performing arts

"Imagination is more important than intelligence," as Albert Einstein used to say and Traci Lords has now proved in her new autobiography "Underneath It All."

Not that Ms. Lords is dumb. Far from it. Throughout her book she displays a keen mind to equal her accomplishments as the only former adult movie actress ever to achieve mainstream success. Although this does not mean much in global terms of important world news, her life story is interesting enough in its own right, and in its own way even has a moral of redemption.

Born Nora Kuzma in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1968, Ms. Lords' childhood was marred by a traumatic rape that occurred when she was only 10 years old. After her mother moved the family to California, the young Miss Kuzma found herself a stranger in a strange land just when she most needed guidance. Instead, left largely neglected, with little parental supervision for long periods of time, she became a heavy drug abuser in high school. Then her mother's ex-boyfriend introduced her to nude modeling and got her started performing in XXX-rated movies when she was just 15.

This is the most delicate and difficult part of "Underneath It All." On the one hand, Ms. Lords must answer legitimate questions about her role in what was the biggest porn scandal of the 1980s. On the other hand, there is a fine line between addressing those questions and describing details of her erotic exploits that appeal more to the reader's prurient interests than to advance her main story.

Generally speaking, Ms. Lords does an admirable job in covering this ground with grace and honesty. For legal reasons, she does not provide the real name of the producer who hired her as an underage actress (but the pseudonym she uses identifies him for anyone remotely familiar with the case). She also makes it clear that she did not call in the authorities and set up the FBI bust that instantly made her such a notorious figure. In fact, Ms. Lords even claims that President Reagan's smut-busting Meese Commission had been investigating her for three years before finally cracking down on her illicit activities. By then, of course, the former Nora Kuzma was famous for her newly adopted screen persona.

There are areas where Ms. Lords tries to have it both ways, though. She talks repeatedly and at great length about how she hates being "the poster child for a business I loathe." She movingly asks, "What do you do when your past is your present? How do you leave it behind?" And yet she also expresses some mixed feelings about her brief career as an adult movie star. It is obvious that she enjoyed the attention she received at the time, and has not been above capitalizing on the publicity that went along with her previous reputation as "a sex-crazed, drugged-out wild child."

However, in spite of Ms. Lords' occasional attempts to deceive the reader (and sometimes, one suspects, herself), she still comes across as a decent person with a talent for thinking outside of the box that others built for her. And it is worth noting that she gives ample credit to her friends and supporters such as John Waters, Christina Applegate, and Roseanne Barr.

No one will ever confuse Traci Lords with Katherine Hepburn, but Ms. Lords has become a good actress and an excellent singer. That transformation did not occur overnight and it is a tribute to Ms. Lords' hard work that she was able to make it happen, even at the cost of her first marriage. When she first sought legitimate jobs in the entertainment industry, she could not have known how difficult it would be. Cynicism aside, learning about how Ms. Lords struggled to overcome her personal and professional demons is almost inspirational in its impact.

Maybe the best way to read "Underneath It All" is with an equal mix of healthy skepticism and sympathy for the author. Certainly no one has done more to earn a small measure of respect. As absurd as it may seem, it is not too much to say there is a kind of nobility of spirit about Ms. Lords. A lesser person could never have survived such a trial in the court of public opinion, and her resilience has been remarkable. Like Bob Dylan before her, Traci Lords literally reinvented herself under another name and then had to live with the consequences. What could be more American than that?

At a mere 286 pages, "Underneath It All" is a bit too slender for its own good. In addition, the book would benefit from fewer fashion-model pictures of Ms. Lords and the addition of an index, but these are relatively minor flaws in a biography that otherwise has much to recommend it.

In the end, Ms. Lords seems not so much against porn as she is opposed to what it has become in today's depraved and sexually violent culture. And while others talk about profound "national security" and "homeland defense" issues, Ms. Lords makes a convincing case that the real security (or lack thereof) depends more on what is happening to our children in our families and on the streets. For those who still hope for a brighter future, "Underneath It All" is a book that shows change is possible.

"Imagination is more important than intelligence," as Albert Einstein used to say and Traci Lords has now proved in her new autobiography "Underneath It All."

