Editing Veronica Hart

{{Short description|American pornographic actress}}
{{other people|Jane Hamilton}}
{{use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name            = Veronica Hart
| image           = Veronica_Hart.png
| caption         = Hart in 2002
| birth_name      = <!--See WP:BLPPRIVACY before adding birth names/dates-->
| birth_date      = {{birth based on age as of date|26|1983|Feb}}<!--See WP:BLPPRIVACY before adding birth names/dates-->
| birth_place     = [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| death_date      =
| death_place     =
| spouse          = 
| children        = 2
| height          = 
| other_names     = Jane Hamilton
| website         = [http://Veronicahart.biz Veronicahart.biz]
}}
'''Jane Hamilton''' (born 1956 or 1957{{r|Lieberman 2023}}) is an American [[film director]] and former [[pornographic film actress]] who performed under the [[stage name]] '''Veronica Hart'''.{{r|Lieberman 2023|Weatherford 1997}}<ref name="Frammolino 2002">{{cite news |last1=Frammolino |first1=Ralph |last2=Huffstutter |first2={{nowrap|P. J.}} |title=The Actress, the Producer and Their Porn Revolution |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-06-tm-20634-story.html |access-date=May 5, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 6, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918193808/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-06-tm-20634-story.html |archive-date=September 18, 2024 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> Described by columnist [[Frank Rich]] as "a leading porn star of the late '70s and early '80s",{{r|Rich 2001}} Hart is a member of the [[AVN Awards|AVN Hall of Fame]].<ref name="AVN Hall of Fame">{{cite news |title=AVN Hall of Fame |url=http://www.avnawards.com/index.php?content=halloffame |access-date=November 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002002341/http://www.avnawards.com/index.php?content=halloffame |archive-date=October 2, 2008}}</ref><ref name="AVN Awards">{{Cite web |url=http://www.avnawards.com/halloffame.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415212412/http://www.avnawards.com/halloffame.php |archive-date=April 15, 2009 |title=AVN Awards}}</ref>
Director [[Paul Thomas Anderson]] has called her "the [[Meryl Streep]] of porn."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bona |first1=Damien |title=Inside Oscar 2 |date=2002 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |location=New York |isbn=978-0-345-44800-2 |language=en}}{{page needed|date=May 2025}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Hart was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada.<ref name="Smith 1983">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Kent |last2=Moore |first2=Darrell W. |last3=Reagle |first3=Merl |title=Adult Movies |date=1983 |publisher=Pocket Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-46844-6 |page=120 |language=en}}</ref> She graduated from the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]] in 1976<ref name="Weatherford 1997">{{cite news |last=Weatherford |first=Mike |title=Movie sparks memories for porn star |url=http://www.lvrj.com:80/lvrj_home/1997/Nov-02-Sun-1997/lifestyles/6294534.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000917131339/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Nov-02-Sun-1997/lifestyles/6294534.html |archive-date=September 17, 2000 |date=November 2, 1997 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with a bachelor's degree in [[theater arts]].<ref name="Lieberman 2023">{{cite news |last1=Lieberman |first1=Hallie |title=Club 90: The Secret Women’s Club That Rocked the Porn World |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/club-90-the-secret-womens-club-that-rocked-the-porn-world/ |access-date=May 5, 2025 |work=The Daily Beast |date=September 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423072441/https://www.thedailybeast.com/club-90-the-secret-womens-club-that-rocked-the-porn-world/ |archive-date=April 23, 2025 |language=en |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |quote=Jane, who went by Veronica Hart on screen, was at a crossroads. The 26-year-old, classically beautiful [...]}}</ref> After school she worked in England before returning to the United States and moving to New York City.<ref name="Smith 1983"/>

