Shayla LaVeaux

female adult bio
photo=
location = Denver, Colorado, U.S.
birth = birth date and age|1969|12|27
death =
birthname =
height = height|ft = 5|in = 1
weight = convert|105|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
eye color = Blue
hair color = Blonde
measurements = 34C-26-32
natural bust = no
ethnicity = Caucasian
alias = Shayla La Veaux, Shayla Lawrence, The Crusher, Italian Maiden
homepage = http://www.shaylalaveaux.com
imdb = 0491813
iafd = SLaVeaux
afdb = 81
afdb name = Shayla_LaVeau

Shayla LaVeaux (born December 27, 1969) is an American pornographic actress and exotic dancer.

Childhood

Shayla LaVeaux was brought up by a single mom, and was a rebellious child, having taken cocaine, dropping out of school and stripping at parties by age 15. Commenting on this, she says, "I put my mom through hell. Then again it's just a product of what you're brought up in. She did the best that she could and I did the best that I could." About her childhood, Shayla states on her website "I did not have the stereotypical horrible childhood/home experiences of so many girls in the adult business. I am very much the product of a happy, loving home. My sisters and I are best friends and I see my parents regularly."(www.shayla.com)

Early career

LaVeaux first became interested in working as a stripper when she was hitchhiking to a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and was picked up by a stripper. At age 18 she began working at a strip club called "Shotgun Willie's". Sometime later on, she started her bachelor party business. Through this endeavour, met her future manager, Lucky Smith, and Alexis DeVell, who was Smith's girlfriend.

Although bisexual, LaVeaux married James Wieser in 1990. He occasionally performed with her under the name Anthony. When asked if she prefers women or men, she stated "I like both, but I guess if I were deserted on an island, I’d have to pick a man …My favorite situation is a three-way…or another couple with my husband and myself. (My husband) is completely open. I’ve been with him since before I got into the business...He enjoys it. He enjoys me enjoying myself and people have a really hard time understanding that...Actually, the first woman I was ever with was his ex-girlfriend...It was comfortable-they still had a wonderful relationship…. I don’t think it’s weird, I just think it’s all in what’s okay for you.". [ [http://pornstar.dvdempire.com/exec/pornstar.asp?cast_id=666&tab=12&media_id=69&process=2&userid=99366027779200 Pornstar Empire - Shayla LaVeaux Pictures, Shayla LaVeaux Adult Movies ] ]

Laveaux and Weiser also owned and operated a striptease company in Denver, Colorado. To improve business, the five-foot blonde decided to pose for some magazine layouts. Some time later, LaVeaux drove to California with Alexis Devell, who worked in X-rated videos, and her manager Lucky Smith to take the porn plunge. She accompanied DeVell to a pornographic movie shoot in Los Angeles, California. She was present when an actress "flaked" and became a stand-in in DeVell's movie. This started her film career.

First year in the adult film industry

LaVeaux's first movie, "Curious", was in 1992. Laveaux took her professional name as Shayla because as she states on her site "My best friend in high school named her baby "Shayla" and I always loved the name. "LaVeaux" is my take on the name of the famous New Orleans voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau. She was famous not only for her powers but also for her ageless beauty. I misspelled my stage name with a little French touch."

After seeing her on set of the movie "Lesbian Love Connection", Paul Norman signed her to an exclusive contract. In a rarely used tactic, rather than work for just one company, Shayla agreed to work for just one man. Paul Norman would use Shayla as "bait" for various video companies: If they hired him to direct and produce a movie or two for them, he would give them Shayla as the lead in the features. For that time period in the business, it was an ingenious plan. For a few months Shayla was getting four or five lead roles a month, and there were A LOT fewer titles being released back then. When the movies started to hit the market, the AVN looked like Shayla's fan club for a couple of months. [ [http://pornstar.dvdempire.com/exec/pornstar.asp?tab=2&userid=99366027779200&cast_id=666 Pornstar Empire - Shayla LaVeaux Pictures, Shayla LaVeaux Adult Movies ] ]

LaVeaux enjoyed immediate success, winning "Adult Video News"'s Best New Actress award in 1994 from not only The Adult Video News, but from Adam Film World, and The X-Rated Critics Organization as well. Only Ginger Lynn and Barbara Dare had accomplished this before Shayla, and they did it with powerful companies behind them.

