Sharon Mitchell

Sharon Mitchell Biography

Catholic Girl

Sharon Mitchell was born and raised in New Jersey. She was adopted by a police officer and raised catholic. Sharon had a brief marriage at the age of 17 which lasted only 6 months. After moving to New York, Sharon signed on with the Dorothy Palmer Agency and began to get small parts in TV commercials, soap operas, and the occasional films. She also studied contemporary dance with the Martha Graham Dance Company. But she always had a rebellious nature which is what led her into sex films. It was a meeting with Warren Evans, a renowned adult director, that allowed her to showcase her acting abilities. In those early years, being in adult movies required some acting skills.

New York City Girl

Sharon started to get roles in Warren Evans movies - "Lisa Meets Mr. Big", "Sins of Lust", "Travails of June", "That Lady from Rio", where she was pleasured simultaneously by Jamie Gillis and Warren Evans himself. Her first big role was in "Violation of Claudia" (1977) where she played the title character, Claudia, a young neglected wife of a business executive living in New York. By 1978, she moved completely to the adult side of the cinema.

Her last big role on East Coast was Mirian, a reluctant wife in Henri Pachard's "Sexcapades" (1983). Harry, a bankrupt movie director (played by Eric Edwards) accepts to direct a porn film against Miriam's will. But she changes her mind at the end, of course. Sharon won CAFA and AVN Awards as Best Actress for that role.

California Girl

In the mid-80s, the adult industry started to shift its presence toward sunny California and so Sharon moved to the West Coast as the advent of video came to fruition, expensive film was cast aside in favor of the much less expensive video. Acting wasn't as important and the number of movies dramatically increased. By the end of her career, Sharon appeared in more than 700 productions. In addition to acting Sharon also directed almost 40 movies. However she was never fond of her directorial skills. "I was never a very good director. I never really liked it that much. I directed and produced about forty films and some videos. I just didn't like it and I wasn't very good at it."

From Sex Star to Doctor

On March 30, 1996, Sharon was viciously attacked by a man just outside of her apartment after completing her stage act in a strip club. Sharon has publicly stated that the attack was a pivotal point in her life and cited the incident as the reason for her decision to redeem herself and remain free. She received a PhD in Human Sexuality from from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. In May 1998, the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM) was founded in Los Angeles as a non-profit facility. Sharon Mitchell proactively and efficiently took on the role of director in response to the threat of AIDS and HIV in the adult community. Regularly, AIM tested more than 1200 sex performers every thirty days for the detection of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and built itself a reputation as a reliable and safe health clinic.

Awards

Sharon Mitchell won numerous awards: CAFA (1982) - Best Supporting Actress for "Blue Jeans", CAFA (1983) - Best Actress for "Sexcapades" and Best Supporting Actress for "Night Hunger". She also got 1984 AVN Award - Best Actress in "Sexcapades". 2008 she received XBIZ Award - Lifetime Achievement-Industry Contribution. Sharon Mitchell was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame, Legends of Erotica, and XRCO Hall of Fame.