Joanna Mostov (born 1980), known professionally as Joanna Angel, is an American

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

and mainstream actress, director, and writer of adult films. She founded the website ''BurningAngel.com'' in April 2002 with her roommate Mitch Fontaine, and has been credited with helping the growth of the

alt porn Alternative porn (also known as alt porn, alternaporn, or simply alt in context), a shortening of "alternative pornography", is a subgenre of pornography that is centered around alternative subcultures, such as goths, punks, emos, scenes, skater ...

genre. Launched as a response to websites such as ''

SuicideGirls SuicideGirls is an online community-based website that revolves around pin-up photography sets of models known as the Suicide Girls. The website was founded in 2001 by Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") and Sean Suhl ("Spooky"). Most of the site ...

'', the website featured alternative performers acting in exclusively hardcore scenes with a stronger focus on a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

aesthetic.

Early life

Angel was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York, to an Israeli mother and an American father. She was raised in River Edge in Bergen County, New Jersey, where she attended Cherry Hill Elementary School and graduated from

River Dell Regional High School River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, New Jersey, United St ...

in 1998. After graduating, she enrolled in

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

with a minor in Film Studies. According to the

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service, founded in 1917, serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world as well as non-Jewish press, with about 70 syndication clients listed on its web ...

, Angel is believed to be the first person in the pornography industry to have been raised in

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

. She worked in a kosher fast food restaurant in

Teaneck Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

during high school, then at an

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salad ...

and another restaurant called Happy's Health Grille during college. She eventually relocated to the Williamsburg section of

, New York, and with Mitch Fontaine created the website ''BurningAngel.com''.

Pornography career

Joanna Angel AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2013

Angel is a former model for '' Suicide Girls'', a softcore pornography website. In her early 20s she founded the "indie-punk-porn" site ''BurningAngel.com'', featuring interviews and stories of sex with band members, along with nude photographs. Drawing inspiration from a live sex performance by porn actress

Nina Hartley Marie Louise Hartman (born March 11, 1959), known professionally as Nina Hartley, is an American pornographic film actress described by CNBC as "a legend in the adult world". Early life and education Hartley was born on March 11, 1959 in Be ...

, Angel later began making hardcore movies for the site. According to ''Encyclopedia of the Zombie'', Angel is "regarded as a major influence in the mainstreaming of

", and is credited with making the genre financially viable. She has produced and performed in several

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in wh ...

-themed hardcore films: '' Re-Penetrator'' (2005), '' Dong of the Dead'' (2009), '' Evil Head'' (2012), and '' The Walking Dead: A Hardcore Parody'' (2013). She said in a 2006 interview, "I think lt porn isa movement. I think I've started something." Angel has written, produced, directed and starred in films available exclusively through ''BurningAngel'', as well as appearing in more traditionally distributed adult films. She was under an exclusive contract with VCA Pictures, which expired in March 2007, and was, at one time, represented by the adult talent agency Bad Ass Models.

Appearances

Following the success of ''BurningAngel'', Angel has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Angel briefly wrote a monthly sex advice column for '' Spin''. She also contributed a chapter to the book ''Naked Ambition'', edited by

Carly Milne Carly Milne is a Canadian writer. Biography Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Milne started writing professionally at age 14. Two years later, she was hired by '' The Calgary Herald'', as a columnist for "20 Below", which was geared to discussing teen i ...

. In 2010, Angel appeared in a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

for the

Free Speech Coalition The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) is a non-profit trade association of the pornography and adult entertainment industry in the United States. Founded in 1991, it opposes the passage and enforcement of obscenity laws and many censorship laws (with t ...

on the topic of Internet copyright infringement of adult content, directed by Michael Whiteacre. The spot, entitled the "FSC All-Star Anti-Piracy PSA", found her in the company of adult performers such as Lisa Ann, Julie Meadows, Kimberly Kane,

Ron Jeremy Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953) is an American former pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", Jeremy was ranked by AVN at No. 1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list. Jeremy has also made a number of non-pornographic m ...

and

Wicked Pictures Wicked Pictures is an American pornographic movie studio headquartered in Canoga Park, California. Between 2004 and 2021, it was one of the only heterosexual studios to maintain a condoms-only policy. Company history Steve Orenstein founded W ...

contract stars, Alektra Blue and

Kaylani Lei Kaylani Lei (born Ashley Spalding) is an American pornographic actress. Early life Lei is of Chinese and Filipino descent. Career Lei danced at the Olympic Garden in Las Vegas prior to her porn career. She is a former contract performer fo ...

. In 2011, Angel was named by

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...

as one of the 12 most popular stars in porn. CNBC noted that she owns her own studio and that the "punk look" that she and her other actors share has created a new genre in the porn industry, called

. Also, in 2011, Angel made a cameo on the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

show ''

Childrens Hospital ''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospital'' as webisodes) is an American black comedy television series and web series that parodies the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The series b ...

'', in the season three episode "Night Shift." She played herself as a porn star and family friend of

Rob Corddry Robert William Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. He ...

's character Dr. Blake. Angel sometimes appears on Cracked.com as a friend of the columnists and appears in the music video for "Sound Wave Superior" by

Emmure Emmure () is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, before moving to Queens, New York, the group has released eight albums, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled '' The Comp ...

. In 2013, Angel appeared in the independent film ''Scrapper'', starring

Michael Beach Michael Anthony Beach (born October 30, 1963) is an American actor. He has appeared in films '' Lean on Me'' (1989), '' One False Move'' (1992), ''Short Cuts'' (1993), '' Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), '' A Family Thing'' (1996), ''Soul Food'' (199 ...

and

Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 24 April 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, ...