==Career==
Hart began appearing in [[pornographic film]]s in the 1970s, becoming a major star by the 1980s.{{r|Lieberman 2023|Rich 2001}} According to film scholar [[Chuck Kleinhans]], she portrayed the "stylish 'native New Yorker{{' "}} type.<ref name="Kleinhans 2006">{{cite book |last=Kleinhans |first=Chuck |editor-last=Lehman |editor-first=Peter |title=Pornography: Film and Culture |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brunswick, N.J. |date=2006 |chapter=The Change from Film to Video Pornography: Implications for Analysis |page=166 |isbn=978-0-8135-3871-6}}</ref>  She is best known for her performances in ''Amanda by Night'', ''[[Wanda Whips Wall Street]]'', ''Roommates'' and ''A Scent of Heather''.<ref name="Smith 1983"/>

Around 1984, Hart began directing segments on the Playboy TV series [[Electric Blue (TV series)|Electric Blue]], appearing in [[B movie|B-Movies]] and working as a [[stripper]].<ref name="Rich 2001">{{cite news |last1=Rich |first1=Frank |title=Naked Capitalists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/magazine/naked-capitalists.html |access-date=May 5, 2025 |work=The New York Times Magazine |issn=0028-7822 |date=May 20, 2001 |at=section 6, pp. 51 ff |url-access=limited}} Reprinted as: {{block indent|em=1|{{cite book |last1=Rich |first1=Frank |editor1-last=Dines |editor1-first=Gail |editor2-last=Humez |editor2-first=Jean M. |title=Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader |date=2003 |publisher=SAGE Publications |location=Thousand Oaks, Calif. |isbn=978-0-7619-2260-5 |pages=48–60 |edition=2nd |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/genderraceclassi0000unse/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Naked Capitalists}} }}</ref>
After retiring from performing in pornographic films, Hart became an executive at film distributor [[VCA Pictures]].{{r|Rich 2001}}
With the sale of VCA to [[Hustler Video]] in 2003, and the direction of the company moving from feature, storyline-driven films to [[Gonzo pornography|gonzo]], she left the company when her existing contract expired.<ref name="Anthony 2004">{{cite news |last1=Anthony |first1=Andrew |title=Risky Business |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/aug/01/features.magazine37 |access-date=5 May 2025 |work=The Observer |issn=9976-1971 |date=1 August 2004}}</ref> Afterwards, Hart moved on to other work, including working as a tour guide at the [[Erotic Heritage Museum]] in Las Vegas.<ref name="Kernes 2014"/>

Hart has acted in off-Broadway theater productions such as ''[[The House of Bernarda Alba]]'',<ref name="Weatherford 1997"/> ''[[A Thurber Carnival]]'',<ref name="Weatherford 1997"/> ''The Dyke And The Porn Star'',<ref name="Monji 1999">{{cite news |last1=Monji |first1=Jana J. |title=New Steps in Dance Toward Romance |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-27-ca-4054-story.html |access-date=5 May 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=27 August 1999 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 1, 2000 |title=HOT! Gay/Bi Thespian Action! |url=http://www.papermag.com/hot-gaybi-thespian-action-1425144426.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601165337/http://www.papermag.com/hot-gaybi-thespian-action-1425144426.html |archive-date=June 1, 2019 |access-date=May 22, 2019 |website=Paper |language=en}}</ref> and ''[[The Deep Throat Sex Scandal]]''.<ref name="Ng 2012">{{cite news |last1=Ng |first1=David |title='Deep Throat' play set for L.A. with porn star Veronica Hart |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-deep-throat-play-porn-20121207-story.html |access-date=5 May 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=10 December 2012 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="Morris 2013">{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Steven Leigh |title=’'The Deep Throat Sex Scandal'' Celebrates a Famous First Amendment Victory But Ignores the Bigger Issue |url=http://www.laweekly.com/arts/the-deep-throat-sex-scandal-celebrates-a-famous-first-amendment-victory-but-ignores-the-bigger-issue-2612840 |newspaper=LA Weekly |date=February 7, 2013 |archive-date=October 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002204329/http://www.laweekly.com/arts/the-deep-throat-sex-scandal-celebrates-a-famous-first-amendment-victory-but-ignores-the-bigger-issue-2612840 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
She portrayed a judge in the film ''[[Boogie Nights]]'' (1997), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.<ref name="Weatherford 1997"/>

