Candida Royalle

Candida Royalle's Biography

Candida Royalle has become well known in the entertainment industry as a sex positive director, a beacon for women in the industry looking to perform in films that are based on female desire. But Ms. Royalle is much more than a pornographic director; she is a producer and director of couples oriented pornography, a sex educator, sex positive feminist, and a former pornographic actress. She is an award winning director, having been inducted into the XRCO and AVN Halls of Fame. Let's take a look into the life of a woman that has changed how society views pornography and has been a feminist leader her entire life.

Royalle initially trained in music, dance, and art in New York. She studied at the High School of Art and Design, Parson's School of Design, and the City University of New York. She was active in the women's movement of the late 60's and early 70's, and later hooked up with some of the original members of the infamous Cockettes while living in San Francisco. In an attempt to finance her unconventional lifestyle, Royalle entered the world of erotica as an actress in 1974, performing in 25 adult films. Her career as an actress was short lived, however, and in 1980 Royalle returned to New York and stepped behind the camera to create films that were aimed at helping couples therapy. In 1984, she created Femme Productions and forever changed pornographic films.

Ms. Royalle's films are aimed toward women and couples, with a goal to change how society views pornography. Her work has been praised by counselors and therapist for depicting healthy and realistic sexual activity. Royalle criticizes the typical porn film, stating that it is male centered and goal oriented," focusing more on the cum shot and graphic sexual depiction than anything else. Her films, on the other hand, depict sexual activity within the broader context of women's emotional and social lives. Her company has been very successful and has produced a series of products known to have a more artistic touch, lacking some of the cruder aspects of common porn.

Royalle's work has been favorably received by viewers and the media, as well as the sexology community. She has become a sought after speaker, having lectured at such venues as the Smithsonian Institute, the American Psychiatric Association's national conference, and the World Congress on Sexology, as well as several sexuality conferences and universities including Princeton, Columbia, Wellesley College, and New York University. She is the first erotic filmmaker to have been invited to become a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists due to her message of positive sexuality in her films. She is also a founding board member of Feminists for Free Expression.

Royalle has also made her mission of women's sexual empowerment multi-cultural by producing the film "Afrodite Superstar," a breakthrough film nominated for seven AVN Awards in 2007. She also created a new line of ethnic erotica for couples called "Femme Chocolat" in order to provide high quality intelligent erotica for the largely underserved market of ethnic women and couples.

Continuing to tread the path toward women's sexual empowerment, Royalle partnered with designer Jandirk Groet and together they created the Natural Contours line of high style, discreet personal massagers. The line debuted in 1999 to favorable reviews and quickly became a best seller in women's mainstream health catalogues. She is now moving on to the role of mentoring young new female directors so that may learn how to make sex positive films for couples and continue the Femme Line while expressing their own visions and ideas.

"