Jessica Drake: From Wicked Star to Sex Education Pioneer

Key facts

Who: Jessica Drake (she styles it “jessica drake”), born and raised in San Antonio, Texas (AVN)
Career: Sin City contract performer until 2002, exclusive Wicked Pictures contract star from 2003 (Wikipedia)
Awards: AVN Best Actress in 2005, 2007 and 2009; AVN Hall of Fame (2010) and XRCO Hall of Fame (2011) (Wikipedia)
Sex education: Creator of Jessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex, AVN’s Best Educational Release of 2012 (AVN)
Teaching: Addressed 35 licensed therapists and health professionals at UCLA in 2012 (AVN)
Mainstream: Cameo in Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s “Telephone” video (Vox; Wikipedia)

People search “Jessica Drake sex education” because they’ve seen her name on the Guide to Wicked Sex series and want to know how a porn star ended up lecturing therapists at UCLA. It’s a fair question. In most professions, nobody would be surprised that someone with twenty years of hands-on experience became a teacher. In ours, people are still surprised. Jessica Drake has spent the second half of her career proving that they shouldn’t be.

I’ve been in this industry for 14 years. I’m one of the most-searched male performers in the world, and I’ve worked with most of the top actresses of my generation. If you ask me which performers have done the most to change how the public sees us, Jessica’s name is near the top of my list. Here’s her sourced story, followed by my take.

A Texas girl who started with dancing

Jessica Drake was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, according to a 2009 AVN profile, which noted her calm voice carried no trace of a Texan accent (AVN).

In an interview with Vox about how performers tell their families, she explained that she was still living in Texas and travelling back and forth between El Paso and Los Angeles as she got into the business. “First I was doing solo magazine work, and some softcore projects for Playboy TV, Cinemax, that type of thing,” she said. Her friends knew she was dancing, which she had already been doing in Texas. About a year passed before she decided to do adult films, and she didn’t confirm it to friends until her first movies were about to come out (Vox).

The reaction was rough. “Quite frankly, they were pretty appalled at first,” she told Vox. “They cited just about every ‘Boogie Nights’ stereotype imaginable.” Then she added the line that every performer who’s been judged will appreciate: “Bear in mind, these are the same people who now reach out to me and tell me how great it is, how proud they are of me, and hey, can I send them some free porn or autographs?” (Vox).

Her family’s reaction was harder. She said she wasn’t close to her mother, who told her father about her career “in the worst way imaginable.” When Jessica finally talked to her father, he didn’t want to discuss the details of her job, “but he told me as long as I was happy and being safe, he loved me and supported me.” Her younger brother, she said, “has never had an issue with it” (Vox).

From Sin City to Wicked Pictures

Jessica spent two years as a contract performer for the studio Sin City, until her contract expired on May 31, 2002 (Wikipedia). She won her first AVN Award in 2001, for Best Tease Performance. She also began writing screenplays during her Sin City years, and later wrote several features herself (Wikipedia).

In 2003 she signed an exclusive contract with Wicked Pictures, the studio known for story-driven features (Wikipedia). It was a perfect match. She told AVN in 2009 that Wicked was the best company to work for if you wanted creative input: “They actually listen to me. If I’ve ever gone to them and said, ‘You know, I had this idea, and I’d really like to do this project,’ they listen to what I have to say” (AVN).

Her acting earned real recognition. A romantic comedy set in a laundromat won her the 2005 AVN Award for Best Actress (Video). In 2007 she co-hosted the AVN Awards with comedian Jim Norton — “this is probably the greatest thing that ever happened to me,” she said — and won Best Actress (Film) the same night for Manhunters, a role for which she trained as a bounty hunter during pre-production (Wikipedia). In January 2009 she won her third Best Actress award for Fallen, in which she played an angel trapped on Earth, a film she called “the best movie I have ever been in” (Wikipedia).

She moved behind the camera too. After working as assistant director to Wicked director Brad Armstrong, she made her directing debut in 2008 (Wikipedia). The industry put her in its Halls of Fame early: AVN in 2010 and XRCO in 2011 (Wikipedia). She also co-hosted the 2009 XRCO Awards with Kayden Kross and the 2010 F.A.M.E. Awards with Sunny Leone (Wikipedia).

