Porn stars — they're just like us! No, seriously. As anyone traversing this crazy world knows, one day you can be in a hot threeway, and the next you can be graduating medical school. OK, it's not always quite like that, but switching jobs is pretty common. It's hard enough for the average person, but porn stars changing careers face a certain level of stigma that us lay people can only imagine. For some reason, we trust these fine folks to provide us pleasure, but as soon as they want to perform some other kind of non-sexual service, we get all weirded out.
Recently, former porn actress CoCo Brown has been billed as the first porn star to be sent to space, but the fact remains that once you train to be an astronaut, you're an astronaut, pure and simple. Neil Armstrong was a naval officer, but no one calls him the first naval officer in space now do they? While I realize that parallel is a tad skewed, the fact remains that porn actors are just regular people with slightly less regular jobs. They call it sex "work" for a reason, and who wants to work at the same place forever? Here are five porn stars who changed careers:
1. Sasha Grey
At the young age of 27, Sasha Grey has already conquered porn and transitioned into a successful electronic musician, also landing roles in the mainstream acting world. Sure, it's all "entertainment," but her crossover success proves her many talents go far beyond the bedroom.
2. Ilona Staller
This Hungarian adult actress once known as Cicciolina made the move from porn to politics in the 1980's. She was eventually elected to Italian parliament in 1987, where she served one term as a representative of The Radicals party (go figure).
3. Fredrik Eklund
Fredrik Eklund is a Swedish real estate broker, and one third of Bravo's hit show, Million Dollar Listing . What you might not know about him is that he used to act in pornographic films under the name Tag Eriksson.
4. Sharon Mitchell
Once an adult film actress, Sharon Mitchell left the business to become a certified sexologist so she could help her former colleagues get access to health care and STD testing. Mitchell opened the Adult Industry Medical Clinic in 1998.
5. CoCo Brown
Former porn actress CoCo Brown is currently in rigorous training to leave the earth's orbit, and is slated to enter outer space with the privately owned Space Expedition Corp soon. The journey will only cost her $100,000.
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Images: Giphy; Getty (3); ItsCoCoBrown/Twitter
