Midori (actress)
{{short description|American pornographic actress (born 1968)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Midori
| image = Midori db.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Michele "Midori" Watley in 2006
| birth_name = Michele Evette Watley{{cite web|title=Midori Interview|url=http://www.johnrodeo.com/archives/midori.html|publisher=Johnrodeo.com|access-date=November 8, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111135610/http://www.johnrodeo.com/archives/midori.html|archive-date=November 11, 2013}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|07|19}}
| birth_place = Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| citizenship = United States
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|dancer|model|actress}}
| years_active = 1989–present
| known_for = First African-American woman to win an AVN Award
| notable_works =
| relatives = Jody Watley (sister)
| website = {{URL|http://www.midorimusic.net}}
}}
Michele Evette Watley{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/880992211 |title=5-10-15-20 |website=ASCAP |publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers |access-date=January 29, 2025}} (born July 19, 1968), known professionally as Midori, is an American singer, dancer, model, actress and former pornographic actress. She was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Urban X Hall of Fame in 2023.{{cite web |last1=Lindemulder |first1=Janine |title=Weekendowa Bezsensja: Muzyka 18+, czyli muzyka a branża porno (3) |url=https://esensja.pl/muzyka/publicystyka/tekst.html?id=13124&ref=ak_wj |website=Esensja |access-date=January 15, 2020|language=pl}}[https://avn.com/business/articles/video/2009-avn-award-winners-announced-56551.html 2009 AVN Award-Winners Announced, by David Sullivan] January 11, 2009, AVN She was the first African-American woman to win an AVN award, when she was named "Best Supporting Actress" in 2001. Watley was also named one of the top 10 "hottest black porn stars" of all time by Complex and The Independent named her "the queen of the black hardcore market".{{cite web |title=The Top 50 Hottest Black Porn Stars Of All Time |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-top-50-hottest-black-porn-stars/midori |website=Complex |access-date=January 12, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213071616/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-top-50-hottest-black-porn-stars/midori |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last1=Judah |first1=Hettie |title=Interview: Charmaine Sinclair - All glammed out and nowhere to go |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-charmaine-sinclair-all-glammed-out-and-nowhere-to-go-1187977.html |access-date=January 15, 2020 |work=The Independent |date=November 29, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622132025/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-charmaine-sinclair-all-glammed-out-and-nowhere-to-go-1187977.html |archive-date=June 22, 2019 |language=en}}
Early life
Michele Watley was born in Durham, North Carolina. Watley has a sister, Jody Watley,{{cite web |title=[INTERVIEW] JODY WATLEY: POP'S FASHIONISTA GODMOTHER |url=https://www.ebony.com/interview-jody-watley/ |website=ebony.com |date=April 16, 2012 |publisher=EBONY |access-date=2023-12-25}} and a brother. When Watley was a toddler, her family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, followed by Chicago, Illinois. Her grandfather and father were ministers."Makin' It With Midori". Black Video Illustrated (10). 1997.{{cite news |last1=O'Reilly |first1=Finbarr |title=She sings, too |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42209551/p_b5/ |access-date=January 12, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |work=The National Post |language=en}} Her parents divorced when she was twelve, and Watley and her sister Jody moved to California. Watley called her childhood "sheltered" and that her parents were "strict". When she was in junior high school, she said she was "mortified" seeing girls kissing their boyfriends. Eventually, Watley turned into what she called "a wild child".
As a teenager, Watley started dancing, performing hip hop, ballet and jazz styles. She studied theater in college and performed in plays. As a young adult, she lived in England for nine months and in 1986, she attended dance school in France. Watley was also a hair model, as well as a backup singer and dancer. As Michele Watley, she acted in commercials and modeled in Elle. She did not pursue modeling full-time, as she was "not tall enough to be a super model".