As of 2014 Hart had become a [[sex educator]] in China. An article in ''AVN'' magazine stated that she has been instructing women through an arrangement with a chain of adult retail stores and clubs called Sediva Maison.<ref name="Kernes 2014">{{cite web |last1=Kernes |first1=Mark |date=August 18, 2014 |title=So ... What's Veronica Hart Up To These Days? |url=http://business.avn.com/articles/novelty/So-What-s-Veronica-Hart-Up-To-These-Days-570123.html |website=AVN |archive-date=August 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821040410/http://business.avn.com/articles/novelty/So-What-s-Veronica-Hart-Up-To-These-Days-570123.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Hart has two sons who attended [[magnet schools]] for highly gifted students.{{sfnp|Rich|2003|p=57}}

== Selected TV appearances ==
*''[[Six Feet Under (TV series)|Six Feet Under]]'', Jean Louise Macarthur a.k.a. Viveca St. John - [[List of Six Feet Under episodes#Season 1: 2001|in season 1]]'s episode "An Open Book" (2001)
* ''[[Lady Chatterly's Stories]]'', Amy (as Jane Hamilton) - in the episode "The Manuscript" (2001)
* ''[[First Years]]'', Lola - in the episode "Porn in the USA" (2001)

==Awards==
'''Wins'''

*'''1981'''
[[Adult Film Association of America|AFAA]] for Best Actress – ''Amanda by Night''

*'''1982'''
[[Adult Film Association of America|AFAA]] Award for Best Actress – ''Roommates''

[[Adult Film Association of America|AFAA]] Award for Best Supporting Actress – ''Foxtrot''

*'''1994'''
[[Free Speech Coalition]] Lifetime Achievement Award<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/19980611115426/http://www.freespeechcoalition.com:80/industry/news/stars.html</ref>

*'''1996'''
[[AVN Awards|AVN Award]] for Best Non-Sex Performance – ''Nylon''<ref name="Past AVN Award Winners">{{cite news |title=Past AVN Award Winners |url=http://www.avnawards.com/index.php?content=pastwinners |access-date=November 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929000922/http://www.avnawards.com/index.php?content=pastwinners |archive-date=September 29, 2007}}</ref>

*'''1999'''
[[XRCO Award]] for Best Video - ''Torn'' (directed and produced by Hart)<ref name="XRCO 2002">{{cite web |title=PREVIOUS WINNERS and NOMS - 2002 & Before) |url=http://www.dirtybob.com/xrco/oldies.html |access-date=March 8, 2014}}</ref>

*'''2004''' 
XRCO Award for Best Comedy or Parody - ''Misty Beethoven: The Musical'' (directed, edited and produced by Hart)<ref name="XRCO 2004 Winners">{{cite web |title=XRCO 2004 Winners |url=http://www.dirtybob.com/xrco/2004win/index.htm |access-date=April 17, 2014}}</ref>

*[[AVN Hall of Fame]]<ref name="AVN Hall of Fame"/><ref name="AVN Awards"/>
*[[XRCO Hall of Fame]]<ref name="XRCO Hall of Fame">{{cite news |title=XRCO Hall of Fame |url=http://www.bwdl.net/XRCO-2/hall.htm |access-date=November 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720064742/http://www.bwdl.net/XRCO-2/hall.htm |archive-date=July 20, 2011}}</ref>

'''Nominations'''

