Belladonna (actress)
Belladonna is an American actress, director, producer, and model. She was a pornographic actress until she announced her retirement from the industry in 2008. Since retiring from pornography, she has acted in several films, including Inherent Vice and The Ladies of the House.
Personal life
Michelle Anne Sinclair was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, the second of eight children. She grew up in a traditional conservative Mormon family. Her father, a retired Air Force officer, was a Mormon bishop. The family has German, Scottish, and Cherokee Indian roots. Sinclair dropped out of high school and moved out of her parents' house at 15. Prior to her pornography career, she held jobs at 7-11, Victoria's Secret, Sears and Subway.She married Aiden Kelly, an actor, in Las Vegas, Nevada, with whom she has a daughter.
Career
Her introduction to the adult industry came about when an agent came to Utah to see one of her friends, who introduced him to her. The next day she flew to Los Angeles with the intention of joining the industry. Immediately prior to starting her porn career she was dancing in a club in Utah. The pseudonym "Belladonna" came in part from a friend in Utah named Bella; later, an early agent suggested Bella Donna as it means "beautiful woman" in Italian. Her motivation to join the adult industry was mainly financial.Her career began in 2000 when she was 18. Her first film was Real Sex Magazine. One of her early films featured Sinclair in a rough group sex scene with twelve men, staged in a prison. In this scene she was choked, slapped and verbally abused and often appeared to be on the verge of tears. She has since appeared in over 300 adult films, including titles such as Service Animals 6 & 7, She-Male Domination Nation, Bella Loves Jenna, Back 2 Evil, Weapons of Ass Destruction, and Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge. In 2002 she featured in the multi award-winning BDSM themed Fashionistas; its director John Stagliano described her as "a woman with the most incredible sexual abilities I’ve ever seen." As well as Stagliano she has often been directed by Nacho Vidal, Jules Jordan and Rocco Siffredi. In 2003 she signed a contract with Sineplex, for whom she also directed.
Appearances
She has appeared several times in the reality television series Family Business, which focuses on the life of porn director Adam Glasser a.k.a. "Seymore Butts". In 2004 she was one of a number of porn stars photographed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders for a "coffee table book" on the adult industry, XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits; she also appears in the HBO documentary Thinking XXX about the making of the book.Belladonna was featured on the cover of metalcore band Asking Alexandria's sophomore album titled Reckless & Relentless. She is also later featured in their short film Through Sin + Self Destruction.
In a 2007 interview with the Salt Lake City Weekly, Sinclair expressed some regret about aspects of her career in pornography, particularly her early notoriety for performing acts and scenes that many other performers regarded as extreme or taboo. Lamenting the lack of guidance from more experienced actresses, Sinclair described an extended period of clinical depression. Sinclair stressed in this same interview, however, that she took responsibility for all her decisions and that she was never forced to perform.
In June 2010 it was announced that she would be part of the cast of the upcoming horror movie Stripped.
In 2011, she was named by CNBC as one of the 12 most popular stars in porn. CNBC noted that while she had stepped back from acting to pursue directing and producing, she has maintained a loyal fan base, and has been nominated for 42 AVN awards and won 10 in the course of her career.
''Primetime'' special
Her career in the pornography business was followed for two years by a crew from ABC Television, culminating in a January 2003 interview with Diane Sawyer as part of a Primetime Thursday segment on pornography. At one point in the interview Belladonna broke down in tears, when Sawyer asked her, "You keep describing these awful things that happened to you. Yet, you keep smiling. Why?" Belladonna's smile wavered and her eyes watered up. "It's so I don't start crying," she said.The publicity provided by the interview boosted Belladonna's career. The interview has since been used by a number of anti-pornography groups to support their case that pornography is exploitative of the women who appear in it; nevertheless, Sinclair remained an active performer in the industry. In later interviews, Sinclair claimed that she had never intended to make "anti-porn" statements. In one interview, when she was asked if she were happy with how the interview came out, her reply was, "I am not happy about Primetime but I would love to see the whole story air one day so everyone can see how much I had to say that was FOR the porn industry. If you know me you know that I loved shooting!" ABC contacted her once to do a follow-up to the interview; she refused saying, "No thank you. I don't want to be embarrassed again." Several figures in the porn industry objected to her comments on the program. In an interview with Vice, Sinclair admitted that despite being depressed at the time, the interview was embarrassing, and that when she watched it, there were instances in the piece that were untrue.
