina only being ten years old at the time she was greatly influence by this when she was growing up (compared to the norm at the time which was a church upbringing). She has stated in interviews that she still practices the philosophy as she finds it "useful" in her daily life, but is not an active Buddhist. After graduation, Nina decided to atten San Francisco State University (SFSU) where she studied nursing and graduated with the highest honors available. It was during the second year of the Nursing course that she was taking that Nina decided to start work in the adult entertainment industry. Starting off by working as a stripper, most notably in the infamous Mitchell Brother's theater (before the death of Artie). This work acted as a springboard into the world of pornographic videos, and Nina began acting in 1984 at the age of 25.

The 1984 Atom production 'Educating Nina' was her breakthrough role, produced by Juliet Anderson (also known as'Aunt Peg' and 'Judy Carr'), who had discovered Nina after meeting her in a market. The film featured Nina in the first and second scenes, the first being a lesbian scene alongside Karen Summer and second being a boy/girl scene with Billy Dee. This video is regarded by many as the one that launched her career (mainly due to it's high sales volumes, despite being poorly recieved by some critics. She appeared in four more videos that year and in the years afterwards her popularity was taken to new highs, with a over a staggering 720 appearance titles and 15 videos which she has directed (along with many more appearances for websites) for companies such as Adam & Eve, Caballero, VCX, Bizarre, Vivid and many more. Nina has now become one of the most sought after mature pornstars in the industry and as of 2006, she is still performing regularly, mainly in mature niche videos or those featuring on classic pornstars.

Trademarks

With a career spanning over twenty years, many fans of pornographic movies have had reason at one time or another to be a fan of Nina Hartley, with her appearing on many 'top ten' porn actress lists, alongside many modern stars that recieve a lot more exposure thanks to the internet and the increased market in these times. Either way, many of her well documented traits are often quoted as reasons for preferring her videos, some of the most common are listed below:

Her scenes in anal sex niche films (an often cited example being Nina Hartley's Guide To Anal Sex, released in 1995) in times where many girls still strictly only performed conventional sex, this set her apart from the mould of other stars and gave her a widespread appeal to many fans who preferred more extreme acts.
The expertise that she displays in movies in the BDSM niche (most specifically, spanking), which again earned her a 'Guide To' video issued by Adam & Eve in 2005 along with a reputation for being one of the best dominatrixes to grace the mainstream porn video industry. She was also rewarded for her notability in this niche with two AVN awards in the Best Specialty Tape (both Spanking and BDSM subniches) in 2005.
The "best ass in the business" (quoted by many production companies) that she owns, which has been featured in many niche movies such as 'Asswoman In Wonderland' (produced by Extreme in 1998) and 'Best Of Buttman 2' (Evil Angel, 1993). She still retains this feature by being extremely athletic and working out frequently, which has been rewarded as she is continually featured (for example in the 2005 West Coast release 'Bomb Ass White Booty 2').
A rarely changed long golden blonde hairstyle which has grown to be one of her trademarks that she is often recognised by, in an industry dominated by harsh and false contrasting colours such as platinum blonde and obsidian black, Nina has often gone against the trend and retained her natural hair. However in early 2006 she donned a black wig hairstyle for many parties and perfomances, this was not permanent.
Lesbian scenes are considered one of Nina's strong points, with her having performed with stars such as Deidre Holland, Marilyn Rose and Sharon Kane. Although many fans have questioned why she has never appeared in a lesbian scene with either of her two most popular contemporaries, Ginger Lynn and Christy Canyon.

Notable Releases

Being featured in over 700 titles means that there is a lot of choice when it comes to choosing Nina's most notable performances, however there is a shortlist of those that have exceeded expectations when it has come to sales volumes or critical reviews. Along with those that have become legend amongst fans, for her performances with co-stars or just for her own ability displayed. Below is a guide to some of her most successful titles, from throughout her long career.