Speaking honestly about safety

In 2004, during an HIV scare in the industry, Jessica said she had only performed with men who wore condoms. She added a point that was controversial but honest: “working without condoms in the industry is less dangerous than going home with someone who you just met randomly in a bar” (Wikipedia).

I quote that because it shows something about her that runs through her whole career: she talks about sex and risk like an adult, not like a press release. That’s exactly the quality you need in a sex educator.

Breaking stereotypes on mainstream TV

Jessica became one of the industry’s most effective ambassadors to the mainstream. In November 2007 she was one of the performers featured on The Tyra Banks Show episode “A Day in the Life of a Porn Star” (Wikipedia). She told AVN that during commercial breaks Tyra kept saying, “You’re such a regular girl. You’re so smart and so together.” Jessica’s answer: “But I am — I’m all of what you already thought I was. I just happen to star in seven adult movies a year” (AVN).

AVN described how she went on talk shows and patiently explained that she wasn’t abused as a child, didn’t have a drinking or drug problem, and did porn of her own free will (AVN). “I think the stereotype can perpetuate itself,” she said, “because the more people expect it, the more they seek out that proverbial bad apple in the bunch, and make an example out of them” (AVN).

Her mainstream credits grew. She appeared in the 2010 comedy Barry Munday as an air-guitar contest judge, and in the music video for Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s “Telephone” (Wikipedia). In 2014 CNBC put her on its “Dirty Dozen” list of porn’s most popular stars, and a documentary series about her, Love, Jessica, began airing in Canada (Wikipedia).

The Guide to Wicked Sex: how a porn star became a sex educator

This is the heart of her story. Jessica noticed that the people coming to meet her at conventions had changed. “It went from being all guys with just a couple of women in between, to suddenly being men and women as well,” she told CraveOnline. “I wanted to provide them with a resource that was not only informative and educational, but I wanted to do something that they would enjoy as a couple” (CraveOnline).

With Wicked Pictures she launched Jessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex, a series of explicit educational films. The first title won AVN’s 2012 award for Best Educational Release (AVN; Wikipedia). AVN’s reviewer wrote that “the overall tone for the female viewer is calming and accepting, and Drake does a good job at creating a safe learning space” (AVN). In 2014 she added a plus-size edition with performer Kelly Shibari, to address a group she felt was underrepresented (Wikipedia). The series was also a weekly segment on her Playboy Radio show (Wikipedia).

She stayed hands-on. “I’m a bit of a control freak,” she told CraveOnline. “When I direct a movie, whether it be a feature movie for Wicked or one of my instructionals, I do all of the work myself” (CraveOnline).

And she gives advice that I’d sign under. Asked about the most common mistake men make in bed, she said it’s “men assuming that once they have a technique it’s going to work for every woman. Women are all really different.” The second: “over-zealousness. If a guy’s really trying too hard to impress a woman then we can feel that, and to us it comes across as insecurity” (CraveOnline).

Teaching therapists at UCLA

On May 3, 2012, Jessica addressed a class of licensed therapists at UCLA. Dr. Walter Bracklemans’ course, “Human Sexuality, Sex Education and Sex Therapy,” brought together 35 health care professionals, sex therapists and family therapists, who listened to her for over an hour about her career and her move into sex education (AVN; Wikipedia).

Her reaction was humble: “My favorite part of the afternoon was the roundtable discussion allowing everyone in the room to join the conversation… I had the opportunity to learn just as much as I taught… I am very proud to be recognized as a contributor to modern day sex education” (AVN).

More universities followed. In February 2014 she spoke at the University of Chicago’s Sex Week on a panel titled “Jessica Drake: From Porn to Sex Ed,” alongside Tasha Reign, and the same month she and Tasha spoke on a UCLA panel about porn, censorship and empowerment (Wikipedia). She has also spoken at the CatalystCon sexuality conference and at a USC School of Cinematic Arts panel about piracy (Wikipedia).