Retirement from pornography and acting career
In August 2007, Sinclair decided to semi-retire from performing with other people over concerns of STDs, specifically herpes. She thought she had contracted herpes in 2002 and was worried the disease had spread; however it was later discovered that it was a skin rash rather than herpes. Regardless, she still decided to semi-retire.In 2008, she came out of retirement, and filmed a number of hardcore scenes. She appeared in Digital Playground's , the sequel to their top-selling DVD, Pirates. She has also appeared recurringly in James Gunn's PG Porn. Her last adult film was Odd Jobs 4 in 2008. In July 2012, she announced via Twitter that she was "no longer interested in having sex on camera" and would be pursuing her other interests. In 2014, she made her non-pornographic feature film debut in John Wildman's The Ladies of the House, a horror film about a group of female cannibals. She appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's film Inherent Vice as Clancy Charlock in 2014 and in a short film titled Dream Murder Machine in 2018.
Awards
AVN Awards
The AVN Awards are sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine AVN. Belladona has been nominated for 43 AVN Awards, of which she has won 10. In 2011, she was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.| Year | Result | Award | Film | Co-winners/co-nominees |
| 2011 | Hall of Fame | |||
| 2009 | Best All-Girl 3-Way Sex Scene | Belladonna's Girl Train | Aiden Starr & Kimberly Kane | |
| 2009 | Best Supporting Actress | ' | ||
| 2009 | Best All-Girl Couples Sex Scene | ' | Jesse Jane | |
| 2009 | Best All-Girl 3-Way Sex Scene | ' | Katsuni & Stoya | |
| 2009 | Best Threeway Sex Scene | ' | Sasha Grey & Evan Stone | |
| 2009 | Best Threeway Sex Scene | Cock Pigs | Brianna Love & Mr. Pete | |
| 2009 | Best All-Girl Couples Sex Scene | Belladonna's Fucking Girls 6 | Lexi Belle | |
| 2009 | Best Anal Sex Scene | Butthole Whores 2 | Steve Holmes | |
| 2009 | Best Director | Discovering Alexis Texas | ||
| 2009 | Best Oral Sex Scene | Belladonna's Odd Jobs 3 | ||
| 2009 | Director of the Year | |||
| 2009 | Female Performer of the Year | |||
| 2008 | Best Director | Belladonna: Manhandled 2 | ||
| 2008 | Best Couples Sex Scene | Belladonna: Manhandled 2 | Tony T. | |
| 2008 | Director of the Year | |||
| 2008 | Best All-Girl Sex Scene | Belladonna's Fucking Girls 4 | Naomi | |
| 2008 | Best Group Sex Scene | I Dream of Jenna 2 | Jenna Jameson, Nikita Denise, Aurora Snow, Cindy Crawford, Alaura Eden, Courtney & T.T. Boy | |
| 2008 | Best Oral Sex Scene | I Dream of Jenna 2 | ||
| 2008 | Best Oral Sex Scene | Fashionistas Safado: Berlin | ||
| 2008 | Best Solo Sex Scene | Butthole Whores | ||
| 2008 | Most Outrageous Sex Scene | Belladonna Fetish Fanatic 5 | Claire Adams | |
| 2007 | Best Group Sex Scene | Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge | Melissa Lauren, Jenna Haze, Gianna Michaels, Sandra Romain, Adrianna Nicole, Flower Tucci, Sasha Grey, Nicole Sheridan, Marie Luv, Caroline Pierce, Lia Baren, Jewell Marceau, Jean Val Jean, Christian XXX, Voodoo, Chris Charming, Erik Everhard, Mr. Pete & Rocco Siffredi | |
| 2007 | Best Actress | Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge | ||
| 2007 | Director of the Year | |||
| 2007 | Best All-Girl Sex Scene | Belladonna: No Warning | Chloe Dior | |
| 2005 | Best All-Girl Sex Scene | The Connasseur | Catalina | |
| 2005 | Best All-Girl Sex Scene | Bella Loves Jenna | Jenna Jameson | |
