Savanna Samson (born October 14, 1967) is the
stage name of Natalie Oliveros,[4][5] an American former
pornographic actress. The winner of several
AVN Awards, she has spent most of her career as a contract performer with major producer
Vivid Entertainment, and is known for her roles in acclaimed adult films such as The New Devil in Miss Jones. In addition to performing, she has her own adult film studio, Savanna Samson Productions. A native of upstate
New York, she entered the adult film industry in 2000, after working as a dancer at the
Manhattan strip club,
Scores.[6]
Samson has gained mainstream recognition with appearances on television shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show and 30 Rock.[7] Her wide range of activities outside pornography include working as a
sex-advice columnist, a radio presenter and a political correspondent. She also produces her own line of wines, has a recording contract with
E1 Music and is a trained
ballerina.
Early life
Born Natalie Skeldon, one of five daughters, she grew up in a Roman Catholic family in
Watertown, New York.[5] She began dancing at a young age. At 17, she moved to
New York City to pursue a career in ballet. However, she eventually gave this up, admitting she "wasn't good enough". She took a job dancing at the
Manhattan strip club
Scores,[5] on the recommendation of her sister who worked there. When starting at the club, she chose the stage name Savanna in homage to a character in the novel and film, The Prince of Tides (1986/1991).
In 2000, she left that work as a dancer intending to become a porn film star. She choose the name Savanna Samson. The surname Samson, taken from the
biblical figure, was added later in her career to distinguish her from porn actress
Savannah.[8] While at Scores, she met her future husband, wine merchant Daniel Oliveros. They have a son together.
Adult film career
Samson's move into the adult film business began in 2000, after she wrote a letter to Italian porn actor and director
Rocco Siffredi, asking to work with him. She initially wanted to make a movie in order to fulfill a fantasy, after her husband had given her the idea, and hoped to keep it a secret. But her first movie, Rocco Meats An American Angel In Paris, was nominated for "Best Foreign Release" at the
AVN Awards. Afterward, she got what she described as "porn fever" and worked to make further movies.[5][9] Her family soon discovered her film career when she appeared on The Howard Stern Show and Entertainment Tonight. Samson stated in 2006: "My parents are devastated by my career choices".[5]
In April 2002, she signed an exclusive contract with
Vivid Entertainment. She continued to live in New York, and commuted to California to shoot films for the company.[10] Samson was among three
Vivid Girls to be profiled in an early-2003 issue of Vanity Fair, as part of an annual roundup of the entertainment industry. The Girls were featured alongside mainstream actors, such as
Daniel Day-Lewis and
Julianne Moore, in a double-page photograph taken at
Elton John's home on the
French Riviera.[11]
Samson was also one of several Vivid Girls who wrote material for the book How to Have a XXX Sex Life: The Ultimate Vivid Guide, published by
ReganBooks on July 20, 2004.[12][13] Samson helped promote the book with appearances on The O'Reilly Factor and The Howard Stern Show.[14][15] In May 2004, she joined several other porn actresses and began to write as a columnist for AVNInsider.com.[16] At the 2004
AVN Awards, Samson won "
Best Actress – Film" and "Best Group Sex Scene – Film"[17] for her role in Looking In, a 2003 film about four suburban couples who have a view into each other's houses.
Along with comedian
Thea Vidale, Samson hosted the 2005 AVN Awards.[18] She also won awards that year for "Best All-Girl Sex Scene – Film" and "Best Group Sex Scene – Film".[19]
In February 2005, Samson began co-hosting a daily music-and-talk radio show on the Internet station Electric Eye Radio.[20] Later in the year, she was featured alongside
Jenna Jameson in Vivid's high-budget remake of the classic adult film The Devil in Miss Jones.[21] Samson's role as Miss Jones earned her the 2006 AVN Awards for "Best Actress – Film" and "Best All-Girl Sex Scene – Film".[22] During her acceptance speech, she expressed gratitude for this support from her peers and said "most of my family is pretty ashamed of what I do".[23][24]
Early in 2007, Samson signed a record contract with
Koch Records, now known as
E1 Music, who had approached her after hearing her sing during a radio tour.[33] On May 3, 2007, she appeared as a guest on the
WNYC public radio series, The Tristan Mysteries, to discuss
Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde. A long-time Wagner fan, Samson said, "I think I'm in a unique position to discuss the sensual aspects of the 'Tristan and Isolde' characters and of opera in general".[34][35][36]
In June 2007, Savanna Samson Productions released its first title, Any Way You Want Me, an interactive movie directed by and starring Samson.[37][38] She also appeared in the 2007 film Debbie Does Dallas ... Again, a sequel to the 1978 classic Debbie Does Dallas, as well as its "making of" series that was broadcast weekly on
Showtime.[39] The film gained her a 2008 AVN Award for "Best Group Sex Scene – Film".[40]
In April 2008, Samson became a political correspondent on
Fox News's late-night talk show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld.[41] She had made several previous appearances on the show, and in 2007 had endorsed New York Republican mayor
Rudy Giuliani's presidential candidacy.[42][43]
In September 2008 her debut album, Possession, was released,[44] and her first single, a title track co-written by Samson during the breakup of her marriage. Commenting on the theme of the song, she said, "People see me nude and having sex and think they know me and that I'm available, but I'm no more available than
Angelina Jolie".[45] Later in the month, she had a cameo role on The Daily Show, in which she portrayed CBS Evening News anchor
Katie Couric in a commercial for a fictional action-adventure show. In the appearance, Samson asks Daily Show correspondent
Jason Jones, "Hey, Jones, you really think you've got the balls for that story?"[46][47] She began writing a sex-advice column for the adult entertainment site XCritic.com in June 2009, having previously written such columns for Men’s Fitness magazine and AdultFriendFinder.com.[48][49]
According to the
Internet Adult Film Database, as of May 2010 Samson had appeared in 90 adult movies, including compilations containing recycled scenes.[3] A 2006 article in The New York Times reported that she earns from $20,000 to over $100,000 per film, depending on sales, with each one taking from three days to two weeks to make.[5] An Adult Video News article written in February 2006 stated that Samson had five years left on her contract with Vivid.[25]
Winemaking
Despite enjoying her career in the adult film industry, Samson had other ambitions. In 2005, while on vacation in
Tuscany, Italy, she decided she could "leave a mark on this world" by making wine.[5] Then married to a wine merchant, she had frequently traveled to Italy and France, and often fantasized about owning her own vineyard.[53] When she was a child, she had helped her family make wine in the basement of their house in Watertown, New York.[9]
She formed the company, Savanna Samson Wines, and asked Italian winemaker and consultant Roberto Cipresso to help find a blend of grapes local to Tuscany that would produce her ideal flavor. They eventually chose a mixture of 70 percent
Cesanese, 20 percent
Sangiovese and 10 percent
Montepulciano, which produced a red wine that she named Sogno Uno, meaning 'Dream One.' Its label played on Samson's notoriety as a porn star, featuring a side view of her wearing only a see-through gown and high heels.[5][54] Wine critic
Robert M. Parker, Jr. gave Sogno Uno a rating of 90 to 91 out of 100, and described it as "awfully good".[5] A gala launch was held for the wine at a Manhattan restaurant on February 27, 2006.[55] By June 2007, her company had produced two more wines.[56]
^Mireya Navarro (August 7, 2005).
"The Devil Is Still In". The New York Times.
Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2009.