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Vanessa del Rio (born March 31, 1952) is an American retired pornographic actress.
Vanessa del Rio was born Ana Maria Sanchez and raised in Harlem, New York, the daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Her mother would take her to see movies of Isabel Sarli whom Vanessa credits as a big influence in her life. She left a job as a computer programmer in her early 20s and became "a waitress, then barmaid, then go-go dancer" becoming a porn actress because "they paid $150 a day, which was exactly my half of the rent". Prior to adult films, she also worked as a streetwalker and call girl.
Del Rio began appearing in adult films in 1974. In the span of about 12 years, del Rio has appeared in about 100 pornographic films.[4] and in several music videos, notably "Get Money" by Junior M.A.F.I.A.,[7] who also refer to her in their song "I Need You Tonight." She is known for having a particularly large clitoris.[3]
Though del Rio retired from adult films in 1986, in part due to the AIDS scare prevalent at the time, after a stint as a bodybuilder she returned to feature dancing and doing magazine layouts. Afterwards, she remains somewhat active in the adult entertainment industry through her Web site and by making 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 of NYPD Blue.
In 2007, the German art book publisher Taschen released a deluxe, heavily illustrated biography, Vanessa del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior.
A feature film based on del Rio's life is expected to begin production in 2017 written by and to be directed by Thomas Mignone.
Several contemporary feminist scholars, particularly those who are interested in the intersection of race and sexuality, has included analyses of the work and biography of Vanessa del Rio in their work. In her book A Taste for Brown Sugar: Black Women in Pornography, feminist critic Mirelle Miller-Young, discusses the impact of racial attitudes in the porn industry and Vanessa del Rio's status as one of the first women of color to achieve name recognition in the industry. Queer theorist and Latina studies scholar Juana María Rodríguez analyzes del Rio's biography to reflect on how del Rio's understanding of violence, pleasure, and victimization in that book disrupt mainstream, middle-class feminist attitudes about sex work.
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