Career
After her role in Coming to America, she changed her stage name to Midori. She worked as an exotic dancer for four years and in 1995 she started performing in hardcore pornography. Her first scene was with Jake Steed. After that scene, she did not perform in films another year.{{cite news |date=October 2005 |title=Rock's Most Embarrassing Siblings |url=https://www.retrojunk.com/community/post/index/46055 |access-date=January 15, 2020 |work=Blender |page=58 |language=en |issue=41}} Watley's rationale for entering the adult film industry was to increase the representation of women of color in the industry, which has historically been white.
{{Quote box
|quote = "You have the playboy blond, who is sexy and every man's dream, and as an African American woman I was like 'ok, where is the sex symbol that looks like me?' And there were very few, if not any. That made me a little head strong, and I tried to figure out why. And the further I looked into it I thought 'I want to change this, because this isn't right.'" |author = Michele "Midori" Watley |source = 2002 interview with John Rodeo |width = 50% |align = right}}
In the 1990s, Watley began directing pornographic films{{cite news |title=Watley's Porn-Again Sister |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30760348/daily_news/ |access-date=January 12, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |work=New York Daily News |date=February 20, 1997}} and started backup singing, including for Kid Rock in 1999. She initially tried to avoid appearing in stereotypical Black themed films, and early in her career was mostly featured in interracial scenes in white-produced films. Watley eventually started working with Black male performers because she "didn't want to have Black guys thinking I didn't do them too".{{cite news |last1=Suggs |first1=Donald |title=Sex Sells |publisher=The Village Voice |date=October 21, 1997 |page=40 |quote=Performers who can't– or won't– cultivate the requisite image end up in a rut of "amateur" or low-budget race productions, where they earn as little as $200 a film. "I didn't want to do any Soul Train booty movies," says 29-year-old Midori, aXa the "Black Barbie Doll", explaining why she initially didn't pursue Black porn films. "Those aren't the ones getting adult awards or attention from the mainstream media," says Midori, who received the Best Newcomer Award at the Atlantic City ceremony. Like most successful women of color in the industry, Midori started by doing interracial scenes in white-produced films. But in a sudden burst of racial consciousness, she went into Black porn. "I didn't want to have Black guys thinking I didn't do them too," she explains.}} She became a spokesperson for the Free Speech Coalition. She was co-featured, as Michele, in the 1997 stripper documentary The Unveiling, alongside Dixie Evans and Eldad Sahar.{{cite news |title='The Unveiling': Sure-Fire Subject Has Its Charms |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-27-ca-42382-story.html |access-date=January 12, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 27, 1997}}{{cite book |author=Audrey Thomas McCluskey |title=Frame by Frame III: A Filmography of the African Diasporan Image, 1994-2004 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=z5qmplifVDIC&pg=PA764 |year=2007 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-34829-6 |page=764}}{{cite web |last1=Harvey |first1=Dennis |title=The Unveiling |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/the-unveiling-1200453852/ |website=Variety |access-date=January 15, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161001172912/https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/the-unveiling-1200453852/ |archive-date=October 1, 2016 |language=en |date=June 29, 1998}}{{cite news |title=Documentary Days: The Unveiling |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/578490541/ |access-date=January 15, 2020 |work= Newspapers.com |agency=LA Weekly |date=September 25, 1997}} Variety described Watley as "a petite African-American single mom who does an athletic pole-climbing act". The Los Angeles Times described Watley as being "loaded with personality, and you hope that she fulfills her dream of moving into mainstream entertainment as a singer or actress".