Charity, done quietly

One detail about Jessica that few people know: she works with an organization that builds homes and provides clean water in poverty-stricken areas, and in 2012 she formed her own 501(c)(3) nonprofit for domestic efforts. According to Wikipedia, she keeps this work separate from the “jessica drake” brand and does it anonymously, because she doesn’t want anyone to think she volunteers as a public-relations move (Wikipedia).

The 2016 Trump allegation

In October 2016, at a Los Angeles press conference with attorney Gloria Allred, Jessica alleged that at a 2006 celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, where she was working for Wicked Pictures, Donald Trump hugged and kissed her and two friends without asking, and that she later received an offer of $10,000 to return to his room, which she declined (The Guardian). She said: “I am not looking for monetary compensation. I do not need additional fame” (Wikipedia).

The Trump campaign responded that “this story is totally false and ridiculous” and that Trump “does not know this person” (The Guardian). These are her allegations and his campaign’s denial; I’m reporting both and not taking a position on what happened. What I will say is that it takes nerve for anyone in our industry to stand at a podium knowing what people will say about her — she said herself she understood she might be “called a liar or an opportunist” (Wikipedia).

Private life

Jessica was married to performer Evan Stone from 2002 to 2004, and later had a long relationship with Wicked director Brad Armstrong; in 2021 she said they had separated (Wikipedia). On dating, she told Vox she finds it “much better to date someone in the industry. They tend to understand the job” (Vox).

What every performer should learn from Jessica Drake

Listen to your audience. She noticed couples at conventions and built a product for them.
Your experience is expertise. Years of on-set work became a teaching career.
Choose partners who respect your ideas. Wicked listened, and she produced her best work there.
Talk like an adult. Her honesty about safety and sex is what made her credible to therapists.
Let your name stand for something. Every interview she gave chipped away at a stereotype.

My Take (opinion — Maximo Garcia)

Jessica Drake is proof of something I’ve believed for a long time: performers are among the most experienced people in the world when it comes to sex, communication on set and consent — and almost nobody asks us what we’ve learned. She didn’t wait to be asked. She built the course herself, put it on DVD, won an award for it and then walked into a UCLA classroom full of licensed therapists and held their attention for over an hour.

After 14 years in this business, I can tell you her advice to men is exactly right. The guys who struggle, on and off camera, are the ones who think one trick works on every woman, and the ones trying too hard to impress. Confidence is paying attention to the person in front of you. That’s not a porn lesson; it’s a life lesson, and it’s why so much of what I write about at maximogarciaworld.com comes back to communication.

I also respect how she handled her family. Her mother outed her in the worst possible way, and her father answered with the only thing that matters: be happy, be safe, I love you. Every performer deserves that answer. If you’re interested in another performer who turned her career into teaching, read my column on Nina Hartley, the nurse who became the industry’s best-known sex educator. And for a younger generation’s version of this story, read my piece on Tasha Reign, who shared those university stages with Jessica.

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FAQ

What is Jessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex?

It is a series of explicit educational films she created with Wicked Pictures. The first title won AVN’s 2012 award for Best Educational Release, and in 2014 she added a plus-size edition with performer Kelly Shibari (Wikipedia; AVN).

Did Jessica Drake teach at UCLA?

She addressed a class of 35 licensed therapists and health professionals at UCLA on May 3, 2012, in Dr. Walter Bracklemans’ course on human sexuality and sex therapy, and later spoke on a UCLA student panel with Tasha Reign (AVN; Wikipedia).

What awards has Jessica Drake won?

She won AVN’s Best Actress award three times (2005, 2007 and 2009), co-hosted the 2007 AVN Awards, and was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2010 and the XRCO Hall of Fame in 2011 (Wikipedia).

What did Jessica Drake say about Donald Trump?

In October 2016, at a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred, she alleged unwanted conduct and a $10,000 offer at a 2006 golf event. The Trump campaign called her story “totally false and ridiculous” (The Guardian).

How we fact-checked this

Every fact and quote was checked against the sources below. The 2016 allegations are reported as allegations, alongside the Trump campaign’s denial. Explicit film titles and details were left out to keep this page SFW. Opinions are Maximo Garcia’s own and are labeled as such.