Tera Patrick

Tera Patrick (born Linda Ann Hopkins; July 25, 1976) is a former American pornographic actress and model.

Tera Patrick in 2010

Quotes

• When I run into couples who recognize me, it’s usually the women who are the most friendly. Once, at a Greek restaurant in New York City, a huge family was seated at a table nearby. Late in the evening, the grandmother stood up and said, ‘Tera, I love you! I watch you all night long!’ Her daughter almost had a heart attack out of embarrassment. The grandma replied, ‘Honey, I may be old, but I’m not dead yet!’
  • On being recognized [1]

• I was really interested in being a model when I was a little girl. I loved all the pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. I loved watching old movies -- I was really into Bettie Page, she was a big role model to me. I've always looked up to models like Elaine Irwin and Stephanie Seymour. I've always loved modeling.
  • On her interest in modeling [2]

• It's really funny because we have this rule that the day before we shoot a movie, we don't have sex at all. You've got to be prepared and you have to have all your energy. But when we come home, we are usually pretty chill. We relax a little bit, we eat, he catches up on e-mail, I catch up on Law & Order, and then we hop into bed together. Then he is all over me again, he's like 'C'mon, let's do it' and I'm like 'Okay.' Especially after a girl-on-girl scene, he really gets riled up!
  • On her preparations for having sex with her husband on camera [3]

• I mean we live in a society full of double standards and hypocritical paradox. I don't understand why the ultra conservatives in America have a problem with a porn star being portrayed in a videogame. I mean, there is no nudity, and the game will be rated accordingly. I mean kids play games where senseless killing is ok (like Grand Theft Auto, or even BYW2), and no one questions people jumping off the roof and slamming someone's face into an abandoned car, or shooting little old ladies! No one ever need kill anyone in real life, yet sex is something that everyone, except maybe Dick Cheney, will experience as a positive thing in their lifetime! People need to relax! I want to design and star in a real adult videogame! Let people get their sexual frustrations out!
  • On her views of sex, violence, and video games [4]

Interview with Roger T. Pipe, July 2000

• I treat the business like a business because I have a business mind. I really enjoy my work and my scenes and I think that's part of the reason why I haven't gotten burned out. I've been able to pick and choose to a great extent and that helps. Since I do have a nursing career to fall back on, I am not really forced to be in the business. I stay because I truly enjoy the work.
  • On what it's like to be in her line of business

• I had always wanted to be in an adult movie. It turned me on to think I would be having sex and a lot of men would be watching me.
  • To be in an adult movie

• I was always very outgoing. I have always loved to be in front of the camera, very talkative, very extraverted, like I am now. My little brother is seven and he is exactly the same. People always told me I should be an actress. I still love working in front of the camera, I love taking photographs and I prefer modeling to acting. Acting is something you have to learn over years. I have a background in fashion and still love doing fashion photography. I also love doing nudes. They are an extension of fashion to me. You can see in my pictures that I love to work the camera. That shows in your face.
  • On what she was like growing up

• I’m not saying I don’t like women, I just don’t like having hard-core sex with them. I’ve done lots of soft-core stuff with women and I’m fine. But no, you won’t see Janine strapping it on and doing me.
  • On the question of working with other women

• I’ve noticed that the majority of my fans respect me as a woman. I’m the girl who came along that a lot of women were waiting for. They don’t have to be intimidated by me. They can relate to me because I’m not just some bimbo. I’m not implying that the majority of the women in the business are, I just think they see in me a woman who treats the business like a business yet can act slutty. A lot of the girls don’t respect their fans. I’ve had so many people say thank you for taking the extra time to talk to me. This is why I got into entertainment. I thrive on being in front of the camera and I love to give something to people. I have couples come up and say ‘we’re like you, we’re educated and have jobs, but we are into wild kinky sex.’ A lot of men will show my movies to their girlfriends because they think their girlfriends are going to like me because I’m not intimidating. I’m proud to be setting a good standard for this business.
  • On her natural breasts

• I’m tall, I have real boobs, I’m Asian and I have dark hair.
  • On what sets her apart from others in the industry

• I look for a man who is very confident. I like intelligent and am drawn to men with a strong science background. I think the only conventionally handsome guy I have ever been attracted to was Steve McQueen, but that was just his tough guy thing. I love European guys and I LOVE Firemen! I love a guy who can do crazy things with me and laugh, and did I mention that I love Firemen.
  • On what she looks for in a man

• Some guys think I'm a racist because I never did a scene with a black or Asian guy ... I just laugh.
  • On accusations of being a racist

• I have worked without them in the past, but I do advocate condom use....I think it’s a matter of personal choice. The industry has set some high standards as far as the testing. Beyond that, it’s up to the performers to keep themselves healthy. I tell the girls who I talk to, if you’re going to protect yourself with a guy on a one night stand, why not protect yourself with a guy you’re going to work with who you’ve known for five minutes?
  • On the usage of condoms

• That’s really hard. I am who I am. I don’t really change on camera and I think that’s what a lot of my fans respect about me. I don’t see anything wrong with a beautiful, intelligent girl being sexual and nasty. I can do a rough hard-core sex scene, then do a lecture on DNA. That’s just who I am.
  • On separating her work from her personal life

• One of my favorite sex scenes was with TT Boy. He throws me up on a stairwell and rapes me. I had two orgasms which was pretty intense. Plus we were outside in the heat so that kind of added more to it, and there were people watching. That really was a turn on.
  • On her favorite sex scene

• Some girlfriends of mine wanted to pose for Playboy and they asked me to send my pictures in too. I didn't think anything of it -- I was just like, 'Sure, whatever.' I didn't think they would call me back the next day. They were like, 'You have an exotic look and we are interested in shooting you.' I can't explain it but it must have been in the cards or something. I never did pursue anything mainstream. I went and posed for Playboy, then a week later I ended up meeting Suze Randall who shot me for Penthouse and Hustler -- it was just a whirlwind from there. I ended up only being published in Playboy in a foreign edition because it came out in Penthouse at the same time. I think that had I only been published in Playboy, I might have gone down another road.
  • On how she started out in her profession

• It's true, that's how your mind works. I can tell you that honestly, because I own an agency and I talk to girls all day and all night about what they want to do, and they are like, "I want to go into mainstream" and I tell them, "You are at the wrong agency; you are not going to get into mainstream through porn -- it's just not how it works." I think girls like Jenna Jameson and I have crossed over and made it, but mainstream is still kind of shaky once you've been in adult. After doing those magazines I started doing movies and it wasn't a big leap, like you said." do not play a gain what I am doing.
  • On her decision to move from Penthouse to film