Make no mistake, while this performer was only a part of porn’s golden age for a short time, her impact was very strongly felt. Also her quick rise to stardom and her lasting presence, even today, was also very well deserved.

She was born Susan Jensen in Washington in 1956, was a straight A student in school and came from upper middle class family. At the age of 18 she would make her porn debut in a film that has been much forgotten, 1974’s ‘Confessions of a Teenage Peanut Butter Freak’. But it would be a couple of years before stardom would come along after that rather quiet and little seen debut. In the meantime she did study psychology and sociology at Mills College in Oakland, California. Once she got the right film her career would take off. That “right” film came along when director Radley Metzger spotted her and asked her to be the lead in the film “The Opening of Misty Beethoven”.

Because she was always asking about money, Metzger changed her name to Constance Money. She had that “girl next door” look about her, but in 1976 when “Misty” opened she literally exploded on the scene with her performance. Her scenes were packed withering eroticism and a sexual exuberance that had rarely been seen in most early 1970’s porn films Not only did the film make her a bona fide star but the film has become a charter member of the XRCO Hall of Fame. That debut would lead into Constance getting cast in some other future porn classics.

She followed up her success with several more top-notch films like “Mary, Mary”, “Anna Obsessed” and “Barbara Broadcast” all having been featured on our “Porn Classics Revisited” series. All three of those films are also in the XRCO Hall of Fame. Due her sudden popularity in porn Ms. Money became the very first porn star to appear in a full, multi page pictorial spread in Playboy magazine, appearing in the July 1978 issue. Ms. Money said the reason for doing the Playboy spread was to show that she was more than a porn star, (she also owned and ran a bar in Alaska at the time). During her time in porn, she had an affair with porn stud Jamie Gillis.

After less than two dozen films, Constance Money retired from the business in 1979 and headed back to Alaska. However, there were occasional outtakes that kept popping up in early 80’s in some compilation film releases. Constance Money would return to appear in front of the porn cameras again in 1982. She turned in a scorching and memorable performance in ‘A Taste of Money,’ and then she up and retired once again, only this time for good.

The last that was known of what she was doing these days is from several years back and has not been verified. The story was that she was still in Alaska running an air freight company. Ms. Money would be almost 60 today, but anything other than this thought is shrouded in mystery. It is rare that a porn performer can be on the scene for such a short time, appear in what become film classics, and still hold their popularity some thirty plus years later. Constance Money is one of those rare individuals who accomplished that. Every one of her films is worth checking out and thanks to technology; you can find them on remastered DVDs, just as vibrant, meaningful and sexual today as they were back in the golden age.

Constance Money was a true porn star even for that short time she graced the screen with her presence. She left behind some of the most memorable scenes in some of the most classic films from porn’s golden age. While her duration was brief, her many contributions were recognized when, in 1998, she was elected into the AVN Hall of Fame. Hopefully the XRCO will see fit to do the same in 2016

Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN