You may recognize the name Sasha Grey. She was hailed as the p*rn industry’s next big thing just six months after stepping into the spotlight.
Dubbed the 'next Jenna Jameson,' She had lucrative offers pouring in from all directions. But in a shocking twist, she retired just a few years into her career.
The former adult actress has since donned many hats, but her time in the industry, which catapulted her to global fame in 2006, is what most people remember her for.
Her bold request during her first film—asking a co-star to punch her in the stomach during a scene—earned her a legion of fans almost overnight.
Sasha made her debut at 18, eager to explore her 'fantasies in a safe space' and different facets of her sexuality, moving from Sacramento to Los Angeles.
Just a year into her career, she was on her way to stardom, winning numerous awards, appearing on The Tyra Banks Show, and being featured in publications like Playboy.
So, it was a shock to many when Sasha, real name Marina Ann Hantzis, announced her retirement in a candid Facebook post in April 2011.
She revealed that it had 'become quite evident' her days of shooting adult content were over.
The then-23-year-old wrote: "Don’t worry, I haven’t found Jesus. I’m proud to say I have no regrets, I genuinely feel I accomplished everything I could as a performer.
"It was simply the perfect time for me to move on...while I was on top (pun indeed, intended)," she wrote. "Life sometimes takes us in a direction we never could have imagined."
Fans were stunned by this news as Sasha was at the peak of her career, but she had other dreams to pursue.
During an appearance on the Real Gems With Erin Ashley Simon podcast, Sasha shared that her decision to leave the industry wasn't made 'overnight,' but had been a lingering thought.
She shot her final film in 2009 at 21 and decided to focus on her other passions—art, modeling, and acting. That same year, she starred in Steven Soderbergh's film The Girlfriend Experience.
A role in the Canadian comedy Smash Cut followed, making Sasha realize she needed to choose what she loved most in front of the camera.
Now 36, she explained: "It was a combination of several things that were happening at the same time. I had just finished The Girlfriend Experience, I was doing a lot of press for that, it was like almost a year of non-stop press.
"I'd done another small Canadian film called Smash Cut, I was working on a photography book and I'd started and stopped a company in the span of less than a year.
"I felt like every side, or both sides, wanted me to pick a side and I wasn't willing to do that," she said. "I truly wasn't.
"And it was the end of 2009, so this company I had failed, the economy had crashed the year before and we were all still recovering, we hadn't even come back yet.
"I saw all these other opportunities around me, I was also making music and it was just natural."
She explained she didn't even think it was 'necessary' to discuss the matter, hence why she announced her retirement two years after filming her last movie.
Sasha continued: "I wanted - and was - existing in both worlds, despite what people wanted me to do. People wanted me to take a stance one way or the other and I just didn't think it was necessary.
"I decided to figure it out on my own time, on my own terms.
"It was definitely difficult because there was a lot of uncertainty - you go from being a big fish in a small pond to navigating this new world and being completely unsure if any of it's gonna work or not, but just taking it day by day."
Sasha went on to achieve success after leaving the industry, landing roles in HBO's Entourage, the 2011 thriller I Melt With You, Shrouded Corpse, and Would You Rather.
She also voiced Viola DeWynter in Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell and starred as Eminem's love interest in his music video for Space Bound.
Despite her departure, she still values her time in the industry, crediting it with teaching her 'self-worth,' 'how to negotiate,' and 'how to stand up for herself.'