Traci Lords in Crazy Eights
No matter what Traci Lords will attempt in the future, she will, for better or worse, remain one of the most famous and successful – to say nothing of underaged – adult film stars in the history of that sordid business, having done roughly 100 XXX-rated movies as a teenager. Since that unfortunate time, Lords was one of the few porn stars to legitimately go mainstream, appearing in several television series, low-budget movies and the occasional A-list film like the Wesley Snipes vampire film, “Blade” (1998).
Traci Elizabeth Lords was born Nora Louise Kuzma on May 7, 1968, in Steubenville, OH. Her stage name was a compilation of Nora’s high school best friend, Traci; the character Katharine Hepburn played in “The Philadelphia Story” (1940); and the last name Lords, after her favorite actor from her favorite show, “Hawaii Five-O” (CBS, 1968-1980) Jack Lords. As a young girl, the future porn star moved to Lawndale, CA, with her mother and three sisters, fleeing the alcoholic father. While a student at Redondo Union High School, she ran away from home at the age of 15. While living with a man in his forties, Lords went to Jim South’s World Modeling Agency (for adult movies) with a friend’s sister’s birth certificate, which read Kristie Elizabeth Nussman… age 22.
With the help of the false I.D. and with her “roommate” claiming to be her stepfather, Mr. South was easily convinced that Lords would soon be a pornographic movie star. After the teen stripped down and posed for some photos, showing that she was certainly not shy, she was in. Lords’ first film was “What Gets Me Hot!” (1984). She got paid $10,000 for only four days – at a time when the average new actress received $500 a day. Ironically, she did her first scene with Tom Byron, who became her new boyfriend.
Thus began Lords’ career firmly entrenched in Hollywood’s underbelly. Her “work” was as varied as “Open up Traci” (1984) and “Two Timing Traci” (1985), to “Sex Fifth Avenue” (1985) and “Kinky Business” (1985) – each film growing slowly but surely more graphic. The incredibly developed, full-figured Lords easily duped photographers, producers and directors (with the help of that false birth certificate and a driver’s license). She made somewhere between 80 and 100 X-rated movies (some consisted mostly of leftover footage from previous shoots) between 1984-86.
In 1984, Lords posed for a Penthouse centerfold, in the same issue that ultimately published unauthorized nude photos of singer-actress Vanessa Williams. However, the issue was considered illegal, which only upped its collectability in the ensuing years.
Allegedly earning over one million dollars from porn, Lords was eventually able to raise her own financing so she could produce her own films, write her own scripts, star in her own projects and market the resulting product as she saw fit. She formed Traci Lords Productions with her “manager”/boyfriend, producing such movies as “Traci Takes Tokyo” (1986) and “Beverly Hills Copulator” (1986).
By the mid-80s, Lords was the queen of porn, recognized worldwide and mobbed wherever she went. In the summer of 1986 (after recently turning 18), she traveled to Cannes to make “Traci, I Love You” (1987). When she got back to LA, the FBI raided her apartment and arrested her after someone informed the FBI that the actress was underage. Federal prosecutors arrested the owners of her porn movie agency and X-citement Video Inc., as well as branding the hundreds of films she appeared in illegal child-pornography. Within hours of the news, the videos were taken off the shelves. Porn distributors, not wishing any onerous kiddie porn charges, destroyed millions of dollars worth of magazines and tapes. For an business rarely shocked by anything – the Traci Lords FBI investigation shook many trees, causing even the sleazy skin industry to both check and double-check birthdates.
After the FBI incident, Traci left the porno industry, but remained compelled to perform in some shape or form, taking voice and ballet lessons and taking the occasional class at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Hollywood. In 1988, she starred in Roger Corman’s remake “Not of This Earth,” her first mainstream film, in which she did her only nude scene in a mainstream film. In that same year, she also landed a spot on “Wiseguy” (CBS, 1987-1990), and thus began her career as a real actress.
The film that brought Lords her first Hollywood legitimacy – to say nothing of – surprise – good critical reviews – was director John Waters’ “Cry Baby” (1990), where she played a tough-talking sex kitten opposite Johnny Depp. On the set, she met Water’s nephew, Brook Yeaton, a prop maker whom she married on Sept. 29, 1990 in a traditional Catholic ceremony. Unfortunately the marriage lasted only five years.
