Joanna Angel

"Burning Angel" redirects here. For the EP, see Burning Angel (EP).

Joanna Angel
Angel in 2017
Born
Joanna Mostov[1][2]

1980 (age 44–45)[1]
New York City, U.S.
EducationRutgers University
Height4 ft 11 in (1.50 m)
Spouse
Aaron Thompson
​
(m. 2016)​
Websitejoannaangel.com

Joanna Mostov (born 1980), professionally known as Joanna Angel,[1][2][3] is an American pornographic film actress, director, and writer of adult films.[4] She founded the website BurningAngel.com in April 2002 with her roommate Mitch Fontaine, and has been credited with helping the growth of the alt porn genre.[5] Launched as a response to websites such as SuicideGirls, the website featured alternative performers acting in exclusively hardcore scenes with a stronger focus on a punk aesthetic.[5]

Early life

Angel was born in Brooklyn, New York, to an Israeli mother and an American father. She was raised in River Edge in Bergen County, New Jersey, where she attended Cherry Hill Elementary School and graduated from River Dell Regional High School in 1998. After graduating, she enrolled in Rutgers University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature with a minor in Film Studies.[6][4]

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Angel is believed to be the first person in the pornography industry to have been raised in Orthodox Judaism.[2] She worked in a kosher fast food restaurant in Teaneck during high school, then at an Applebee's and another restaurant called Happy's Health Grille during college.[7] She eventually returned to Brooklyn and, with Mitch Fontaine, created the website BurningAngel.com.

Pornography career

Angel at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, January 18, 2013.

Angel is a former model for SuicideGirls, a softcore pornography website. In her early 20s she founded the "indie-punk-porn" site BurningAngel.com, featuring interviews and stories of sex with band members, along with nude photographs. Drawing inspiration from a live sex performance by porn actress Nina Hartley, Angel later began making hardcore movies for the site.[1]

According to Encyclopedia of the Zombie, Angel is "regarded as a major influence in the mainstreaming of alt porn", and is credited with making the genre financially viable.[1] She has produced and performed in several zombie-themed hardcore films: Re-Penetrator (2005), Dong of the Dead (2009), Evil Head (2012), and The Walking Dead: A Hardcore Parody (2013).[1] She said in a 2006 interview, "I think [alt porn is] a movement. I think I've started something."[8]

Angel has written, produced, directed and starred in films available exclusively through BurningAngel, as well as appearing in more traditionally distributed adult films. She was under an exclusive contract with VCA Pictures, which expired in March 2007, and was, at one time, represented by the adult talent agency Bad Ass Models.[citation needed]

Appearances

Following the success of BurningAngel, Angel has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times.[9]

Angel briefly wrote a monthly sex advice column for Spin. She also contributed a chapter to the book Naked Ambition, edited by Carly Milne.[10]

In 2010, Angel appeared in a public service announcement for the Free Speech Coalition on the topic of Internet copyright infringement of adult content, directed by Michael Whiteacre.[11][12] The spot, entitled the "FSC All-Star Anti-Piracy PSA",[13] found her in the company of adult performers such as Lisa Ann, Julie Meadows, Kimberly Kane, Ron Jeremy and Wicked Pictures contract stars, Alektra Blue and Kaylani Lei.

In 2011, Angel was named by CNBC as one of the 12 most popular stars in porn. CNBC noted that she owns her own studio and that the "punk look" that she and her other actors share has created a new genre in the porn industry, called alt porn.[14] Also, in 2011, Angel made a cameo on the Adult Swim show Childrens Hospital, in the season three episode "Night Shift." She played herself as a porn star and family friend of Rob Corddry's character Dr. Blake.[15][16]

Angel sometimes appears on Cracked.com as a friend of the columnists and appears in the music video for "Sound Wave Superior" by Emmure.[17]

In 2013, Angel appeared in the independent film Scrapper, starring Michael Beach and Aidan Gillen,[18] along with the ensemble cast musical comedy Skum Rocks! [19] In 2014, she had roles in the crime drama The Owl in Echo Park[20] and the Kevin Nealon comedy series Racquetball.[21] She also appeared in the documentary film Doc of the Dead, which features Interviews with Max Brooks, Stuart Gordon, Jacqui Holland, Robert Kirkman, Greg Nicotero and Judith O'Dea.[22]

Personal life

Angel dated fellow porn star James Deen for six years, between 2005 and 2011.[23][24] On December 2, 2015, she appeared on The Jason Ellis Show to give more details about her "violent and scary" six-year relationship with Deen.[24]

On October 31, 2016, Angel married Aaron "Small Hands" Thompson, another adult film actor.[25]

Angel identifies as a Democrat.[26] In 2015, she endorsed Bernie Sanders for President of the United States in the Democratic primaries for 2016 U.S. presidential election.[26]

Publications

  • Lee, Jiz (February 14, 2024). Porn Made Me Like My Parents. ThreeL Media. ISBN 978-0-9905571-6-6. (2015). In Lee, Jiz (ed.). Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Essays on Pornography, Protection, and Privacy. Berkeley, Calif.: ThreeL Media. pp. 209–215. ISBN 978-0-9905571-6-6.

