Female porn star suicides

They died young — and by their own lovely hand

Drugs and depression claim the young lives of adult film stars

One of the most famous adult movie stars in the world was called Savannah. She shot herself in the head when she was only 23.

Savannah — her real name was Shannon Wilsey — starred in over 100 videos and in 1992 was named Adult Video News’s Best New Starlet. She was ranked No. 19 of the adult film industry’s top 50 porn stars of all time.

SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK ’N ROLL

Savannah, a heavy drug user, had relationships with Gregg Allman, who she started dating when she was 16, comedian Pauly Shore, singer Billy Idol, Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil, actor Mark Wahlberg, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, Mr Big bassist Billy Sheehan and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.

Female porn star suicides
I’m kind of on the wild side.
I don’t think I ever went out
with anybody with short hair.
CRASHED HER CORVETTE
on July 11, 1994 — Shortly before her death, Savannah was driving home from a party with a friend, Jason Swing, when she crashed her Corvette into a fence and broke her nose. The couple made their way to Savannah’s house in Universal City, Calif., where she asked Jason to walk her dog. Savannah then called her manager Nancy Pera and asked her to come over. And then she went into the garage and pulled the trigger.
PAULY SHORE AT HER BEDSIDE
When Nancy Pera arrived at the house Savannah was still alive, but barely. She was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank and was put on life support. Eleven hours later her father made the decision to shut it down. Pauly Shore was at her bedside.

Friends, family and adult film associates attended her funeral. Shore was the only ex-boyfriend there. “She was the nicest, most beautiful girl I ever met.”

Shore said she killed herself because “she forgot who Shannon was” and became her drug-addicted film persona. “I knew she wanted out of the porn business.”

OTHER CASUALTIES 

GALLERY OF TRAGEDY

Female porn star suicides
January Seraph

January Seraph, who was described as “the sweetest person in the world,” hanged herself in 2018 in her San Francisco apartment at the age of 31.

Female porn star suicides
Olivia Voltaire (aka Olivia Lua)

Olivia (Lua) Voltaire died in 2018 in West Hollywood of a drug-and-alcohol overdose when she was 23.

PORN SUICIDE
August Ames

A native of Nova Scotia, August Ames hanged herself in December 2017 in Camarillo, California, after being bullied online about her profession. She was 23.

SUICIDE AT 19
Alyssa Funke

University of Wisconsin student Alyssa Funke killed herself in 2014 at the age of 19 to escape being bullied by fellow students over her adult film roles.

DEAD AT 26
Clarissa Doll

Ex-Budweiser girl Clarissa Doll committed suicide in Las Vegas in 2006 at the age of 26.

HANGING AT 30
Angela Devi

Originally from a Punjabi family, Angela Devi asphyxiated herself with a plastic bag in 2006 in her home in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was 30.

FELL TO DEATH
Naughtier Childs

Naughtier Childs was 22 when she jumped to her death from her fourth-floor apartment balcony in Hollywood in 2002.

Female porn star suicides
Alex Jordan

Alex Jordan hanged herself in 1995 in her Marina Del Rey, California apartment at the age of 31.

SUICIDE AT 33
Kelly Van Dyke

The daughter of Jerry Van Dyke, the star of the TV show ‘Coach,’ Kelly Van Dyke killed herself in 1991. She was 33.

SHOT HERSELF
Megan Leigh

Megan Leigh was 26 when she shot herself in the head in 1990 in Solano County, California.

Female porn star suicides
Shauna Grant

A sweetheart from the Midwest, Shauna Grant shot herself with a semiautomatic .22 caliber rifle in 1984 in Palm Springs, California. She was only 20 years old.

AND THE BEAT GOES

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11 thoughts on “They died young — and by their own lovely hand”

  2. It is sad. Many people don’t give these young women a second thought but for the most part they are girls trapped in a world of drugs and manipulative men. It’s a life that turns on you savagely — as the suicides attest.

  4. My sister’s lifestyle had nothing to do with her suicide. She had a mental illness she did not treat.

  8. in the case of savannah they just wanted to date and marry famous rich, they didn’t want anything to do with her because she is a porn star
    and others either died of suicide and overdose the truth they were not happy in this profession there were some who got aids they preferred to die women are more famous for being called bitches and whores on the streets for depression they are not happy they can’t even get married and build a family

  10. I read a quote from a talent agent whose agency handled a lot of porn actresses. He said they weren’t as sexual as much as they wanted attention. But the kind of attention they are getting is pretty base and outside the industry they are treated like trash. Even those who make it to the top of the industry. It takes a very strong sense of self to handle the kind of negativity they are going to get thrown at them.

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