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NYU Student Pays Tuition With Porn
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 12, 2009
Modified Oct 12, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 12, 2009
Modified Oct 12, 2009
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Judging by her photo in the Daily News, grad student Lorelei Lee looks like any other woman at NYU. But what sets her apart is her unorthodox way of paying for the university's sky-high tuition, by performing in porn movies. Lee, who takes her name from Marilyn Monroe's character in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, has been working in the adult entertainment industry since she was 19, and has 200 films under her, um, belt. She's also a graduate from San Francisco State University, and is now working on her Master's in Fine Arts at NYU. But what do her classmates think about her XXX-tra curricular activities?
"It's wonderful," Ayesha Attah, 25, tells the News. "Whatever experience you can draw on, you should. Hers is amazing." And since Lee earns upwards of $1,000 per production day, maybe she won't be financially ruined by the time NYU's done with her. But regardless of her fancy degree, she plans to stick with the porn as long as she can, even after graduation: "I still do get something out of my work in porn. I think I'm good at it." At press time, it was not possible to corroborate Lee's self-assessment of her work.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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