In 1997, she recorded a duet with Oran "Juice" Jones at Tommy Boy Records{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Miles Marshall |title=[INTERVIEW] Jody Watley: Pop's Fashionista Godmother |url= https://www.ebony.com/entertainment/interview-jody-watley/ |access-date=January 12, 2020 |work=EBONY |date=July 22, 2016}} and performed on tour with Puff Daddy and Lil' Kim.{{cite news |title=Puff Daddy leads diverse evening |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42209576/p_1e/ |access-date=January 12, 2020 |via= Newspapers.com |work=Lansing State Journal}} The next year, Spike Lee offered Watley a role in He Got Game - as a prostitute - a role she declined because she did not want to play a sex worker. Watley was featured in the British documentary Glamour Girlz on Channel 4, which documents Black women in the adult film industry. Watley was featured in the show alongside Charmaine Sinclair, who had relocated to Los Angeles from London to further her career, and porn legend Ron Jeremy. In the series, Watley helps Sinclair expand her career into the adult film industry. Watley also discusses her desire to move into music, and is seen meeting by phone with Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew to discuss prospects.{{cite news |title= Bachelor bliss in drumlin country |url= https://www.irishtimes.com/news/bachelor-bliss-in-drumlin-country-1.222655 |access-date=January 15, 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=December 5, 1998 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Glamour Girlz |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42209593/the_guardian_p_93_the_guide/ |date= November 28, 1998|access-date=January 12, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |work=The Guardian |department=The Guide |page=93 }}
In 1999, she had one track entitled 5-10-15-20, which she wrote on the Porn to Rock compilation, which was released on Tommy Boy Records. The single features Oran "Juice" Jones. In an interview with the National Post, Watley said that she was pursuing a career in hip hop by using her fame as a porn star. Then National Post music critic Finbarr O'Reilly called Watley's single on the compilation "one of the better tracks". To support the compilation, Watley toured with fellow porn performers Madison Stone, Johnny Toxic, and Nina Whett, including performing at South by Southwest.{{cite news |last1=Whyte |first1=Chris |title=Savor the sweet sounds of smut |url= https://dailytitan.com/1999/03/savorthesweetsoundsofsmut/ |access-date=January 15, 2020 |work=The Daily Titan |date=March 25, 1999}} That same year, Kid Rock produced the track F.M.A. for the Deep Porn compilation with Midori on vocals. The New York Daily News described the single as "moaning unprintable pillow talk over a backdrop of distorted guitars and hip-hop drums".{{cite news |last1=Berry |first1=Jahna |title=Wyclef Jean Raps With The Rock On Second Solo Album |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/1123246/wyclef-jean-raps-with-the-rock-on-second-solo-album/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200115173219/http://www.mtv.com/news/1123246/wyclef-jean-raps-with-the-rock-on-second-solo-album/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= January 15, 2020 |access-date=January 15, 2020 |work=MTV News |date=August 18, 2000}}{{cite news |last1=Guzman |first1=Isaac |title=RUDE, CRUDE AND PROUD OF IT Why a new crop of rock stars is sleazing it up |url= https://www.nydailynews.com/rude-crude-proud-new-crop-rock-stars-sleazing-article-1.881496 |access-date=January 15, 2020 |work=New York Daily News |date=August 13, 2000 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160913062534/https://www.nydailynews.com/rude-crude-proud-new-crop-rock-stars-sleazing-article-1.881496 |archive-date =September 13, 2016}} She also appeared on the cover of the Bad Meets Evil's single "Nuttin' to Do".{{cite news |title=Released This Week |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42209645/more2go_green_bay_pressgazette/ |date=20 July 2000 |access-date=12 January 2020 |via= Newspapers.com |work=Green Bay Press-Gazette |department=More2go}} Watley has a second track, "Zap", produced by Wide.[https://allhiphop.com/2000/08/01/hip-hop-meets-porn/ Hip-Hop Meets Porn! By Mike Winslow] 2000-08-01, AllHipHop Watley credits Madonna and Lil' Kim as opening the door for sex positive performers, and sex workers, to perform music in mainstream entertainment.{{cite magazine |magazine=CMJ New Music Monthly |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sikEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA79 |date=July 1999 |pages=79– |title=Porn in the USA |author=William Werde}}
Watley appeared on the cover of Andrew Dice Clay's album Face Down, Ass Up in 2000. She also released her first album, the dance LP Midori (AKA) Michele Watley. In 2001, she won the "Best Supporting Actress" video award at the AVN Awards, making her the first African-American woman to ever win an AVN award. That same year, she released the rap album Miss Judged, which featured rapper AMG. In 2001, she appeared in the video for Coo Coo Cal's "My Projects." She toured internationally for her music, including New Zealand and Europe.{{cite web |title=Conversations with Midori |url= http://www.adultfyi.com/conversations-with-midori-final/ |website=AdultFYI |date= May 17, 2016 |access-date=January 12, 2020}} She starred in the Polish porn Big Sister and toured Poland. Watley appeared as singer and MC on rapper Warrior's single "Who's Hustlin' Who" in 2003. Watley was described as "decent but uninteresting" on the single by Rap Reviews.{{cite web |last1=Knoxx |first1=A. |title=Warrior :: The Perfect Weapon |url= http://www.rapreviews.com/2003/03/warrior-the-perfect-weapon/ |website=Rap Reviews |access-date=January 15, 2020}} Around this time, she also began exploring a comeback. During her exploration of potential roles, Watley expressed issues with being offered primarily roles for older women in porn, including as MILFs.