Awards

  • 2006 AVN Award – Most Outrageous Sex Scene (with Tommy Pistol) – Re-Penetrator[27]
  • 2007 XBIZ Award – Crossover Move of the Year[28]
  • 2008 XRCO Award – Best On-Screen Chemistry (with James Deen)[29]
  • 2009 XRCO Award – Best On-Screen Chemistry (with James Deen)[30]
  • 2011 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com[31]
  • 2011 AVN Award – Best Solo Sex Scene – Rebel Girl[31]
  • 2011 NightMoves Award – Best Director (Editor's Choice)[32]
  • 2012 NightMoves Award – Best Individual Website (Editor's Choice) – JoannaAngel.com[32]
  • 2012 NightMoves Triple Play Award (Dancing/Performing/Directing)[33]
  • 2013 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com[34]
  • 2013 AVN Award – Best Solo Sex Scene – Joanna Angel: Filthy Whore[34]
  • 2013 NightMoves Award – Best Ink (Editor's Choice)[32]
  • 2013 NightMoves Hall of Fame inductee[35]
  • 2013 Inked Award – Achievement Award[36]
  • 2014 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com (tied with AsaAkira.com)[37]
  • 2014 Inked Award – Director of the Year[38]
  • 2015 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com[39]
  • 2015 Inked Award – Group Scene of the Year (with Skin Diamond, Kleio Valentien, Natalia Marie, James Deen, Mr. Pete, & Mick Blue) – All About That Orgy[40]
  • 2015 Inked Award – Hall of Fame inductee[40]
  • 2016 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com[41]
  • 2016 AVN Hall of Fame inductee[42]
  • 2016 XRCO Hall of Fame inductee[43]
  • 2017 AVN Award – Best Supporting Actress – Cindy Queen of Hell[44]
  • 2017 AVN Award – Best Virtual Reality Sex Scene (with Abella Danger & Manuel Ferrara) – Angel 'n Danger[44]
  • 2017 NightMoves Award – Best Director, Parody (Editor's Choice)[45]
  • 2018 XBIZ Award – Best Actress, Comedy Release – Jews Love Black Cock[46]
  • 2018 XBIZ Award – Best Sex Scene, Comedy Release (with Abella Danger & Isiah Maxwell) – Jews Love Black Cock[46]
  • 2018 XRCO Award – Mainstream Adult Media Favorite[47]
  • 2019 AVN Award – Best Supporting Actress – A Trailer Park Taboo[48]
  • 2019 XBIZ Award – Best Actress, Comedy Release – Dirty Grandpa[49]
  • 2019 XBIZ Award – Best Supporting Actress – Talk Derby to Me[49]
  • 2019 XBIZ Award – Best Sex Scene, All-Sex Release (with Ricky Johnson, Isiah Maxwell, & Prince Yahshua) – Joanna Angel Gangbang: As Above, So Below[49]
  • 2019 NightMoves Award – Best Director, Non-Feature (Editor's Choice)[50]
  • 2019 Inked Award – Group Scene of the Year (with Karma Rx & Small Hands) – All Access POV 2[51]
  • 2020 XRCO Award – Best Director, Parody[52]
  • 2021 AVN Award – Best Screenplay, Comedy (with Shawn Alff) – Evil Tiki Babes[53]
  • 2022 XCritic Award – Best Director, Feature – Casey: A True Story[54]
  • 2022 AVN Award – Best Screenplay (with Casey Kisses & Shawn Alff) – Casey: A True Story[55]
  • 2023 Urban X Hall of Fame inductee[56]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Marks, Laura Helen (2014). "Angel, Joanna". In Pulliam, June M.; Fonseca, Anthony J. (eds.). Encyclopedia of the Zombie: The Walking Dead in Popular Culture and Myth. ABC-CLIO. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-1-4408-0389-5.
  2. ^ a b c "Porn star Joanna Angel says Orthodox parents accept her". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. November 6, 2015.
  3. ^ Friedman, Gabe (June 15, 2015). "7 Jews Who Made It Big In Porn". The Forward. Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  4. ^ a b Smooha, Shahar (July 12, 2007). "'Each time it's more fun'". Haaretz. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Schechner, Richard (2013). Performance Studies: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Routledge. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-203-12516-8.
  6. ^ Levin, Eric (December 19, 2007). "A Woman on Top". New Jersey Monthly (January 2008). Retrieved December 31, 2012. Possibly the world's first Jewish punk porn star with a BA from Rutgers, Oradell native Joanna Angel calls the shots on both sides of the camera and minds the bottom line. ... Joanna (real name) Angel (stage name) grew up in an orthodox Jewish family, graduated from Riverdell High School in Oradell, and earned a BA in English from Rutgers in 2003.
  7. ^ Loftus, Cindi (April 2007). "Joanna Angel". Xcitement Magazine. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
  8. ^ "Hustlerworld Interview: Joanna Angel". Hustler World. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009.
  9. ^ Lanham, Robert (May 1, 2005). "Wearing Nothing but Attitude". The New York Times – via RobertLanham.com.
  10. ^ Angel, Joanna (2005). "... On Being a Feminist with a Porn Site". In Milne, Carly (ed.). Naked Ambition: Women Who Are Changing Pornography. New York: Carroll & Graf. pp. 233–244. ISBN 978-0-7867-1590-9.
