Joanna Angel, born Joanna Mostov in 1980 in New York City, United States, is a pioneering American pornographic actress, director, writer, and producer. Raised in River Edge, New Jersey, by an Orthodox Jewish family—her mother from Israel and father American—she attended River Dell Regional High School, graduating in 1998. She later obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English literature with a minor in Film Studies from Rutgers University. Drawing inspiration from Nina Hartley, Angel founded BurningAngel.com in 2002, revolutionizing the industry with alt-porn featuring tattooed, punk-rock performers. She has starred in hundreds of films, directed innovative works like the zombie-themed Re-Penetrator (2005), and earned prestigious awards including AVN Best Porn Star Website (2011-2016), Inked Hall of Fame (2015), and AVN Hall of Fame (2016). In her personal life, she dated James Deen from 2005 to 2011 and married fellow performer Aaron 'Small Hands' Thompson in 2016. Angel continues to influence adult entertainment with her unique aesthetic and entrepreneurial spirit.
