Constance Money – Inducted 1998
A Major Impact in a Brief Time!
Make no mistake, while Constance Money was only involved in porn for a short time, her impact was very strongly felt. Also her quick rise to stardom and lasting presence, even today, was also very well deserved.
Susan Jensen was born 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’. 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 Henry Paris (Radley Metzger) spotted her and asked her to be the lead in the new film he was getting ready to do, “The Opening of Misty Beethoven”.
Because she was always asking about money, Paris 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 seething 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 it 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 co-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’. After that film she retired for good and headed back to Alaska.
As for what Ms. Money is doing today, the word was she was still in Alaska and was running an air freight company. Ms. Money would be 63 today, but anything other than this regarding her wherabouts and how she is doing is shrouded in mystery. It is rare that a porn performer can be on the scene for such a short time, appear in what would become true film classics, and still hold their popularity more than forty years later. Constance Money is one of those rare individuals in adult who accomplished that. Every one of her films is worth checking out and thanks to technology you can find them today on DVDs, just as vibrant, meaningful and sexual today as they were back in the golden age.
Constance Money was a true porn star during the 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 would be recognized. In 1998, she was elected into the AVN Hall of Fame. In June 2016 XRCO finally amade things right and inducted Constance Money into their Hall of Fame, where she truly belongs.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
