| Taija Rae | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 (age 49–50) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Other names | Taija Rea, Tanja Rae, Taja Rea, Taija Ray |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| No. of adult films | 172 (per IAFD) |
Taija Rae (born in 1962) is the pseudonym of an American actress who was one of the most popular pornographic actresses of the late-1980s. She is sometimes credited as Tanja Rae, Taja Rea, or Taija Ray.
Contents |
Rae came out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and entered the adult film industry in 1983, after being discovered by a fledgling Philadelphia talent firm, Lynx Management. The first part of her stage name, pronounced Tayzh-a, came from an Asian cocktail waitress she worked with before porn. The last name, Rae, was a tribute to Fay Wray, actress in the movie King Kong. (Incidentally, both the first name Taija (tie-yah) and last name Rae are typical Finnish names.) After a test photo shoot in New York City, she quickly made the rounds of the New York adult industry and kept busy in East Coast erotic films and photo modeling, working with directors such as Henri Pachard, Chuck Vincent, and Dave Darby. Her first films were Dangerous Stuff and Scenes They Wouldn't Let Me Shoot, filmed the same weekend.[1][2][3]
In 1986, she changed her appearance by losing weight and dying her hair blonde, and began doing more work through a West Coast agent. With this, she reached the height of her success, when Hustler magazine referred to her as one of "porn's Big Four" (along with Traci Lords, Ginger Lynn, and Amber Lynn). She maintained her home in Pennsylvania, sometimes flying out to the West Coast to film scenes, until finally moving to Los Angeles, California in 1988.[1][2][3]
Rae left the adult film business in 1993.[2]
Cecil Howard directed Rae in Star Angel. While he shot reverse angles of her, in addition to two shots, single shots, and close ups, she turned to Howard's cameraman and said, "What's wrong with him? Does he think he's making a real movie?" The crew laughed.[4]