Personal life
In a 1997 interview with Black Video Illustrated, Watley said she was straight; however, in the 1998, documentary The Unveiling, Watley identified as bisexual. She is monogamous. In 1999, Watley was in a relationship with Kid Rock.{{Cite news |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9vc4aG2dVBIC&pg=PA102 |title=Honky Tonk Man |last=Norris |first=Chris |date=December 2001 |work=SPIN |page=102 |via=Google Books}}{{Cite news|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HTMuhxamaFEC&pg=PA124 |title=Fellatio Angler Story |last=Daycart |first=Renee |date=October 2000 |work=SPIN |page=124}} The relationship ended after three months, with both Rock and Watley citing Rock's busy schedule as the reason for the break up.{{Cite news |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ygXnnzAlaNQC&pg=PA96 |title=Pimpin' Ain't Easy |last=Jenkins |first=Sacha |date=October 1999 |work=SPIN |pages=96}} Watley discovered she was pregnant after her relationship with Rock ended, and she decided not to have the baby.
Watley is divorced from a man she describes as a "knucklehead". She has a daughter.
Watley does not like watching pornography. It took considerable time for her family to accept that she was an adult film entertainer. She took her mother with her to an adult film award ceremony in an attempt to convince her mother that the adult film industry "also holds formal events where people dress up in black ties and fancy dresses".
Awards and nominations
Discography
= Albums =
= Singles =
= Album appearances =
- 2002: Perfect Weapon, Warrior, "Who's Hustlin' Who" feat. Midori
- 2000: Deep Porn, Various Artists, "F.M.A." - Kid Rock featuring Midori, "Zap" - Wide featuring Midori
- 1999: Porn to Rock, Various Artists, "5,10,15,20" - Midori featuring Oran "Juice" Jones
- 1997: Player's Call, Oran "Juice" Jones, "Let's Stay Together" (featuring Midori)
= Cover girl =
- "Nuttin' To Do," Bad Meets Evil (1999)
- Face Down, Ass Up - Andrew Dice Clay (2000)
= [[Music video]] appearances =
- 2001: "My Projects," Coo Coo Cal (guest appearance)
Further reading
- Miller-Young, Mireille. "A Taste for Brown Sugar: Black Women in Pornography." Durham: Duke University Press. {{ISBN|0822375915}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.midorimusic.net}}
- {{IMDb name|0585636|Midori}}
- {{iafd name|id=Midori|gender=female|name=Midori}}
- {{afdb name|id=53|gender=female|name=Midori}}
- {{discogs artist|436050}}
- [https://avn.com/porn-stars/midora-aka-midori-222119.html Midori's profile at AVN]
__NOTOC__
{{AVN Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midori}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century African-American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American rappers
Category:21st-century American women singers
Category:Actresses from Durham, North Carolina
Category:African-American women rappers
Category:African-American pornographic film actors
Category:American pornographic film actresses
Category:Bisexual pornographic film actresses
Category:African-American LGBTQ people
Category:Pornographic film actors from North Carolina
Category:21st-century American singers
Category:20th-century African-American actresses
Category:21st-century African-American women singers