Throughout the 1990s, her hard work began paying off as her reputation as a reliable actress grew. In addition to being a singer and an advocate for gay rights, Lords continued to land legit work in such shows as “Married… with Children” (Fox, 1987-1997), “MacGyver” (ABC, 1985-1992) and the 1993 made-for-TV movie “The Tommyknockers,” based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Among her many roles, she received the most critical attention for her work in “Serial Mom” (1994); “Virtuosity” (1995), starring Denzel Washington and a then-unknown Russell Crowe; a recurring role on “Melrose Place” (Fox, 1992-99); a series regular in the second season of NBC’s “Profiler” (1996-2000), playing sicko serial killer Sharon Lesher; and as herself in “D.R.E.A.M. Team” (2000), co-starring hot models Traci Bingham and Angie Everhart.
Lords became a favorite at The Sci-Fi Channel when she joined the cast of the enormously popular Sci-Fi Channel adventure series, “First Wave” (1998-2001). Executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola, the series starred Lords as Jordan Radcliffe, the mysterious and sexy leader of a militia force known as the “Raven Nation,” which fought the alien invasion of Earth. “First Wave” creator, Chris Brancato said at the time, “Lords has the right combination of substance and sexiness. Traci is the perfect person for this role.”
In 2003, Lords published her autobiography Traci Lords – Underneath It All, to some fanfare; many deemed the book too tame a view of Lords’ lewd young life. She went on a book tour, and when the tour wound down, she was accepted into the prestigious Fox Searchlab for which she directed a short film, “Sweet Pea” – a project inspired by one of the chapters in her book. She also found time to star in the movie “Deathlands” (2003), again for the Sci-Fi Channel, and made an appearance on the family-friendly “The Gilmore Girls” (WB, 2000 - ). Her fame/infamy also attracted a lot of work as a voice-over artist for a variety of out-of-this-world characters for several video games and animated films.
Lords’ versatility was also reflected in her parallel career as a singer/songwriter. She made her recording debut with 1000 Fires, an album from Radioactive Records, that rose to number two on the Billboard Charts. One of Lords’ songs even made it onto the “Mortal Kombat” (1995) soundtrack, which went double platinum; plus she had the unique opportunity to combine her acting and singing careers by performing one of her own songs in the film, “Virtuosity.” The album, which Lords described as a mixture of progressive electronic and techno music, received surprisingly glowing reviews from critics.
After all the ups and downs, Lords finally found personal happiness in the arms of Jeffrey Lee, whom she married in February of 2002.
Also Credited As: Nora Louise Kouzma, Traci Elizabeth Lords, Traci Lords, Traci YeatonBorn: on 05/07/1968 in Steubenville, OhioJob Titles: Actor, Singer, Songwriter, Worked at a youth center for prostitutes and runawaysSignificant Others
Companion: John Enos. appeared on “Melrose Place”; engaged as of April 1996; broke up in 1998
Education
The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, Los Angeles, California
Milestones
1983 Began working in porn films at age 15 (date approximate)
1986 Turned 18 after making more than 100 adult films/videos
1988 Feature “legit” film debut, in Roger Corman’s “Not of This Earth”
1989 TV debut, a guest spot on Fox’s “Married … With Children”
1990 Gained some mainstream legitimacy by appearing in John Waters’ “Cry-Baby”
1991 TV-movie debut in NBC’s “Murder in High Places”
1993 TV miniseries debut in ABC’s “Stephen King’s ‘The Tommyknockers’”
1995 Recurring role on TV series “Melrose Place” (FOX)
1995 Released first album (singer/songwriter)
1996 Appeared with Juliette Lewis, Harry Dean Stanton and Peter Horton in Guess? Jeans commercials
2000 Joined cast of the Sci-Fi Channel series “First Wave” in the regular role of an alien fighter
Co-starred with Tyler Mane in “Black Mask 2: City of Masks” (lensed 2000)
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