Jessica Steinhauser was born on Aug. 6, 1973 in New York City to a German father and Japanese mother which attribute to her exotic looks . As a child she was raised in Little Silver, N.J. an upper middle class town in the central part of the state, which was also in my neck of the woods back in the day. Growing up she was always ahead of the other kids in school and was extremely smart. She was also a child prodigy as a pianist and performed at age 14, twice at the famed Carnegie Hall. At 16, Jessica went to Japan to teach English at Tsunuga College. She received a full academic scholarship to Rutgers University and also became, and still is, a member of MENSA with an IQ of 156. So with all that education and smarts how does one not become a professor, a classical pianist or educator, but instead one of the biggest names in porn in the 1990’s and beyond?

Her family was extremely demanding of her and at one point she ran away from home and while at studying at Rutgers was homeless for a short time. She saw an ad for dancers at a Jersey strip club and soon after Jessica was dancing in local strip clubs while still at Rutgers and making very good money. She heard there was big money in porn so when her studies were completed  and got her degree she packed up everything and headed for L.A. and changed her name. A mutual friend hooked her up with adult director Bud Lee who didn’t waste time when he first met her and put her right in a feature film of his. In 1993 the new life and direction of this much heralded and awarded porn star would begin. In that time, now as Asia Carrera, she would appear in well over 300 films until she left the industry for good in 2003.

Because of her education and background, Asia often composed the music for some of her films and even took a hand at directing and writing. Some of her best films include “Cravings”, “Dreamquest”, “Bonnie and Clyde”, “Betrayal”, “Flashpoint”, “Chinatown”, “Internal Affairs”, “New Wave Hookers 5” and one of my favorites “Search For The Snow Leopard” among the many great films she was either the featured star or co-star. Asia was tall (over 6 feet in heels), great body, a very exotic look and a winning smile. She was extremely sexual and had a very good comfort zone sexually with both sexes which showed in her performances on the screen. She also was possessed with some excellent and natural acting chops and a true pro in every way who was liked by cast and crew.

She and Bud Lee got married in 1995 and remained married until 2003 when they divorced, but stayed on friendly terms. In 2003 Asia remarried, this time to nutritionist and author Don Lemmon and felt the time had come to leave the porn industry for good. She had done all she wanted to do in the business and now wanted to settle down with Don and raise a family. The couple moved to Hawaii  but eventually returned and settled in St. George, Utah in 2005 where she would give birth to their daughter. In 2006, Asia was expecting their second child, life was good, they had become a normal family but tragedy struck. Her husband died in a car accident in Las Vegas on June 10, 2006, just 7 weeks before their second child was born. Her son, Donald Lemmon III was born on July 31, 2006.

Asia went through some tough times after Lemmon’s death, mainly with alcohol, but she pulled herself together, got clean and concentrated on her children and got very active designing and creating her own website. She also became a computer game wizard even going on to create one herself. Today, at age 42, far from the sets of adult films, Asia Carrera is a single mom, works with charities, runs her website and a few other enterprises and is raising her two children in the friendly and family oriented confines of St. George, Utah.In the last couple of years, Ms. Carrera has hurdled a few bumps in the road and at last report was doing okay.

She was elected to the AVN Hall of Fame in 2001 and the XRCO Hall of Fame in 2007 for her many contributions to the industry. During her time in front of the cameras she worked for some of the best companies Sin City, Vivid, Wicked, Adam & Eve, Caballero, VCA among them. She left behind a great legacy of films, most of which are available on DVD’s today. Asia Carrera was truly one of porn’s superstars of the 90’s and her films and glowing performances will always be remembered and savored by old and new fans alike.

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