Vanessa del Rio was bornAna María Sánchez[2] and raised inHarlem, New York, the only child of immigrants fromCuba andPuerto Rico. Her mother would take her to see the Spanish language movies ofIsabel Sarli, a passionate, voluptuous Argentinian actress with a charismatic power over men whom Vanessa credits as a big influence in her life.[3] She describes her mother as "an innocent, deeply religious woman who didn't really relate to Sarli's sexuality,"[4] while her young daughter focused on Sarli's power over men, and wanted that power for herself. After an early childhood as religious as her mother's, Sanchez dropped out of school in the 8th grade, tired of the sheltered life imposed on her at home. She studied coding, and became a computer programmer at age 18, then abandoned the straight life altogether to live in a series of stolen Volkswagen Beetles with a criminal boyfriend.[5] When that adventure ended two years later she became "awaitress, then a toplessbarmaid, and finally ago-go dancer" before accepting her first hardcore porn role in the filmChina Doll because "it paid $150, which was exactly my half of the rent,"[6][7] so she could join a boyfriend in Europe. In her illustrated biography from TASCHEN Publications (Vanessa del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior, 2007) she revealed to editor Dian Hanson that she also worked as astreetwalker andcall girl[8][9] prior to entering adult films.
For her stage name, she took the name "Vanessa" from a childhood friend and "del Rio" from actressDolores del Río at the suggestion of another friend who was a movie buff.[10]
Del Rio made her first adult film in 1974.[11] In a span of 12 years, she appeared in 81pornographic films[6] and countless "loops" – 10 minute film clips produced for use in sex shop peep shows.
Del Rio retired from adult films in 1986, in part due to theAIDS scare prevalent at the time.[3][6] She then worked as a feature dancer and magazine model.[6] After that she used her coding skills to create her own website, produce original content, continued to appear in magazines, and made special appearances at award shows and conventions.
During and after her porn career she appeared on many TV shows as herself, including a 1996 episode ofNYPD Blue titled "Head Case" (Season 3, episode #15).[12][13] In 2008, she made a cameo oppositeBernie Mac as the amorous "full-figured neighbor" in the filmSoul Men, which also co-starredSamuel L. Jackson.[14]
Her name appears in a sample used in the track Sex Sluts'N'Heaven byDepth Charge andBlowfly[15]
In 2007, the German art book publisherTASCHEN released a deluxe, heavily illustrated biography,Vanessa del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior edited by del Rio's long time friend Dian Hanson.[16][17]
A feature film,The Latin from Manhattan, based on del Rio's life, written and directed byThomas Mignone, and starring Vivian Lamolli as del Rio began production in 2019.[18][19][20]
The Czech EBM band Vanessa was originally named Vanessa Del Rio in an allusion to the adult film star.[21] They have since mentioned her in several interviews, as well as songs.
