There’s a lot to be said about Traci Lords, and if you don’t know who she is then, well, you likely didn’t grow up in the same generation as a lot of people who do look at her and remember that she came from a somewhat troubled background. It didn’t help that her parents divorced when she was still fairly young, as it was a factor in the rebellious attitude that she would eventually develop. Whether the sexual abuse she suffered as a kid was part of what turned her on to adult films or not is hard to say, but she did enter the industry when she was underage, becoming an adult model first and foremost with false documents that allowed her to claim that she was older than she actually was. That actually lasted for a while before she was busted and had to take legal action. Ironically enough she was attempting to become a serious, mainstream actress when it was discovered that she’d been working in the adult film industry while underage, and thankfully she did see that happen eventually, though in all fairness her time spent in front of a camera, with her clothes on, has been kind of an up and down experience since she’s been prominent at some points and less so at others.
One movie that comes quickly into focus is the teenage musical titled Cry Baby, in which she played the part of Wanda Woodward, one of several teenage misfits that are out to do what they want and basically defy anything and everything that they can. For many the movie was pretty corny and even a little dumb in a lot of places, but the great thing about Cry Baby is that it wasn’t attempting to take itself all that seriously and as a result it came off as a hit since it was just funny enough to be enjoyable and had a decent story that was easy to follow. Johnny Depp was the star of the movie while Traci served as a part of his gang and turned in a pretty impressive performance in the process. She’s done quite a bit throughout her career, and in fact she’s even shown up in Blade, during the opening when she played the vampire seductress named Racquel. As anyone who’s watched the movie knows her character ended up getting her head blown off when she decided to step to the daywalker, but there was talk about bringing her back for the second movie as the twin of the woman who’d been killed in the first movie. She turned that down however as scheduling conflicts kept her from saying yes. Traci has even gone into music during her years away from the adult industry and has been seen as a very prolific if not always successful individual.
On top of being an actress, a singer, and a producer, Traci has also amassed a $7 million dollar net worth, so as far as her success goes she’s not quite at the same level as a lot of performers, but she’s nowhere near being near the gutter either. She’s definitely taken care of herself and come a long way from being the young woman that felt the need to rebel against everything by getting into adult films, though upon looking back it’s fair to say that she does have more than regrets to reflect upon. Obviously there are bound to be a few regrets in life, it’s a human trait no matter what anyone says, we’re likely to have wished we could have done this or that different. But moving forward, Traci has become a very successful and talented woman and has shown that in many different ways as she’s continued to shine in the movie and music industries. To think that she was overlooked at one point as not much of a talent is kind of hard to see since despite not being quite an A-lister, Traci is still a very strong talent that is able to bolster quite a few projects when she puts her mind to it and has come a long way in her career at this point.
From a personal standpoint she’s a fun actress to watch since she does put a lot of herself into each role and makes sure that people will remember her. Wanda was a fun role to watch largely because she was without a doubt the rebellious child that was very much at odds with her extremely naive parents. There’s a definite edge to Traci that’s easy enough to see in her movies and appearances, but there’s something far more appealing once a person looks past that tough exterior and finds the woman that she’s become over the years. All in all, she’s one of the more entertaining people to watch when she’s on the screen, if only because she seems entirely genuine in her roles.
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