* '''2001'''
AVN Best Director – Video for ''White Lightning''<ref name="AVN2001">{{cite news |title=AVN 2001 Nominations |url=http://www.avnawards.com/nominees.html |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010309213908/http://www.avnawards.com/nominees.html |archive-date=March 9, 2001}}</ref>
* '''2002'''
AVN Best Director – Film for ''Taken''<ref name="AVN2002">{{cite news |title=AVN 2002 Nominations |url=http://www.avnawards.com/nomin-list.html |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011208103701/http://www.avnawards.com/nomin-list.html |archive-date=December 8, 2001}}</ref>
* '''2003'''
AVN Best Director – Video for ''Crime and Passion''<ref name="AVN2003">{{cite news |title=AVN 2003 Nominations |url=http://www.avnawards.com/nominees.shtml |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021127014135/http://www.avnawards.com/nominees.shtml |archive-date=November 27, 2002}}</ref>
* '''2004'''
AVN Best Director – Film for ''Barbara Broadcast Too''<ref name="AVN2004">{{cite news |title=AVN 2004 Nominations |url=http://www.avn.com/imagearchive/05/58/32/55832Nominations.pdf |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031203023916/http://www.avn.com/imagearchive/05/58/32/55832Nominations.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2003}}</ref>
* '''2005'''
AVN Best Director – Film for ''Misty Beethoven: The Musical''<ref name="AVN2005">{{cite news |title=AVN 2005 Nominations |url=http://www.avnawards.com/2005nominees_fr.shtml |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041210041532/http://www.avnawards.com/2005nominees_fr.shtml |archive-date=December 10, 2004}}</ref>
* '''2006'''
AVN Best Non-Sex Performance for ''Eternity''<ref name="AVN2006">{{cite news |title=AVN 2006 Nominations |url=http://www.avn.com/imagearchive/24/82/23/248223AVN_Awards_Nominations.pdf |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129014904/http://www.avn.com/imagearchive/24/82/23/248223AVN_Awards_Nominations.pdf |archive-date=November 29, 2005}}</ref>
* '''2007'''
AVN Best Non-Sex Performance for ''Sex Pix''<ref name="AVN2007">{{cite news |title=AVN 2007 Nominations |url=http://www.avn.com/imagearchive/27/84/74/278474AVNNOMSFINALNOV20 |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061220061002/http://www.avn.com/imagearchive/27/84/74/278474AVNNOMSFINALNOV20 |archive-date=December 20, 2006}}</ref>
* '''2008'''
AVN Best Non-Sex Performance for ''Delilah''<ref name="AVN2008">{{cite news |title=AVN 2008 Nominations |url=http://www.avnawards.com/pdf/2008Nominations.pdf |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227073556/http://www.avnawards.com/pdf/2008Nominations.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=February 27, 2008}}</ref>
*'''2009'''
AVN Best Non-Sex Performance for ''Roller Dollz''<ref name="AVN Awards 2008">{{cite web |title=Nominations 2009 AVN Adult Movie Awards |publisher=AVNAwards.com |url=http://avnawards.com/pdf/2009_AVN_NOMINATIONS_11_25_08.pdf |date=November 25, 2008 |access-date=November 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203003734/http://www.avnawards.com/pdf/2009_AVN_NOMINATIONS_11_25_08.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2008}}</ref>

==Literature==
* {{cite book |author=Sam Frank |title=Sex in the Movies |publisher=Citadel Press |year=1986 |author-link=Sam Frank (author)}} Dedicated to her, and one chapter covers Hart's early career.
* {{cite book |author=Nicolas Barbano |author-link=Nicolas Barbano |title=Verdens 25 hotteste pornostjerner |publisher=Rosinante |year=1999}} Features a chapter on Hart.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |type=transcript |url=http://www.courttv.com/talk/chat_transcripts/2001/0723hart.html |title=The Secret History of the Other Hollywood: Adult film star and director Jane Hamilton a.k.a. Veronica Hart |website=Court TV News |publisher=[[Court TV]] |date=July 23, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010727183552/http://www.courttv.com/talk/chat_transcripts/2001/0723hart.html |archive-date=July 27, 2001}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Veronica Hart}}
* {{IMDb name|366573|Veronica Hart}}
* {{iafd name|id=VHart|gender=female|name=Veronica Hart}}
* {{afdb name|id=183|gender=female|name=Veronica Hart}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Veronica}}
[[Category:1950s births]]
[[Category:American female adult models]]
[[Category:American female erotic dancers]]
[[Category:American erotic dancers]]
[[Category:American pornographic film actresses]]
[[Category:American pornographic film directors]]
[[Category:American pornographic film producers]]
[[Category:Women pornographic film directors]]
[[Category:Women pornographic film producers]]
[[Category:American women film producers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Actresses from Las Vegas]]
[[Category:Pornographic film actors from Nevada]]
[[Category:University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]