List of prostitutes and courtesans
This is a list of famous persons who have engaged in prostitution, as well as pimping and courtesan work.
Historical
- Polly Adler, New York Madam, 1920s -1940s
- Josie Arlington, Storyville, New Orleans Madam
- Aspasia, hetaera companion of Pericles
- Laura Bell, the "Queen of London whoredom"
- Theresa Berkeley, 19th-century dominatrix
- Calamity Jane, frontierswoman
- Alice Chambers, 19th century Dodge City prostitute
- Annie Chapman, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Veronica Franco, Venetian courtesan and poet
- Nell Gwynne, courtesan to Charles II of England
- Mary Jane Kelly, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Mata Hari (born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle)
- Clara Ward, Princesse de Caraman-Chimay, daughter of a Michigan lumberman who spent most of her life in Europe
- Nicole Leguay d'Oliva, French prostitute involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace who impersonated Marie Antoinette
- Carol Leigh, a.k.a. Scarlot Harlot, coined the term "sex worker" [1]
- Mary Ann Nichols, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Barbara Payton, American actress turned prostitute [2]
- Cora Pearl, 19th century French courtesan
- Phryne, Greek hetaera
- Madame du Barry, mistress to Louis XV of France.
- Rahab, Biblical prostitute who assisted the Hebrews in capturing Jericho (Joshua 2:1-7)
- Shady Sadie (Josephine Marcus) Courtesan who had an affair with Wyatt Earp
- Elizabeth Stride, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper
- Martha Tabram, a possible victim of Jack the Ripper
- Valérie Tasso, French author
- Thaïs, Greek hetaera who lived during the time of Alexander the Great
- Theodora, Empress of Byzantium
- Libby Thompson, "Squirrel Tooth Alice," madam of a brothel in Sweetwater, Texas
- Lulu White, Storyville, New Orleans Madam
- Su Xiaoxiao, Chinese courtesan of 5th century
In fiction and literature
- Belle, Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O'Neill
- Belle Watling, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Candy, in Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction by Luke Davies
- Candy, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
- Chandramukhi, Devdas
- Fanny Hill, Fanny Hill, by John Cleland
- Fantine, Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
- Lady Sally, a.k.a. Callahan's Lady
- Marguerite Gautier, from Alexandre Dumas, fils' work La Dame aux camélias, inspired by real life Marie Duplessis, 19th century courtesan.
- Inara Serra, Firefly by Joss Whedon
- Juliette, in the Marquis de Sade's Juliette
- Lozana, Portrait of Lozana by Francisco Delicado
- Moll Flanders, The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
- Molly Malone, Irish urban legend
- Sonya Marmeladova, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Nana, Nana, by Emile Zola
- Nancy, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- Tra La La, Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby
- Mrs. Rosie Palm, brothel owner and president of the Guild of "Seamstresses" in various Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett
- Phedre no Delauny of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel novels.
- Pie 'Oh' Pah, from Imajica by Clive Barker
- Romulus, central character in The Romanian: Story of an Obsession by Bruce Benderson
- Elisabeth Rouset, Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant
- Satine, in Moulin Rouge! by Baz Luhrmann, a story based on the Paris nightclub of the same name.
- Séverine Serizy, in the 1928 novel Belle de Jour and the 1967 film based on it
- Tristessa, Tristessa by Jack Kerouac
- Talanta, La Talanta by Pietro Aretino
- Vasantsenaa, a Nagarvadhu, or wealthy courtesan, in Śudraka's Sanskrit play, Mṛcchakatika.
- Violetta, main character from the opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, is also inspired by Alexandre Dumas' La Dame aux camélias. "La Traviata" means "the reprobate".
- Vivian Ward, central character in Pretty Woman
- Suzie Wong, from The World of Suzie Wong
- Yumi Komagata, Rurouni Kenshin, by Nobuhiro Watsuki
- Zaza, Zaza by Pierre Berton and Charles Simon
Symbolic or allegorical prostitutes
Mythical prostitutes
- Agatha - English prostitute, mother of Mother Shipton
- Basileia (Greek) In Pandemos, this goddess was mainly a goddess to prostitutes or courtesans.
- Bebhinn (British isles) Goddess of Pleasure
- Belili (Sumer, Babylon, Assyrian, Philistine, Canaanites) sacred prostitution
- The daughters in the Saint Nicolas legend (Asia Minor) - They were sold to a brothel by their father.
- Naamah - (Hebrew) an angel of prostitution, one of the succubus mates of the demon Samael in Zoharistic Qabalah
- Shamhat (Sumer/Babylon)
- Xochiquetzal (Aztec) goddess of prostitutes, pregnant women, dancing
- Alexandra Dé Broussehan (Celtic) Human turned spirit of prostitution, caused a war between the Callahan Clan and Lawlor Clan. Often associated with Korrigan whose worship involved Sacred Prostitution [3]
Notes
- ^ Welcome to the World of Scarlot Harlot, her own web site, accessed 28 August 2006; Carol Leigh, Unrepentant Whore: Collected Works Of Scarlot Harlot, Last Gasp, 2004.
- ^ O'Dowd, John. "Hollywood Bad Girl Barbara Payton". http://www.noirfilm.com/BC_John_O%27Dowd.htm.
- ^ Celtic Myths and Legends, By Charles Squire
See also