Traci Lords, whose real name is Nora Louise Kuzma, is an American actress and singer.
But the world mostly know her as as a former pornographic actress.
She gained widespread notoriety in the 1980s due to her involvement in the adult film industry, starting at a young age.
Lords made headlines when it was discovered that she had been underage during most of her adult film career. It's said that she left the industry just days after she turned 18 years old.
In other words, in the many pornographic films she starred, and with the many men she had hardcore sexual intercourse with on camera, she was still considered a child.
It all began when Lords was pregnant by her boyfriend at the age of 15.
Struggling to make a living for herself, Lords received help from Roger Hayes, a man who was her mother's boyfriend at the time. Hayes, who Lords refer to as a father figure, helped her obtain fake identities, which include a fake birth certificate and fake California drivers license, all of which stated that she was 20 years old.
Lords then stepped this a bit further, by registering a real passport using the fake identities.
This way, she managed to 'legally' conceal her real age.
In an attempt to earn money, Lords entered the adult entertainment industry in 1984 using the passport as her proof of age, and fooled everyone.
Her career in the adult entertainment industry began when she was selected to model for Penthouse magazine's September 1984, 15th-anniversary issue.
Born in May 1968, Lords was only 16 years old when she became a model, and also a porn star.
In her two-year career as a porn star, Lords starred in a lot of adult films, and was one of the most popular.
This happened for several reasons.
First and foremost, her youthful face and appearance, an innocent yet seductive looks.
Her sex appeal that include highly-desirable physical attributes, like her figure, her large bust and puffy nipples, her 80's natural pubic hair style, the carpet that matches the drapes, and all, added to her overall attractiveness.
Then, there was her professionalism in her works, and how she managed to fit in different genre and acting. Lords succeeded this despite her young age and her lack of experience.
The deception here is that, she appeared more mature, and older than she really was.
And lastly, the success of the marketers in publicizing Lords also contributed to her fame.
Under the spotlight, Lords was the star. She was the bombshell. And because of that, the set revolved around her.
She was one of the highest-paid porn star at the time, earning around $1,000 per day.
With all the attention she received, came her fame and fortune.
But apparently, this also raised some suspicion.
The FBI acted on an anonymous tip that Lords was a minor during her time in the industry, and that pornographers were distributing and selling these illegal images and videotapes.
The investigation that started in 1986, dived deep into the allegations of underage performers in the adult entertainment industry.
And as rumors and speculation about Lords' true age began circulating within the industry and among the public, media outlets began to investigate further.
This was when journalists uncovered information that contradicted Lords' claims about her age, which further brought attention to the issue.
Following the discovery of her true age, legal action was taken against producers, distributors, and others involved in the production and distribution of adult films featuring Lords as a minor.
This legal process further exposed the truth about her age and the deception that had taken place.
Ultimately, it was revealed that Traci Lords had been underage during most of her adult film career.
In fact, excluding her last film, all of her adult videos and photographs were shot when she was underage.
Her last adult movie was filmed two days after her 18th birthday, by her own company, in what many claim was a way to profit from her notoriety when the truth was finally revealed.
This discovery had significant repercussions for both Lords and the adult entertainment industry as a whole.
Following this revelation, many of her films were pulled from circulation or reissued with her scenes edited out.
Magazines and posters that had her printed on them were banned from stores.
Those who were involved in the creation, the production, and the distribution of the films that star Traci Lords, were prosecuted.
And then, the internet came into play.
Unlike copies that are hard to obtain, the internet is able to distribute pretty much anything.
Once something is uploaded and shared, chances are, that something will live forever on the internet.
The same goes with the many photos and videos of Traci Lords while she was underaged, that have been uploaded by internet users.
While efforts were made to remove Lords' underage adult films and photos from circulation and edit her scenes out of existing productions, the nature of the internet makes the process extremely challenging. if not impossible.
Copies of them are kept being uploaded, despite the numerous attempts to remove them, as anonymous uploaders keep sharing them and distributing them,.
Not to mention, adult films featuring Traci Lords are also distributed in countries where laws and regulations regarding pornography and copyright enforcement differ from those in the U.S..
While some major adult websites obliged by continuously prevent photos and videos of Traci Lords from being uploaded and/or indexed, smaller websites and forums continue to host them.
What's worth noting, Lords experienced periods of viral attention on the internet due to her past as an underage porn star, in waves of virality that occurred over a span of years rather than a single specific moment.
Her story became widely known and discussed on the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as information about her past became more accessible online.
As internet usage grew, not only that Lords' photos and videos continue to circulate, because platforms like forums, blogs, and social media began discussing about Lords' career, legal issues, and transition to mainstream entertainment gained momentum.
And as the internet culture evolved, and as snippets of Lords' interviews, performances, and appearances have circulated online, online users continue renewing attention.
This ongoing interest in her story contributed to her continuous virality on the internet.
While there were peaks of attention at certain times, Lords' remains viral, even the internet landscape continue to evolve through the ever-changing attitudes towards privacy, celebrity, and adult content.
While Traci Lords may not be as prominent in internet discussions as she was in the past, her legacy continues to the next generation, and becomes part of the online discourse surrounding issues of consent, exploitation, censorship, and the intersection of adult entertainment with mainstream media and culture.