  11. ^ Kravets, David (April 29, 2010). "Porn Stars Decry Piracy in New Video (SFW)". Wired.com.
  12. ^ Mokey, Nick (April 30, 2010). "Adult Film Stars' Plea: Please Pay for Porn". Digital Trends.
  13. ^ FSCAPAP (April 20, 2010). "FSC All-Star Anti-Piracy PSA (texted version)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Morris, Chris (January 5, 2011). "The Dirty Dozen: Porn's Most Popular Stars". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014.
  15. ^ "Joanna Angel on Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital!". Joanna Angel Official Blog. January 26, 2011. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  16. ^ "Childrens Hospital "The Night Shift" (TV Episode 2011)". IMDb. August 11, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  17. ^ "Sound Wave Superior | Emmure | Music Video | MTV". MTV Networks. June 20, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2012.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ Staff (May 21, 2013). "Scrapper (2013)". IMDb. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  19. ^ Staff (September 26, 2013). "Skum Rocks! (2013) 77 min". IMDb. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  20. ^ Staff. "The Owl in Echo Park (2014)". IMDb. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  21. ^ Staff. "Racquetball (2014– ) Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  22. ^ "Doc of the Dead". dreadcentral.com. March 24, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  23. ^ "How To Date A Porn Star: My Night Out With Joanna Angel In Las Vegas". HuffPost. January 18, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  24. ^ a b Yamato, Jen (December 2, 2015). "Joanna Angel Opens Up About James Deen's Alleged Abuse: 'He Really Is a Scary Person'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  25. ^ Dickson, EJ; Thomas, Sophie Saint (January 26, 2018). "3 Porn Star Couples Reveal How They Make It Work". Men's Health. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  26. ^ a b Breslin, Susannah (July 24, 2015). "Porn Stars Endorse Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Marco Rubio for President in 2016". Forbes.
  27. ^ "2006 AVN Award Winners Announced". AVN. January 9, 2006. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2007.
  28. ^ "XBIZ Award Winners". XBIZ. February 2011.
  29. ^ "XRCO". Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  30. ^ "2009 XRCO Award Winners Announced AVN".
  31. ^ a b "AVN Announces the Winners of the 2011 AVN Awards". AVN. January 9, 2011. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
  32. ^ a b c "NightMoves Online – Past Winner History". Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  33. ^ "Past Winner History". Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  34. ^ a b "And Now... The 2013 AVN Award Winners!". AVN.com. January 20, 2013. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  35. ^ "Bonnie Rotten Snags Best Female Performer Nom from NightMoves". AVN. July 15, 2013. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  36. ^ "Inked Angels Announces Winners of 2013 Inked Awards AVN".
  37. ^ "AVN Announces the Winners of the 2014 AVN Awards". avn.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  38. ^ "Inked Awards 2014 Winners Announced AVN".
  39. ^ "AVN Announces the Winners of the 2015 AVN Awards". AVN. January 24, 2015. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  40. ^ a b "Winners of 2015 Inked Awards Announced AVN".
  41. ^ "AVN Announces the Winners of the 2016 AVN Awards AVN".
  42. ^ "Class of 2016: The AVN Hall of Fame Inductees". Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  43. ^ "2016 XRCO Award Winners Announced". AVN. June 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  44. ^ a b "2017 AVN Award Winners Announced AVN".
  45. ^ "Winners of 25th Annual NightMoves Awards Winners Announced AVN".
  46. ^ a b XBIZ Award Winners, XBIZ, January 2018
  47. ^ "2018 XRCO Award Winners Announced AVN".
  48. ^ "2019 AVN Award Winners Announced AVN".
  49. ^ a b c XBIZ Award Winners, XBIZ, January 2019
  50. ^ "Winners Announced of 27th Annual NightMoves Awards AVN".
  51. ^ "2019 Inked Awards Reveal New Group of Winners". October 26, 2019.
  52. ^ "XRCO Announces 2020 Winners Via AVN Stars Video AVN".
  53. ^ "2021 AVN Award Winners Announced AVN".
  54. ^ "XCritic Award Winners - 2021". January 2022.
  55. ^ AVN, AVN Staff. "2022 AVN Award Winners Announced AVN". AVN. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  56. ^ "Urban X Awards Announces 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees AVN".
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