Adult film Career

LaVeaux would go on to work for VCA Pictures and Ashton View Promotions. Over a career spanning over 12 years, LaVeaux starred in over 200 movies and established a reputation for reliability, as directors often raved about her personality and how easy she was to work with. "Shayla LaVeaux is not your typical porn queen," notes Michael Albo. "She's not jaded about the business. Ask her a question and she gushes, the words pouring out of her mouth in a breathless torrent." A wicked pictures reporter once wrote about Shayla "Even back then she had an infectious laugh and one of the most compelling personalities I'd ever run across. Shayla's the kind of person you just want to be around. She's the kind of lady you really want to take home to mom." Shayla, in an interview given in her movie "Not the loving kind" stated that porn director Jim Holliday had told her that she was his "#1 draft choice." Indeed, Shayla's love affair with her fans went far beyond her looks. In an industry filled with some of the most beautiful women in the world, it was Shayla's charm, smile, and bubbly personality that really set her apart from the other women in her field, not only in the director's eyes, but also in many of her fans' eyes. [ [http://pornstar.dvdempire.com/exec/pornstar.asptab=2&userid=99366027779200&cast_id=666] ]

After her first year in the industry, Shayla had a down year and considered retirement immediately thereafter. LaVeaux and her husband spoke about their struggles at the 1998 World Pornography Conference, at which she openly wept while she spoke. "For [Shayla's] first two years in the business," said her husband James, "we lived in Denver. She'd come out here two weeks at a time. That strained the marriage. She hit a point where she could not continue." She cancelled a bunch of appearances and opted out of a few major opportunities. She returned to Colorado and visited a doctor about her moodiness which she felt was impeding her life and her career. The doctor diagnosed her with Attention Deficit Disorder and she got on medication to treat her condition. Shortly thereafter, she returned to Los Angeles, this time with renewed determination.

Shayla immediately landed a deal with VCA. They were about to produce their most ambitious project ever, following Latex, and they wanted a contract player to have the lead. Shayla wanted that role and so she signed a contract with VCA. Fifty-one weeks into her one-year contract, VCA released Michael Ninn’s Shock, starring a revamped and rejuvenated Shayla LaVeaux.Shayla states on her website that out of all her movies, "Shock" is my absolute favorite." VCA produced it and it won an all-time record number of eleven AVN Awards. It returned Shayla to the forefront of the Adult Industry. In 1998, Shayla turned heads again with her appearance in "Starbangers 11", in which she appeared as a stewardess in a gangbang feature with eight men simultaneously. The starbangers series had a brilliant concept with a big star doing a full length group movie. In that movie, Shayla engaged in both Anal Sex and Double Penetration with multiple men at the same time, a rarity for that era of porn. A Rogs awards writer who was invited on the set for the shoot noted about the video "Director Matt Zane wastes no time showing off his sexy star...Shayla is just too hot for words...Much props to Shayla, Matt Zane and whoever designed that killer uniform Shayla was sporting." [ [http://www.rogreviews.com/reviews/read_review.asp?sku=538 Porn Reviews Porn Star Interviews RogReviews.com ] ]

AVN Hall of Fame Induction

DeVell and LaVeaux carried on an affair for years until Wieser and LaVeaux finally moved to LA in June 1996. Shayla went on to have a career as an actress in adult movies that lasted an incredible 13 years (1993-2006). Reflecting on her career, Shayla once stated "Coming into this business gave me a strength and confidence. It's given me people that I can learn from. I know of nowhere else that I'd rather be." [cite web|url= http://www.lukeisback.com/stars/stars/stars/female/shayla_leveaux.html|title= Shayla LaVeaux|accessdate= 2008-08-09|author= Luke Ford|publisher= lukeisback.com] She was voted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2002 while still active. She retired in the summer of 2006 and relocated to Auckland, New Zealand.Fact|date=August 2008

In August 2008 it was reported that LaVeaux will make an appearance in the upcoming film "Seasoned Players 6". [cite web|url= http://xfanz.com/news/97567|title= Old Home Week|accessdate= 2008-08-09|author= Tod Hunter|date= 2008-08-06|publisher= XFanz]

Awards

*1993 XRCO Starlet of the Yearcite news | title=Past XRCO Winners | url =http://www.bwdl.net/XRCO-2/oldies.html | accessdate = 2008-05-01 ]
* 1994 AVN Best New Starletcite news | title=Past AVN Award Winners | url =http://www.avnawards.com/index.php?content=pastwinners | accessdate = 2008-05-01 ]
* 1994 Adam Film World, Best New Starlet
* 2002 AVN Hall of Famecite news | title=AVN Hall of Fame | url =http://www.avnawards.com/index.php?content=halloffame | accessdate = 2008-05-01 ]
* 2008 XRCO Hall of Famecite news | title=XRCO Announces 2008 Award Winners | url =http://www.avn.com/video/articles/29952.html | accessdate = 2008-05-01 ]

References

External links