Educating Nina (1984) - As mentioned above, this was Hartley's first foray into making adult movies, produced by Atom it sold well beyond expectations and helped gain her new contracts in order to shoot more movies. Her co-stars on this production included Juliet Anderson (who also directed it), Karen Summer and Lili Marlene.
Ten Little Maidens (1985) - Starring alongside one of the most popular stars of the era, Ginger Lynn, Nina held her own in this Excalibur films production by appearing in three of it's scenes. A straight scene with Paul Thomas, a lesbian scene with Janey Robbins and then the centerpiece of the release - a ten person orgy featuring Ginger, Nina and other stars such as Amber Lynn among others.
Battle Of The Stars (1985) - Another release in which Nina stole the show from a bigger star than herself, this time it was Christy Canyon. In this release she performed in the final scene, a foursome with Christy, Mike Horner and Steve Drake. It is notable that the current releases of the video are now heavily edited due to it originally including scenes of the infamous Traci Lords.
Afro Erotica 17 (1987) - In one of her busiest years in the industry (based on number of performances in that year), Nina expanded her fanbase further by appearing in this popular interracial franchise, co-starring with Jeannie Pepper and Sahara. Nina also appeared in numbers 19,22,23,25 and 28 of this series.
Amanda By Night 2 (1987) - A Caballero release, directed by Jack Remy, for which Nina won an AVN award for Best Couples Sex Scene. In this production she was in straight sex scenes with Billy Dee, Hershel Savage.
Last X-Rated Movie (1990) - Yet another AVN award was given to Nina for her performance in this chart-topping and audience pleasing video, however this time it was for Best Supporting Actress, in scenes with the actor Eric Edwards.
Adult Affairs (1995) - Co-starring alongside Rocco Siffredi however not acting with him in this VCA release, Nina was extremely active in the 3 scenes she appeared in, performing lesbian sex, anal sex and cum swallowing. The first of which being a threesome with Jay Ashley and Richie Razor, the second being a straight boy/girl between Nina and Tom Byron and the third and final scene of the film being a lesbian scene along with Kirsty Waay.
Top 25 Adult Stars Of All Time (1999) - Released by VCA, this release shows the fame that Nina has achieved over the span of her career. With many different director's and fan's opinions shown, Nina ranks highly a large proportion of them and this video only spurred her popularity amongst viewers.
Nina Hartley's Private Sessions (2002) - The first in a series that currently numbers 10 volumes released by Bizarre. Notable for many of the releases being directed by Ernest Greene, her husband since 2003 along with many of the stars not actually appearing in sex scenes in the films.
Nina Hartley's Guide To Spanking (2005) - An Adam & Eve release in the "Nina Hartley's Guide" series, which featured many other niches such as oral sex, sex toys, female ejaculation (squirting), multiple orgasms and more. She has directed a number of the videos released in this franchise, and this particular release won her an AVN award for Best Specialty Tape.

Websites

Since 1995, Nina has operated her own website at the memorable web adress Nina.com. The site contains her filmography, a biography, a message board, sound bytes along with interviews and articles relating to events Nina is involved in. There is also a shop containing her DVD ranges and merchandise, along with a pay-per view section and links to many different sites where content featuring her can be found. The site has also been home to her blog (online diary) for a number of years, which is updated around twice a week by Nina herself with news and updates on what is going on in her life, as well as events and releases she will be appearing in. The site has proved popular with users, and is ranked within the top 200,000 sites on the internet according to ranking site Alexa.com

Her official site is funded by membership fees which are paid if the user wishes to access content of Nina without paying per view (via Credit Card or Phone Billing, Checks have now been disallowed), this is in contrast to other sites featuring her content (for example Danni.com, the official site of Danni Ashe) which offer material of her as part of a larger package of content that does not specifically focus on her. Many other sites that contain content of her have licensed the scenes from DVD's that she has appeared on, and quite often will not have exclusive material despite advertising it.

Vital Statistics

Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 130 lbs. (59 kg)
Measurements: 35C-24-38
Natural Breasts: No
Tattoos: None

Official Website Rates

90 days non-recurring: $49.95
180 days non-recurring: $89.95
The site is processed by CCBill.com

It should be noted that there are two seperate parts to Nina's website when it comes to viewing content, there is the pay-per-view theatre which is provided by the online streaming video company AEBN and there is the Member's Area which is ran by Nina and billed by CCBill. Costs can vary between the two different sections.

Trivia

Outside of appearing in porn, Nina is widely known to be bisexual. She lived with her husband and another woman for over 20 years, however this ended and on the 7th of July 2003 she married Ira Levine (known in the industry as Ernest Greene, an acclaimed porn director).
Before Jenna Jameson became the main figurehead for women in the adult industry, Nina appeared on many television shows such as Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue to defend her performances and the reputation of the adult industry.
Her grandfather was one of the lawyers involved in the "Scottsboro Boys" murder trial in Alabama in 1931.
She can no longer win the AVN Star of the Year award due to retiring from eligibility after winning her third award, she is however a member of their Hall of Fame.
Aliases she has used on screen include Nina Hartman and Nina Hartwell. With many often mistaking typo's of her name as aliases, she has also been referred to by the nicknames 'Best Ass In The Business' and 'Anal Annie'.