List of prostitutes and courtesans
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This is a list of famous persons who have engaged in prostitution, as well as pimping and courtesan work.
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Historical
- Air Force Amy legal prostitute in Nevada, pornographic actress, and adult model, considered one of the top earners in Nevada's legalized brothel business,and known as the star of the HBO television documentary series Cathouse: The Series. MSNBC has called her "a living legend in the world of sex."
- Polly Adler New York Madam, 1920s -1940s
- Aspasia, hetaera companion of Pericles
- Laura Bell, the "Queen of London whoredom"
- Theresa Berkeley, 19th-century dominatrix
- Griselda Blanco, child prostitute who became the late 1970s to early 1980s Miami cocaine "Godmother".
- Lisa Crystal Carver, sex columnist
- Alice Chambers, 19th century Dodge City prostitute
- Annie Chapman, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Veronica Franco, Venetian courtesan and poet
- Jean Genet, French writer and political activist
- Raymond Gravel, Canadian member of Parliament
- Nell Gwynne, courtesan to Charles II of England
- Xaviera Hollander, former callgirl and madam, Author of "The Happy Hooker"
- Mary Jane Kelly, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Mata Hari (born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle)
- Clara Ward, Princesse de Caraman-Chimay, daughter of a Michigan lumberman who spent most of her life in Europe
- Carol Leigh, a.k.a. Scarlot Harlot, coined the term "sex worker"
- Gerda Munsinger, Soviet spy
- Mary Ann Nichols, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Barbara Payton, 1940s film starlet who turned to prostitution in the late 1950s after the end of her career and collapse of her marriage
- Cora Pearl, 19th century French courtesan
- Phryne, Greek hetaera
- Madame de Pompadour, courtesan to Louis XV of France.
- Grisélidis Réal, Swiss prostitute and writer
- Shady Sadie (Josephine Marcus) Courtesan who had an affair with Wyatt Earp
- Sally Stanford, Dean of San Francisco Madams, Restaurauter and Mayor of Sausalito, California
- Valerie Solanas, street prostitute turned attempted assassin
- Elizabeth Stride, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Michelle Tea, author, has written extensively about her experiences as a prostitute <ref>see, inter alia, Chelsea Whistle: A Memoir, by Michelle Tea, pp. 315-6. Seal Press, New York, 2002.</ref>
- Libby Thompson, "Squirrel Tooth Alice," madam of a brothel in Sweetwater, Texas
- Vasantsenaa, Courtesan of 3rd Century Magadh Empire, Indore, India.
- Su Xiaoxiao, Chinese courtesan of 5th century
- Martha Tabram, a possible victim of Jack the Ripper
- Thais, Greek hetaera who lived during the time of Alexander the Great
- Theodora
- Chris Beeman
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Chronological list
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Antiquity
- Lais of Corinth
- Lais of Hyccara (killed 340 BC)
- Aspasia (469 BC-409 BC), lover of the Athenian statesman Pericles
- Phryne (4th century BC)
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Middle Ages
- Agnès Sorel (1421–1450) - mistress to King Charles VII of France, first official royal mistress in France
- Jane Shore (1445–1527) - mistress of King Edward IV of England, after his death she was forced to perform public penance for her adultery with him
- Margaret Drummond (Mistress) (1475–1502) - mistress to King James IV of Scotland
- Françoise de Foix (1495–1537) - first official mistress of King Francis I of France
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Early Modern period
- Diane de Poitiers (1499–1566) - official mistress of King Henry II of France
- Mary Boleyn (1499–1543) - mistress of King Henry VIII of England and (allegedly) lover of King Francis I of France
- Hwang Jin-i (1550) - legendary gisaeng of the Joseon Dynasty
- Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly (1508–1580) - last official mistress of King Francis I of France
- Tullia d'Aragona
- Veronica Franco (1546–1591) - a Venetian courtesan who was once lover to King Henry III of France
- Marie Touchet (1549–1638) - the only mistress of King Charles IX of France
- Marion Delorme (circa 1613–1650) - lover of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, the Prince of Condé and Cardinal Richelieu
- Ninon de l'Enclos (1615–1705) - lover of the Prince of Condé and Gaspard de Coligny
- Lucy Walter (1630–1658) - mistress-in-exile to King Charles II of England
- Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland (1640–1709) - first official mistress at the court of King Charles II of England
- Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan (1641–1707) - mistress to King Louis XIV of France
- Louise de la Vallière (1644–1710) - mistress to King Louis XIV of France
- Nell Gwynne (1650–1687) - mistress to King Charles II of England
- Barbara Strozzi([(1619)])-[([1677)])-Composer
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18th and 19th centuries
- Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764) - the famous mistress and long time favorite of King Louis XV
- Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle duchess de Châteauroux (1717–1744)
- Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin (1681–1749)
- Louise Julie, Comtesse de Mailly (1710–1751)
- Kitty Fisher (died 1767)
- Sophia Baddeley (1745–1786)
- Madame du Barry (1743–1793)
- Marie-Louise O'Murphy (1737–1814)
- Dorothy Jordan (1761–1816)
- Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey (1753–1821)
- Grace Elliott (1754? – 1823)
- Harriette Wilson (1786–1846)
- La Païva (1819-1884)
- Marie Duplessis (1824–1847)
- Lola Montez (1821–1861)
- Cora Pearl (1835–1886)
- Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione (1837–1899)
- Catherine Walters (1839–1920)
- Lillie Langtry (1853-1929)
- Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (1861–1938)
- Alice Keppel (1869–1947)
- Liane de Pougy (1869–1950)
- La Belle Otero (1868–1965)
- Umrao Jaan (1804-1875) Lucknow, India
- "Klondike Kate" Rockwell (1873-1957)
- Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923)
- Blanche d'Antigny (1840-1874)
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See also
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