| 2005 | Best Anal Sex Scene | Bella Loves Jenna | Nacho Vidal | |
| 2004 | Best Sex Scene Coupling | Back 2 Evil | Nacho Vidal | |
| 2004 | Best Oral Sex Scene | Back 2 Evil | Nacho Vidal | |
| 2004 | Female Performer of the Year | |||
| 2004 | Best Anal Sex Scene | Anal Trainer 4 | Manuel Ferrara | |
| 2004 | Best Three-Way Sex Scene | Latin Amore | Dee & Billy Glide | |
| 2004 | Best Three-Way Sex Scene | New Wave Hookers 7 | Tyce Bune & Joel Lawrence | |
| 2004 | Best Sex Scene in a Foreign-Shot Production | Rocco: Animal Trainer 10 | Daniella, Sara & Nacho Vidal | |
| 2004 | Most Outrageous Sex Scene | She-Male Domination Nation | Nacho Vidal & Carol | |
| 2003 | Best Supporting Actress | The Fashionistas | ||
| 2003 | Best Tease Performance | The Fashionistas | ||
| 2003 | Best All-Girl Sex Scene | The Fashionistas | Taylor St. Claire | |
| 2003 | Best Oral Sex Scene | The Fashionistas | Rocco Siffredi | |
| 2003 | Best Oral Sex Scene | The Fashionistas | Mark Ashley & Billy Glide | |
| 2003 | Female Performer of the Year | |||
| 2003 | Best Anal Sex Scene | Up Your Ass 19 | Lexington Steele |
XRCO Awards
The XRCO Awards are given by the X-Rated Critics Organization annually to people working in adult entertainment.| Year | Result | Award | Film | Co-winners/co-nominees |
| 2013 | Hall of Fame | |||
| 2010 | Superslut | |||
| 2010 | Best Director | |||
| 2009 | Orgasmic Oralist | |||
| 2009 | Orgasmic Analist | |||
| 2009 | Superslut | |||
| 2009 | Best On-Screen Chemistry | Jesse Jane | ||
| 2009 | Best Director | |||
| 2008 | Orgasmic Oralist | |||
| 2008 | Best Director | |||
| 2007 | Best Single Performance | Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge | ||
| 2005 | Best Sex Scene | Bella Loves Jenna | Nacho Vidal | |
| 2005 | Best Girl/Girl Scene | Bella Loves Jenna | Jenna Jameson | |
| 2005 | Orgasmic Oralist | |||
| 2004 | Female Performer of the Year | |||
| 2004 | Mainstream's Adult Media Favorite | |||
| 2004 | Best Sex Scene | Back 2 Evil | Nacho Vidal | |
| 2004 | Orgasmic Oralist | |||
| 2004 | Orgasmic Analist | |||
| 2003 | Female Performer of the Year | |||
| 2003 | Best Single Performance | The Fashionistas | ||
| 2003 | Best Girl-Girl Sex Scene | The Fashionistas | Taylor St. Clair | |
| 2003 | Orgasmic Analist |
F.A.M.E. Awards
The Fans of Adult Media and Entertainment Awards were created in 2006 by Genesis magazine, Adam & Eve Sex Toys, WantedList.com and AVN as a means for the public to vote for their favorites.| Year | Result | Award |
| 2010 | Favorite Oral Starlet | |
| 2010 | Favorite Anal Starlet | |
| 2010 | Favorite Director | |
| 2010 | Favorite Female Starlet | |
| 2010 | Dirtiest Girl in Porn | |
| 2010 | Favorite Ass | |
| 2009 | Favorite Anal Starlet | |
| 2009 | Favorite Director | |
| 2009 | Favorite Female Starlet | |
| 2009 | Favorite Oral Starlet | |
| 2009 | Dirtiest Girl in Porn | |
| 2009 | Favorite Star Website | |
| 2009 | Favorite Ass | |
| 2008 | Favorite Female Starlet | |
| 2008 | Favorite Ass | |
| 2008 | Favorite Director | |
| 2007 | Dirtiest Girl in Porn | |
| 2007 | Favorite Female Starlet | |
| 2007 | Favorite Anal Starlet | |
| 2007 | Favorite Ass | |
| 2006 | Favorite Adult Actress | |
| 2006 | Favorite Butt |
Ninfa Prize
Ninfa Prizes are awarded at the annual Spanish pornographic film festival, the Festival Internacional de Cine Erótico de Barcelona.| Year | Result | Award | Film |
| 2007 | Special Jury Award | ||
| 2007 | Most Original Sex Scene | Fashionistas Safado | |
| 2003 | Best Actress | The Fashionistas |