Getty Jessica Jaymes pictured at the 2018 AVN Awards.
Jessica Jaymes is the Hustler model and porn star who died at the age of 43 on September 17. Jaymes’ cause of death has not been made public.
TMZ was the first to report on Jaymes’ death on September 18. The website says that paramedics were called to Jaymes’ home in the San Fernando Valley on the afternoon of September 17 after a 911 caller said James had had a heart attack. The caller was a friend who said he had gone to check on Jaymes as he had not heard from her in a few days. Jaymes was pronounced dead at the scene. The TMZ report adds that responders found prescription drugs at the scene. Jessica Jaymes’ real name was Jessica Redding.
Jaymes final Instagram post came on September 18. The photo showed Jaymes in a make-up chair while saying that she had recently been on a vacation for a few days.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Jaymes Was Hustler’s ‘Honey of the Year’ in 2004 & Penthouse’s ‘Pet of the Month’ in 2008
Jaymes is renowned in the adult industry as being Hustler Magazine’s “Honey of the Year” in 2004 and for being the magazine’s first contracted model. When asked to explain what Hustler CEO Larry Flynt is like, Jaymes told Luke Is Back in a 2009 interview, “Larry is actually very cool and funny. Although he is confined to a wheel chair and has a minor speech impediment, there is nothing Larry can’t and won’t do. He is smart, powerful and witty.”
In August 2008, Jaymes was also named as Penthouse’s “Pet of the Month.” James, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, entered the adult industry in 2000. Jaymes told Bare List in a 2011 interview that her first big break in the industry was an appearance on Playboy TV’s “Totally Busted” in 2003.
She established her name by combining the names of her then-boyfriend, James, with her own given name.
2. Jaymes Was Inducted Into Pornography’s Hall of Fame in 2018
GettyJaymes attends the 2016 Adult Video News Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on January 23, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 2018, Jaymes was inducted into the Adult Video News’ Hall of Fame. Jaymes Internet Adult Filmbase page says that she appeared in 359 titles, five in 2019. Fellow porn star, Richelle Ryan, said on Twitter following Jaymes’ passing saying, “Another angel taken too soon… RIP Jessica Jaymes I only met you a handful of times but she was always so sweet and the best dressed.”
3. Jaymes Appeared in 2 Episodes of Showtime’s ‘Weeds’ & on VH1’s ‘Celebrity Rehab Sober House’
In terms of mainstream appearances, Jaymes as appeared in episodes of VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab Sober House” and two episodes of Showtime’s “Weeds,” according to her IMDb page. Jaymes says on her IMDb page that her father had been an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency officer who moved the family from Alaska to Arizona when she was 10 years old. She had the word “Dad” tattooed on her left ring finger. Jaymes told Bare List in 2011 that, “My family completely supports me in everything I do. They are very proud of my strong work ethic and focus.”
4. Prior to Going Into Pornography, Jaymes Worked as an Elementary School Teacher
GettyJaymes arrives at the 24th annual Adult Video News Awards Show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center January 13, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jaymes was a graduate of the New Mexico Military Institute and the Rio Salado Community College. Prior to entering pornography, Jaymes had worked as an elementary school teacher where she taught fourth and sixth grade. When asked by Bare List about what job she would be doing if she were not in the adult industry, Jaymes said, “My family completely supports me in everything I do. They are very proud of my strong work ethic and focus.” In the same interview, Jaymes says that she has played classical piano since the age of 6.
4. Jaymes Said in a 2016 Documentary That She Was Completely Monogamous in Her Personal Relationships
In 2013, Jaymes was featured in an English documentary, “Date My Pornstar.” The show followed three English porn fans who were flown to Los Angeles to meet their favorite stars. Among those featured, a man named Kevin O’Flanagan chose to meet Jessica Jaymes.
GettyJaymes attends the 2019 XBIZ Awards on January 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
The experience of the documentary made O’Flanagan rethink his relationship with pornography. He told The Sun, “The girls are treated like objects. I started off being turned on by seeing the girls in action, right in front of me. I thought, ‘I’d like to be involved in that.’ But it went on for hours and the mood turned sour. It became a job, not fun, and the girls looked exhausted. They were smiling but they were putting on a front. I don’t think anybody could enjoy doing that. The more I saw, the more turned off I became.”
Jaymes told O’Flanagan upon meeting them, “I’m actually completely monogamous in real life, which I
know sounds weird from a porn star. But this is just a job to me. It’s a business.”
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