Traci Lords - Post-porn Career

Post-porn Career

Lords moved into mainstream films, and has appeared in several movies. At age 18, Lords began studying method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, and soon after, starred in a remake of Roger Corman's film Not of This Earth. Then in 1990, she appeared in John Waters' Cry-Baby, playing the role of Wanda Woodward. Other movies on her resume include Blade, Tommyknockers, Black Mask 2: City of Masks and Chump Change. The last won her a Best Actress Award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. She has also made cameo appearances in Serial Mom, Nowhere, Virtuosity and Panic Button in 2007 (made for TV).

In addition to movies, Lords has also made many appearances in television series, including Wiseguy in the episode "Date With an Angel", Married... with Children, MacGyver, Highlander: The Series, Tales from the Crypt, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Gilmore Girls, and Will & Grace among others, along with recurring roles in Profiler, Melrose Place and Roseanne. She made her musical debut on the Manic Street Preachers' U.K. Top 40 hit "Little Baby Nothing, which features on the album, Generation Terrorists". On this song, Lords sings a duet with leading Manics singer, James Dean Bradfield, but did not appear in the music video. She appeared in the music videos of other performers and groups. In 1995, Lords made her solo debut, in collaboration with Juno Reactor and Jesus Jones' Mike Edwards, called 1000 Fires. The Juno Reactor-produced first single "Control" reached #2 on the Billboard Dance Charts. The song "Control" was featured in the 1995 movie adaptation of the game Mortal Kombat, where it was played as an instrumental. She said in 2001 she had auditioned for the 1992 film Army of Darkness. "I didn't get the part but I clicked with Bruce ", with whom she would later work as a guest star on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

In 2003, she published her autobiography, Traci Lords: Underneath It All (ISBN 0-06-050820-5), which made the New York Times bestseller list. In December of that year, Lords wrote and directed a short film with Fox Searchlab entitled "Sweet Pea", shown at film festivals in 2005. The film is loosely inspired by an experience recounted in her autobiography, and involves a teenage girl who finds herself overcome with doubt after being raped by her boyfriend. In 2004, Lords recorded the independently produced double A-side "Sunshine."

Lords appeared in Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) and I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell. Lords' character in the former is loosely based on herself, but she refused to appear nude. She also starred in the 2009 low-budget science fiction film Princess of Mars.