About Sasha Grey
| Stage Name: | Sasha Grey. “Sasha” comes from Sascha Konietzko of the band KMFDM, and “Grey” comes from Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray |
| Real Name: | Marina Ann Hantzis |
| Birthdate: | March 14, 1988 |
| Birth Location: | Sacramento (North Highlands), California |
| Measurements: | 32B-26-31 |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Weight: | 110 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Hazel |
| Hair Color: | Brown |
| Natural Bust: | Yes |
| Active Years: | 2006 to 2011 (adult film) |
Early Life
Before she was Sasha Grey, Marina Ann Hantzis grew up in a working-class household around Sacramento, California. She bounced between a few different high schools and ended up graduating a year early, at 17. For a short while after that she studied film, dance, and acting at Sacramento City College, working as a waitress on the side to save up for a move to Los Angeles.
Adult Film Career
She entered the adult industry in 2006 at 18, debuting in John Stagliano’s The Fashionistas 2. She briefly went by the name Anna Karina before settling on Sasha Grey, and it didn’t take long for mainstream outlets like Los Angeles magazine and Rolling Stone to start paying attention, which was unusual for someone so new to the industry.
Between 2007 and 2010 she picked up around 15 industry awards, including the AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year in 2008, and appeared in Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge, which set a record for most awards won by a single title at that year’s AVN Awards. She also became known for BDSM-themed work. For much of her career she ran her own booking agency, L.A. Factory Girls, representing herself instead of going through a studio. She retired from adult film in 2011, by which point she’d appeared in over 200 titles.
Mainstream Acting, Music & Writing
Her move into mainstream work started with the lead role in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience in 2009, and she later showed up as herself on HBO’s Entourage. She’s also put out the photo book Neü Sex and the erotic novel trilogy The Juliette Society. On the music side, she co-founded the industrial band aTelecine and has released solo work as well. More recently she’s hosted the show Grey Area and streamed on Twitch.
In 2023, she was inducted into both the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame, which says a lot about how much of a lasting mark she left on the industry.