Tori Black is without a doubt one of the biggest names in porn. As open to working with women as she is with men, the 29-year-old Seattle native has racked up industry credits: In 2011, she became the first person ever to win the Female Performer of the Year at the Adult Video News Awards two years running. She’s also bagged titles from XRCO and CAVR.
Around 2011, Tori Black went on a performance hiatus to focus on raising a family alongside her husband, Lyndell Anderson. As a mother of two kids, Black still did behind-the-scenes work in the industry. In 2017, she returned to launch the hardcore studio, Lesbian X. Here’s the latest Tori Black news, plus a few things you may not have known about Tori Black.
10 fascinating facts about Tori Black
1) Tori Black got her start in college after a tumultuous childhood
Born Michelle Chapman, in Seattle, Washington, Black’s childhood was admittedly rough. In 2013 Black told Slutever her upbringing was punctuated with sexual abuse. Porn eventually offered Black an avenue to reclaim some power over her body, although she doesn’t attribute her decision to pursue a career in the adult industry to just one factor.
Black got into porn in 2007, while on summer break. Her parents told her to get a job, so she did a Craigslist search to see what was available on a short-term basis, she told Captain Jack of Adult DVD Talk. Initially, she wanted to be a go-go dancer, but because she was only 18 at the time, couldn’t get a job in a club where alcohol was served. Instead, she responded to a post that asked, “Do you want to earn $20,000 a month?” The advertiser turned out to be a porn agency, and after she sent in her photos, it offered to fly her out to Los Angeles. Within just a few years, she would be among the industry’s biggest stars.
2) She works on the other side of the camera, too
In 2012, Black told Miami.com that while she doesn’t have much interest in transitioning to mainstream media, she would like to eventually take on new roles within the adult industry. In her next career phase, she said, “I’m going to be looking more toward the directing side and utilizing some of my more creative side. When you’re performing, you’re acting on instructions. People are telling you what to do. I’d like to get into the other side a little more and see what gifts I have and what I can bring to the table on my own.”
In 2014, she debuted her first directing project, a video for Elegant Angel featuring Alina Li.
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3) She has her own Fleshlight
Black has proved such a popular performer that male sex toy maker Fleshlight has immortalized her genitalia as a Super Skin sleeve: For $79.95, fans can purchase a canned rubber replica of Black’s labia, anus, or mouth for their pleasure.
4) She is a vocal Planned Parenthood advocate
In 2017, Black made her first foray into apparel, designing a limited edition T-shirt with a picture of her face and the words “IT’S SO F@#CKING BIG” across the chest. She announced in an Instagram post that a portion of shirt sales would be donated to Planned Parenthood, an activist endeavor that apparently didn’t sit well with all her followers. In a subsequent post, Black shut down her critics with a five-point defense of the reproductive healthcare giant.
5) She’s married to another industry member
Black is married to Lyndell Anderson, aka MimeFreak, the director behind adult studio Arch Angel. Before he got into porn, Anderson worked at New America Financial and Countrywide Home Loans mortgage broker. The couple has two children together.
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6) Tori Black studied journalism in college
In a 2016 Reddit AMA, Black told fans that she studied journalism at Western Washington University. According to her IMDb page, Black minored in sociology and women’s studies. Because she chose to pursue porn full-time, however, Black did not graduate with a degree.
“I had planned on going back to school but at that point, once your family knows, you’re like, eh, so I kept going,” she told Captain Jack. “And then the next thing you know, here I am!”
7) You can catch her in virtual reality
When she was 27, Tori Black created her first digital avatar with adult VR company Holodexxx. Black seems to see it as a convenient medium for satisfying the fan requests she herself doesn’t want to fulfill.
When Vice asked her about concerns over consent—a VR avatar can be made to do something its human counterpart never would in real life—Black had zero f**ks to give. “I don’t care what my avatar does, because my avatar isn’t who I am,” she said. “So yeah, all the things that you want me to do that I decline, go ahead and have my avatar do them and be like, ‘Hey, look! She finally did it!’ I’ll be like yeah, great. It didn’t cross any of my boundaries because it’s all in the computer…I’m completely disconnected.”
8) She was as pissed about the Toblerone chocolate bar change as you were
In 2016, chocolate maker Toblerone infamously altered its airport classic: Faced with an alleged ingredient shortage, the company extended the space between its iconic bar’s nougaty peaks. Toblerone was able to keep the same packaging it had always used, but provided less product — 150 grams of snack versus the 170 grams fans came to expect — effectively short-changing customers.
Many people were outraged at the switch, Black very much included. In her Reddit AMA, a fan asked how she felt about the new chocolate bar design. “Highway robbery!” she responded. “How dare they think I wouldn’t notice that there are less chocolate peaks?!”
9) She doesn’t sweat the small stuff…or snakes
Over the course of her career, Black has certainly taken some risks. In 2018 she starred in a smokey nude shoot with live pythons alongside the bizarre and eclectic ’80s pop musician PsychoSexual.
10) She’s a Vixen.com angel of the year
Black’s comeback made a lot of noise in the industry, and her performances since haven’t disappointed. She joined the Angels team alongside some of the industry’s biggest standout adult performers including Abigail Mac, Kendra Sunderland, and Mia Malkova.
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Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.