Vanessa del Rio- Real Name, Husband, and Everything about her

Vanessa del Rio was an American retired adult film actress and a director. In 1986 the actress retired from the adult films industry because of the fear of AIDS, but returned shortly after and kept her acting career going until 1999. Read more to know more about her.

Vanessa del Rio: Bio Summary

Vanessa del Rio was born Ana Maria Sánchez and raised in Harlem, New York, as the only child of Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants. As a young lady, Vanessa’s mother would take her to see Isabel Sarli’s Spanish-language films, a passionate, voluptuous Argentinian actress with a seductive sway over men who Vanessa credits as a major influence in her life.

She portrays her mother as “an innocent, extremely pious woman who didn’t really relate to Sarli’s sexuality,” whereas her little daughter was drawn to Sarli’s power over men and desired it for herself.

Vanessa del Rio dropped out of school in the eighth grade, dissatisfied with the sheltered life placed on her at home, after early childhood as religious as her mother’s. At the age of 18, she studied coding and became a computer programmer before abandoning the straight path entirely to live in a series of stolen Volkswagen Beetles with a criminal lover.

When that experience ended two years later, Vanessa del Rio became “a waitress, then a topless barmaid, and eventually a go-go dancer” before landing her first adult film role in the film China Doll because “it earned $150, which was precisely my share of the rent,” allowing her to join a boyfriend in Europe.

Prior to working in adult films, she worked as a streetwalker and call girl, according to her illustrated biography from TASCHEN Publications.

Vanessa del Rio: Career

How did she get her name, Vanessa del Rio?

She chose the name “Vanessa” from a friend and “del Rio” from actress Dolores del Rio at the suggestion of another friend who was a movie lover for her stage name.

Venessa made her first adult video in 1974 and is widely regarded as the first non-white lady to attain success in the adult industry. Her ongoing appeal stems from her infectious energy, real passion, talent for specific acts, sense of humor, and lush exotic beauty.

She appeared in 81 Adult films and numerous “loops” – 10-minute film segments produced for use in s3x store peep shows – over a 13-year period. Due to her enormous popularity, footage from her films has appeared in at least 20 compilations promoted as original films.

Vanessa’s talent has been recognized in lyrics by various rap artists, including Chubb Rock on “Just the Two of Us,” Gangsta Boo on “Fvck You,” The Game on “House of Pain,” Ice Cube on “Roll All Day,” and Junior Mafia on “I Need You Tonight” and “Get Money.” She appeared in the music video for “Get Money.”

Despite retiring from adult films in 1984, in part due to the AIDS concern at the time, del Rio returned to make six final films in 1986/87, including the faux biography Deep Inside Vanessa del Rio and The Devil in Miss Jones 3 for the legendary punk-inspired Dark Brothers. She went on to work as a feature dancer and magazine model until she tore her meniscus onstage in 1996.

She then used her coding talents to build her own website, create original material, continue to appear in periodicals, and make special appearances at award events and conventions. Throughout and after her adult career, Vanessa del Rio appeared as herself on numerous TV shows, including an episode of NYPD Blue in 1996. In 2008, she appeared in the film Soul Men as a cameo alongside Bernie Mac.

Vanessa del Rio: Movies

• China Doll (1975) uncredited
• Too Young to Care (1975) uncredited
• Midnight Desires (1976), Lola
• The Night of Submission (1976), Venessa del Rio
• Dominatrix Without Mercy (1976), Venessa del Rio
• Virgin Snow (1976), Nurse Ratched
• Jacquette (1976), Madame X
• Domination Blue (1976), Trixie
• The Fury in Alice (1976), Marilyn
• Temptations (1976), Marla
• Reunion (1976), Elizabeth
• That Lady From Rio (1976), Number 1
• Come with Me My Love (1976), Lola
• Sin of Lust (1976), Carlotta
• Gulp (1976), Anna
• Come Softly (1976), June
• Bizzare Moods (1976), Norma
• Appointment With Agony (1976), Waitress
• Odyssey: The Ultimate Trip (1977), first girl in dream
• Chorus Call (1978), uncredited
• Take Off (1978), uncredited
• Woman in Love (1978), Simone Foster
• The Final Test (1978), Claudia
• Dirty Deeds (1978), uncredited
• Babylon Pink (1979), Housewife
• N.Y. Babes (1979), Jackie Robbins
• Jack & Jill (1979), Rosetta
• Tigresses and Other Man-eaters (1979), Tigress
• Her Name Was Lisa (1979), Carmen
• The Pink Ladies (1979), Seductress
• Fulfilling Young Cups (1979), Rita
• Angie, Police Woman (1979), girl on parachute
• Justine: A Matter of Innocence (1980), Claudia Kendall
• Co-Ed Fever (1980), Vannessa
• Afternoon Delights (1980), Mrs. Smith
• Dracula Exotica (1980), Vita Valdez
• The Filthy Rich (1980), Chili Caliente
• Girls U.S.A. (1980), Sherry Spencer
• A Scent of Heather (1980), the cook
• Platinum Paradise (1981), hooker
• Spittoon (1981), uncredited
• The Tale of Tiffany Lust (1981), Florence Nightingale
• Bizarre Styles (1981), Vanessa
• The Love-In Arrangement (1981), Chiquita
• The Dancers (1981), Frances
• Lips (1981), Maria
• Between the Sheets (1981), Shirley
• Beauty (1981), Judy Lopez
• Foxtrot (1982), Celeste
• Top Secret (1982), Juanita
• Real Estate (1982)
• Luscious (1982), Lush
• When She Was Bad (1983), Judy
• Silk Satin & Sex (1983), Denise
• Foxholes (1983), Vanessa del Rio
• Corruption (1983), Erda
• Aphrodisia’s Diary (1983), therapist
• Sister Midnight (1984)
• Viva Vanessa (1984), herself
• Maid In Manhattan (1984), Juanita
• Blue Voodoo (1984), uncredited
• The Devil in Miss Jones 3: A New Beginning (1986), herself
• Play Me Again Vanessa (1986), herself
• Deep Inside Vanessa del Rio (1987), herself
• Beyond Desire (1986), Crystal
• Dynamic Vices (1987), Roxanne
• Doctor Lust (1987), Dr. Lana Lust
• Soul Men (2008), full-figured neighbor