8 Film & TV Stars Who Turned to Adult Entertainment (& Their Reasons Why)
Some did it for the money. Some did it for artistic expression. And some did it to reclaim their image. But all the Hollywood actors below got into adult entertainment through pornographic films or through OnlyFans, a subscription service loaded with explicit content. And three of these actors recently spoke out about their experiences in the April 27 episode of ID’s Hollywood Demons.
But we’re not demonizing any of these Hollywood stars — nor anyone working legitimate jobs with consenting adults — and we’re only spotlighting those who aren’t expressing negative experiences with their NSFW second acts. Here are their stories.
Denise Richards
“I do bikini, I do lingerie. I do stuff that is sexier ’cause I also think, why not, if I’m able to be able to do something that’s also outside of some of the more conservative stuff that I post on my Instagram,” this actor-turned-Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star told Jeff Lewis in 2022 as she discussed her OnlyFans page. “I do show my boobies, my tush. … I feel, they’re already out there, if you Google ’em.”
Richards also told People in 2025 she was in the top 1% of OnlyFans creators. “When I joined OnlyFans, I was very concerned that I possibly could lose some jobs, but it was the opposite,” she added. “I got more offers. I get roles where I’m like, the trophy wife or the sexy one.”
Carmen Electra
This Baywatch alum is also an OnlyFans creator and even collaborated with Richards for a Valentine’s Day shoot this year. She told People in 2022 she appreciated the control — and the opportunity to post nudity uncensored — that OnlyFans grants her. “People are going to do what they want to do anyway with your photos,” she reasoned. “You might as well be in control of them and follow what you feel like doing inside.”
Bella Thorne
Thorne knew how to Shake It Up. Not only did the former Disney Channel star direct the pornographic film Her & Him as part of Pornhub’s Visionary Director’s Series, but she earned a Vision Award from that adult video platform in 2019. “Breaking the taboo of what’s classified as beautiful has always been a vision of mine, and it brings me such joy to see this being recognized for what it truly is… beautiful visionary art,” she said in a statement at the time, per Entertainment Weekly.
Kelli McCarty
McCarty went from Miss USA 1991 to soap star with her work on Passions in 2006. Then she went from soap star to adult film star with the release of Faithless in 2009. “I’m really happy about what happened,” she told interviewer Michael Fairman that year. “I want to let people know you can do mainstream entertainment and then go into the adult world and then go right back. … The phone is ringing a lot, which I always think is positive.”
Drea de Matteo
This Sopranos alum told People this February she joined OnlyFans amid a career lull during the pandemic and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. “I made $75k in 75 minutes and was able to pay off the lien on my house. … It turns out I like prancing around in panties and high heels! It’s hard, but it’s fun,” she explained, adding that she’d recently gone fully nude on OnlyFans. “It was my first time. I’d never even taken my clothes off for television, but I actually went for it, and it was fine.”
Daniel Benson
After starring on Wizards of Waverly Place, Benson had trouble booking other roles, as he explained on Hollywood Demons, per People. Then he lost his job and faced mounting vet bills for his aging dog. So he turned to creating explicit content for OnlyFans, and he had an upbeat take on the work. “When I got into this, I knew there were going to be things that were never going to be the same for me personally, but the benefits greatly outweighed the downsides for me,” he said on the show.
Scott Schwartz
Following his child star years — which included playing Flick in A Christmas Story — Schwartz worked as a camera operator for pornographic films. And then he got offered the lead part in 1996’s Scotty’s X-Rated Adventure. “I did it for the paycheck,” he said on Hollywood Demons. “I was the second-highest-paid male performer ever. … It was the one time. I’m good. That was the end of that.”
Maitland Ward
Ward, a Boy Meets World alum, spoke out on Hollywood Demons about the job security and financial boon of her adult film career, which started in 2019. “On Boy Meets World, I think I made $20,000 or $25,000 an episode. … You don’t have all the guarantees out there,” she said on the show, per Us Weekly. “In porn or OnlyFans, I can get six figures a month. … There is also my adult film sales, and I am creating this brand. I can make it go for as long as I want it to go.”
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The first three don't count. They don't do anything that you wouldn't find in an HBO show, so it's not porn.
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