, along with the

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

musical comedy ''

Skum Rocks! ''Skum Rocks!'' is a 2013 independent rockumentary film about Skum, a 1980s rock band with "a near-crippling lack of musical talent." The film is directed by Clay Westervelt, a veteran documentary filmmaker, and features the living members of Skum ...

'' In 2014, she had roles in the crime drama ''The Owl in Echo Park'' and the

Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1995, acted in several of the Happy Madison films, played Doug Wilson on the Showtime series '' Weeds'', and pr ...

comedy series ''Racquetball''. She also appeared in the documentary film '' Doc of the Dead'', which features Interviews with

Max Brooks Maximillian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedy filmmaker Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on zombie stories. He is a senior fellow at the Modern War ...

Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Go ...

, Jacqui Holland,

Robert Kirkman Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...

Greg Nicotero Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead'' (1985), under the tutel ...

and

Judith O'Dea Judith O'Dea (born April 20, 1945) is an American actress. She portrayed Barbra in the 1968 George Romero classic horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''. Career In addition to her signature role, O'Dea has appeared in the television movie '' ...

Personal life

Angel dated fellow porn star

James Deen Bryan Matthew Sevilla (born February 7, 1986), known professionally by the stage name James Deen, is an American pornographic actor and director. He entered the porn industry in 2004 at the age of 18. He gained attention due to his relative ...

for six years, between 2005 and 2011. On December 2, 2015, she appeared on '' The Jason Ellis Show'' to give more details about her "violent and scary" six-year relationship with Deen. Angel married fellow adult film actor Aaron "Small Hands" Thompson on October 31, 2016. Angel is a Democrat. In 2015, she endorsed Bernie Sanders for President of the United States in the Democratic primaries for 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Awards

Angel was nominated in 2006 for the

AVN Award The AVN Awards are film awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') to recognize achievement in various aspects of the creation and marketing of American pornographic f ...

s for both Best New Starlet and

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

, and although she won neither, she did take home the award for "Most Outrageous Sex Scene" for her appearance in ''Re-Penetrator''. She was nominated for the 2009

for "The

Jenna Jameson Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American model, former pornographic film actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainme ...

Crossover Star of the Year". * 2006

– Most Outrageous Sex Scene (''Re-Penetrator'') with Tommy Pistol * 2007

XBIZ Award XBIZ Awards are given annually to honour "individuals, companies, performers and products that play an essential part in the growth and success of adult films" and have been described by XBIZ publisher and founder Alec Helmy as being "born out o ...

– Crossover Move of the Year * 2008

XRCO Award The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organization annually to people working in adult entertainment and it is the only adult industry awards show reserved exclusively for industry members. Once every calendar year, XRCO ...

– Best On-Screen Chemistry (with

) * 2011 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website (Editor's Choice) – JoannaAngel.com * 2011 AVN Award – Best Solo Sex Scene (''Rebel Girl'') * 2011

NightMoves Award The NightMoves Awards are given annually in the pornographic film industry by ''NightMoves'', an Oldsmar, Florida-based magazine which was first published in 1987 and initially titled ''Sports South''. The awards began in 1993 and were initially ...

– Best Director (Editor's Choice) * 2012 NightMoves Award – Best Individual Website (Editor's Choice) – JoannaAngel.com * 2012 NightMoves Triple Play Award (Dancing/Performing/Directing) * 2013 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com * 2013 AVN Award – Best Solo Sex Scene (''Joanna Angel: Filthy Whore'') * 2013 NightMoves Award – Best Ink (Editor's Choice) * 2013

NightMoves Hall of Fame The NightMoves Awards are given annually in the pornographic film industry by ''NightMoves'', an Oldsmar, Florida-based magazine which was first published in 1987 and initially titled ''Sports South''. The awards began in 1993 and were initially t ...

inductee * 2014 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com (tied with AsaAkira.com) * 2015 AVN Award – Best Porn Star Website – JoannaAngel.com * 2016

AVN Hall of Fame The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.XRCO Hall of Fame The XRCO Hall of Fame lists well-known adult entertainment works and workers. The list is managed by X-Rated Critics Organization and inducted annually during the XRCO Award The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organizat ...

inductee * 2018 XBIZ Award - Best Actress - Comedy Release and Best Sex Scene - Comedy Release, (''Jews Love Black Cock'' (Burning Angel/Exile)XBIZ Award Winners
''

XBIZ XBIZ is an American publisher of business news and business information for the sex industry. In addition to its flagship "Xbiz.com" website, XBIZ publishes two monthly trade magazines, hosts winter and summer exhibition and industry confere ...

'', January 2018 * 2019 XBIZ Award - Best Actress - Comedy Release (''Dirty Grandpa'' (Burning Angel))XBIZ Award Winners
''

'', January 2019 * 2019 XBIZ Award - Best Supporting Actress (''Talk Derby to Me'' ( Sweetheart Video))) * 2019 XBIZ Award - Best Sex Scene - All-Sex Release (''Joanna Angel Gangbang: As Above, So Below'' (Burning Angel)) * 2022 AVN Award - Best Screenplay (''Casey: A True Story'')

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angel, Joanna Living people Alt porn American female adult models American pornographic film actresses American people of Israeli descent American pornographic film directors American pornographic film producers American women screenwriters Businesspeople from New Jersey Businesspeople from New York City American women film directors Film directors from New York City Jewish American actresses Jewish American screenwriters Jewish women writers People from River Edge, New Jersey People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Pornographic film actors from New Jersey Pornographic film actors from New York (state) River Dell Regional High School alumni Rutgers University alumni Women pornographic film directors Women pornographic film producers Film directors from New Jersey Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from New Jersey 1980 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women