Sunrise Adams

Sunrise Adams (born September 14, 1982 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American pornographic actress. She is the niece of the well-known porn film star Sunset Thomas.

Early life

Adams, though born in St. Louis, was raised in near poverty in rural East Texas. "I grew up in Pickton, Texas (pop. 90), with no phone, one TV channel and no one to play with for miles." (Hustler, May 2005) A self-described "curious and wild" tomboy, in the 6th grade she tattooed "horny" on her knuckles using a sewing needle and ink from a pen. In high school she excelled both athletically and academically. She not only played basketball for her school, but was also the only girl ever to play on both the Junior and Senior varsity football teams for the Como-Pickton school district. Graduating early at age 16, she enrolled at a nearby community college during her last two years of high school. [1] [2]

Adult Film Career

Once she was 18, her aunt Sunset Thomas -- already a famous porn actress herself -- came to visit, arriving in a tractor and trailer at the Sonic Drive-In where Adams was employed. With little debate, Thomas convinced her niece that the adult film industry could also be her path to money and fame, and even came up with a stage name complimentary to her own. [3] Leaving behind small-town Texas for the bright lights of Los Angeles, Adams officially began her porn career on January 8, 2001, when she appeared with Ed Powers in More Dirty Debutantes 186, though she later admitted the experience was "nothing I want to remember". [4]

Like most actresses new to the pornographic industry, she was encouraged to try sexual acts outside her prior experiences. Her first sexual encounter with another girl was with Cherry Rain in Cockless 3 (2001), which she found she enjoyed. Adams also did anal scenes in her very early films -- including her first ever with Powers -- but after a particularly rough session in Vince Voyeur's Initiations 8 (2001) ended up requiring stitches and recuperation time to heal, she has since adamantly refused to continue that practice on film.

An instant hit with fans, Adams signed a two year contract with Vivid Entertainment in August, 2002, officially becoming a "Vivid Girl." Prior to this, she had chosen to remain a free agent, and actually refused an earlier offer from Vivid to become one of their exclusive actresses. But Vivid founder and president Steve Hirsch pursued her, eventually agreeing to meet with her at a gas station while she was en-route to close escrow on her first house. After some on-the-spot cajoling, Hirsch finally convinced her to join Vivid, and together they literally signed the contract on the hood of Adams' car. The terms required her to appear in 8 movies per year for the company. [5]

On September 17, 2002, Adams underwent breast enlargement surgery, despite Vivid's objections, which preferred her youthful figure and natural breasts.

In 2002, Vivid tapped Adams to star in Debbie Does Dallas: The Revenge as well as future films in the series. It was an apt choice considering the blonde actress' Texas heritage and football background, though she claimed the role was difficult due to her life-long loathing of cheerleaders.

Adams is particularly well-known for her oral skills and lesbian scenes. Nominated for Best Actress by AVN in 2003, she won the award for "Best Oral Sex Scene - Film" in 2004 for the movie Heart of Darkness.

She has made a number of films with brunette star Faith Adams, her "almost namesake," and actually claimed to have been "married" to Faith for almost two years.

On August 2, 2004, Adams -- along with fellow Vivid girl Savanna Samson -- appeared on Fox News's "The O'Reilly Factor" talk show to promote their book How to Have a XXX Sex Life. Adams has also parlayed her fame into comedy and personal appearances, as well as business ventures. She appeared on the cover of the Xbox and PlayStation 2 game, Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood, portraying herself, and was a spokeswoman for Pony Sports. She also appeared in the skateboarding movie Grind (2003). An active investor in real estate, she has several homes in California and Texas, and hopes to own a chain of apartments. She has also been working on a business management degree via an online university.

In late-2004, not long after renewing her Vivid contract for 10 more years, Adams abruptly left the adult film business. To date she has not publicly cited a reason for her sudden departure, or revealed whether there were financial repercussions for breaking her contract with Vivid.

Adams was also a promotional model featured on the sign for the Las Vegas nightclub Tangerine at Treasure Island and on their web site[6].

Adams is currently employed at Countrywide Home Mortgage in Fort Worth, Texas.

Books

Adams has been featured in two books:

• XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits, Bulfinch (October 1, 2004)
• How to Have a XXX Sex Life: The Ultimate Vivid Guide, Regan Books (July 20, 2004))

Adams is also the co-author of:

• The Lust Ranch; Vivid Comix. [7]

External links

For links to Sunrise Adams' filmography and official website, please refer to the infobox.

• Appearance on Howard Stern, 2/10/03

Interviews

• BabesandStuff.com Note: Contains pornographic content.
• Luke Is Back
• AVN Insider
• XFANZ.com