Jesse Jane, born Cynthia Ann Howell on July 16, 1980, in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Oklahoma as a child and graduated from Moore High School in 1998. She began as a Hooters waitress and Hawaiian Tropic model before entering the adult industry in 2002 with an exclusive Digital Playground contract, starring in high-budget films like Pirates (2005) and Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge (2008). She retired in 2017 after nearly two decades, briefly returning in 2019 for Blacked.com. Highlights include hosting AVN Awards (2006, 2013), XBIZ Awards (2008, 2011), and co-hosting Night Calls on Playboy TV. Mainstream roles featured cameos in Starsky & Hutch (2004), Entourage, Bad Girls Club, and films like Middle Men (2009) and Bucky Larson (2011). Awards: AVN Hall of Fame (2013), XRCO Hall of Fame (2012), NightMoves Hall of Fame (2008), with 37 total wins including Best All-Girl Scene for Pirates (2006). She launched sex toys in 2010 and was Australian Penthouse Pet of the Month (2010). Personally, she had a son in 2000, married Rich Taylor (2005β2012), wed Richard H. Wilcox in 2019, and legally changed her name to Jesse Jane in 2011. She died around January 24, 2024, at age 43 in Moore, Oklahoma, from an accidental cocaine and fentanyl overdose with boyfriend Brett Hasenmueller.