Gloria Leonard

Career

Leonard performed through the early 1980s while building a parallel career as publisher of High Society magazine from 1977 to 1991, one of the few performers of her generation to run a media business rather than simply appear in one. She co-founded Celebrity Skin magazine in 1986 and Club 90 in 1984, served as Administrative Director of the Adult Film and Video Association of America, and was elected president of the Free Speech Coalition in 1998, becoming the industry’s most visible public advocate on obscenity law through frequent appearances on Oprah, Geraldo, Larry King and Howard Stern.

Signature: She ran a magazine with a national newsstand circulation while still performing, and then spent two decades as the industry’s most visible spokesperson on obscenity law.

Index score — The Pornstar Ranked Performer Index v3.0

Scores are normalised within a single ranking's field, so this breakdown is Gloria Leonard's placement inside Female Pornstars Who Built the Industry, Ranked by Impact — the largest field she appears in. Her rank on each of the other 1 ranking below was computed against that ranking's own field and is not the same measurement.

Full award record3 entries

• —Adult Film Association of America — Best Actress — Taboo, American Style
• 1989XRCO — Hall of Fame
• —AVN — Hall of Fame

Best known for

Beyond performing

• Publisher, High Society magazine (1977–1991)
• Co-founder, Celebrity Skin magazine (1986)
• Co-founder, Club 90 (1984)
• Administrative Director, Adult Film and Video Association of America (1989–1992)
• President, Free Speech Coalition (1998)

Mainstream credits

• Simon & Simon (1984)
• Guest appearances on Oprah, Geraldo, Larry King and Howard Stern

Official links

No official accounts confirmed. We only list handles we have verified on an authoritative page — a guessed handle in this industry usually belongs to an impersonator.

Ranked alongside

• Candida Royalle
• Sharon Mitchell
• Joanna Angel
• Tristan Taormino
• Veronica Hart
• Alana Evans

Sources and verification3 sources

Last audited 22 August 2026 · Wikipedia — Gloria Leonard · Wikipedia — List of members of the XRCO Hall of Fame (confirms 1989 induction) · Wikipedia — List of members of the AVN Hall of Fame (confirms membership; no induction year given on that page either)

Not yet confirmed:

• AFAA Best Actress award year not documented
• AVN Hall of Fame induction year not documented