Candida Royalle (October 15, 1950 – September 7, 2015) was an American producer and director of couples-oriented pornography, a sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and pornographic actress. She was a member of the XRCO and the AVN Halls of Fame.

Early life and education

Royalle was born on October 15, 1950 in New York City. Initially trained in music, dance, and art in New York, with studies at the High School of Art and Design, Parson's School of Design and the City University of New York, she eventually entered a career as a porn star, acting in some 25 films.

Career

In 1984, Royalle founded Femme Productions, with the goal of making erotica based on female desire, as well as pornographic films aimed at helping couple therapy. Her productions are aimed more to women and couples than to the standard pornographic audience of men, and have been praised by counselors and therapists for depicting healthy and realistic sexual activity.

Royalle has stated she tries to avoid "misogynous predictability", and depiction of sex in "...as grotesque and graphic [a way] as possible." She also criticizes the male-centredness of the typical pornographic film, in which scenes end when the male actor ejaculates. Royalle’s films are not “goal oriented” towards a final "cum shot"; instead, her films depict sexual activity within the broader context of women's emotional and social lives. 

In 1989, she signed the Post Porn Modernist Manifesto.

Affiliations

Royalle was a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists, and a founding board-member of Feminists for Free Expression.

Personal life

In May 2006, Royalle announced that she was engaged to be married.[8] She died on September 7, 2015, aged 64, from ovarian cancer.