Not that Ms. Lords is dumb. Far from it. Throughout her book she displays a keen mind to match her accomplishments as the only former adult movie actress ever to achieve mainstream success. Although this does not mean much in global terms of important world news, her life story is interesting enough in its own right, and in its own way even has a moral of redemption.

Born Nora Kuzma in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1968, Ms. Lords' childhood was marred by a traumatic rape that occurred when she was only 10 years old. After her mother moved the family to California, the young Miss Kuzma found herself a stranger in a strange land just when she most needed guidance. Instead, left largely neglected, with little parental supervision for long periods of time, she became a heavy drug abuser in high school. Then her mother's ex-boyfriend introduced her to nude modeling and got her started performing in XXX-rated movies when she was just 15.

This is the most delicate and difficult part of "Underneath It All." On the one hand, Ms. Lords must answer legitimate questions about her role in what was the biggest porn scandal of the 1980s. On the other hand, there is a fine line between addressing those questions and describing details of her erotic exploits that appeal more to the reader's prurient interests than to advance her main story.

Generally speaking, Ms. Lords does an admirable job in covering this ground with grace and honesty. For legal reasons, she does not provide the real name of the producer who hired her as an underage actress (but the pseudonym she uses identifies him for anyone remotely familiar with the case). She also makes it clear that she did not call in the authorities and set up the FBI bust that instantly made her such a notorious figure. In fact, Ms. Lords even claims that President Reagan's smut-busting Meese Commission had been investigating her for three years before finally cracking down on her illicit activities. By then, of course, the former Nora Kuzma was famous for her newly adopted screen persona.

There are areas where Ms. Lords tries to have it both ways, though. She talks repeatedly and at great length about how she hates being "the poster child for a business I loathe." She movingly asks, "What do you do when your past is your present? How do you leave it behind?" And yet she also expresses some mixed feelings about her brief career as an adult movie star. It is obvious that she enjoyed the attention she received at the time, and has not been above capitalizing on the publicity that went along with her previous reputation as "a sex-crazed, drugged-out wild child."

However, in spite of Ms. Lords' occasional attempts to deceive the reader (and sometimes, one suspects, herself), she still comes across as a decent person with a talent for thinking outside of the box that others built for her. And it is worth noting that she gives ample credit to her friends and supporters such as John Waters, Christina Applegate, and Roseanne Barr.

No one will ever confuse Traci Lords with Katharine Hepburn, but Ms. Lords has become a good actress and an excellent singer. That transformation did not occur overnight and it is a tribute to Ms. Lords' hard work that she was able to make it happen, even at the cost of her first marriage. When she first sought legitimate jobs in the entertainment industry, she could not have known how difficult it would be. Cynicism aside, learning about how Ms. Lords struggled to overcome her personal and professional demons is almost inspirational in its impact.

Maybe the best way to read "Underneath It All" is with an equal mix of healthy skepticism and sympathy for the author. Certainly no one has done more to earn a small measure of respect. As absurd as it may seem, it is not too much to say there is a kind of nobility of spirit about Ms. Lords. A lesser person could never have survived such a trial in the court of public opinion, and her resilience has been remarkable. Like Bob Dylan before her, Traci Lords literally reinvented herself under another name and then had to live with the consequences. What could be more American than that?

At a mere 286 pages, "Underneath It All" is a bit too slender for its own good. In addition, the book would benefit from fewer fashion-model pictures of Ms. Lords and the addition of an index, but these are relatively minor flaws in a biography that otherwise has much to recommend it.

In the end, Ms. Lords seems not so much against porn as she is opposed to what it has become in today's depraved and sexually violent culture. And while others talk about profound "national security" and "homeland defense" issues, Ms. Lords makes a convincing case that the real security (or lack thereof) depends more on what is happening to our children in our families and on the streets. For those who still hope for a brighter future, "Underneath It All" is a book that shows change is possible.

This book is an exciting wild ride. I have always heard of Traci Lord's name being whispered by men as a secret knowledge. Her name makes people blush. I read the book in two days, she is a good writer. I believe she is self-delusional at times. I personally believe she probably was very mature for her age and in someways knew exactly what was happening to her (getting involved in the porn world) The great thing about Traci is she opens herself up to our judgements and her talent involved more than her past.