Drake spent two years as a contract performer for the studioSin City until May 31, 2002, when her contract expired.[2] She gained her firstAVN Award in 2001, winning "Best Tease Performance" for her role inVCA Pictures'Shayla's Web.[3] In 2003, she signed an exclusive contract withWicked Pictures.[4]
In 2004, during anHIV outbreak in the industry, she stated that she had only performed with men who wore condoms,[5] although she added that "working without condoms in the industry is less dangerous than going home with someone who you just met randomly in a bar."[6]
Her performance inFluff and Fold, a romantic comedy set around a laundromat,[7] earned her the 2005 AVN Award forBest Actress, Video and the 2005XRCO Award for Single Performance, Actress.[8][9] Along with comedianJim Norton, Drake was chosen to co-host the 2007 AVN Awards,[10] and stated "this is probably the greatest thing that ever happened to me."[11] At the awards, she won Best Actress, Film for her role inManhunters, for which Drake trained as abounty hunter during pre-production.[12] Her directorial debut came in the 2008 filmWhat Girls Like, having gained previous experience working asBrad Armstrong’s assistant director on titles such as 2007'sComing Home.[13][14]
She began writing screenplays during her tenure with Sin City, and has since penned films includingDating 101,Love Always andJust Between Us.[13] In January 2009, she won her third Best Actress AVN Award, this time for her performance inFallen,[15] which she has described as "the best movie I have ever been in."[16] In the film, she plays an angel trapped on Earth after the death of a woman she was sent to protect.[1] Around the time of the awards, she suffered astress fracture to her left foot.[17]
With porn actressKayden Kross, Drake co-hosted the 2009XRCO Awards,[18] at which her role inFallen won the award for "Single Performance, Actress."[19] She andSunny Leone co-hosted theF.A.M.E. Awards in July 2010.[20] Drake was inducted into theAVN Hall of Fame in 2010 and theXRCO Hall of Fame in 2011.[21]Jessica Drake's Guide to Wicked Sex: Anal Edition (Wicked Pictures) was named "Specialty Release of the Year" at the 2012 XBIZ Awards.[22]
On October 21, 2016, Drake opened an online store selling adult videos and sexual paraphernalia.[23]
In November 2007, Drake was among several porn actors to be guests onThe Tyra Banks Show episode, "A Day in the Life of a Porn Star."[24] In 2008, Drake,Kaylani Lei, and Mikayla Mendez shot a scene for the mainstream comedy movie,Barry Munday, in which they played themselves as judges in an air-guitar contest.[25] Drake appears in the music video for the 2010 single "Telephone" byLady Gaga featuringBeyoncé.[26]
Jessica Drake and her then-husbandBrad Armstrong in 2006
Drake, along with her then husband, actor and director,Brad Armstrong, were interviewed for a 2014 story inCosmopolitan magazine aboutcostume design in adult films.[29][30] In April 2014, Drake was part of discussion panel at theUSC School of Cinematic Arts titled "The Piracy of Sex." The event featured Drake and copyright enforcement activist Nate Glass and was hosted by David Lerner.[31]
Drake is affiliated with an organization that focuses on building homes and providing clean water to people in poverty-stricken and remote areas. She has performed charity work inCambodia,Kenya andTanzania. In 2012, Drake formed a501(c)(3) non-profit to assist in domestic efforts. This is separate from her role in the adult industry and the "jessica drake" brand, since she does not want anyone to believe that she volunteers her time as part of a public relations campaign. Her charity work is done anonymously.[32]
Noting a demand for modern sex education,[33] Drake andWicked Pictures launchedJessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex, a series of erotic educational films.[34] The first DVD in the line,Jessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex: Fellatio, was honored with the 2012 award for Best Educational Release byAVN Media.[35] In 2014 Drake added a video to the series that addressed a segment that she said was under represented,plus size. In collaboration with plus-size performerKelly Shibari, they releasedJessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex: Plus Size.[36]"Guide to Wicked Sex" was also a weekly segment on Jessica's popularPlayboy Radio show,IN BED with jessica drake.[37]
Drake teaches sex education seminars and workshops around the world, including addressing a class of licensed therapists atUCLA on May 3, 2012[38] and speaking on a panel at CatalystCon West sexuality conference.[39] In February 2014, Drake spoke on a panel with fellow actressTasha Reign during theUniversity of Chicago'sSex Week where they were featured on a panel entitledJessica Drake: From Porn to Sex Ed.[40]
Again in February, Drake along with Reign spoke on a panel titledPorn, Prostitution, and Censorship: The Politics of Empowerment at Moore Hall at theUniversity of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), along with UCLA Distinguished Lecturer Dr.Christopher Mott.[41] The annual panel is sponsored by the Social Awareness Network for Activism through Art (SANAA) in honor ofEve Ensler’s V-Day Organization. Ensler’sThe Vagina Monologues is an annual presentation on women’s issues.[41]
Sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump
Seventeen days before the2016 United States presidential election, Drake became the 11th woman to accuseDonald Trump, the2016 Republican nominee, of sexual misconduct. On October 22, 2016, Drake and feminist civil rights attorneyGloria Allred held a news conference in which Drake accused Trump of having sexually assaulted her and two acquaintances nearly ten years prior. Drake said that she met Trump at theWicked Pictures'[42] (her employers') booth[43] in a gifting suite[44][45] during theAmerican Century Celebrity Golf Tournament,[46][47][48][49][50] a charity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course[46][51]Lake Tahoe in 2006. Drake claims that she was invited to meet with Trump, at his hotel suite and since she was "uncomfortable going alone" she brought along two women friends. Describing the meeting with Trump, Drake recounted that "He grabbed each of us tightly, in a hug and kissed each one of us without asking permission." Drake stated that she and her friends left the suite after 30–45 minutes. Shortly thereafter, Drake received multiple phone calls from Trump or his associate, requesting that she join him in his suite for $10,000, and offering to fly her on his jet plane back to Los Angeles. She said she declined his offers.[52] At the press conference, Drake displayed a photo of herself and Trump together on the Lake Tahoe golf course.[52]
During the news conference, Drake said,[53] "I am not looking for monetary compensation. I do not need additional fame [...] I understand that I may be called a liar or an opportunist but I will risk that in order to stand in solidarity with women who share similar accounts."[52][54][55] In response to Drake's allegations, the Trump campaign stated that her story is "false and ridiculous", that "[t]he picture is one of thousands taken out of respect for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr. Trump" but Trump did not know Drake and "would have no interest in ever knowing her," and that the story was "just another attempt by the Clinton campaign to defame a candidate".[52][56]
In January 2018, Drake's publicist, Josh Ortiz, commented that Drake had signed anon-disclosure agreement regarding "any and every mention of Trump". On the following day, Ortiz however retracted his words by reading a statement supplied by Drake's lawyer, which stated that Ortiz had no knowledge of any non-disclosure agreement signed by Drake.[57]
In 2002, Drake married fellow pornographic actorEvan Stone,[2]after which she was living with Wicked director and performerBrad Armstrong, her partner for over a decade.[1][58] In 2021, she mentioned in a Twitter Q&A session that she and Armstrong had separated and were single again.[59] She has said that her brother and father were more supportive of her career choice than her mother.[60]
^Roberts, Darren (2012).The Unsexpected Story: The Real Story about the Billion Dollar Adult Entertainment Business. Clearly Confused Inc. p. 81.ISBN9780985403201.
