Jessica Hahn

Jessica Hahn (born July 7, 1959) is an American model and actress. She frequently appeared on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.

Jessica Hahn
Born	(1959-07-07) July 7, 1959 (age 65) Massapequa, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, model
Years active	1987–1996
Spouse	Frank Lloyd (2008–2023; divorced)
Partner	Ron Leavitt (1991–2008; his death)
Children	2

Jim Bakker scandal

Hahn first came to public attention in 1987 after the disclosure that televangelist Jim Bakker had paid for her silence in response to an allegation against him of rape, which led to Bakker's announcement that he was stepping down as head of PTL Satellite Network and Heritage USA. According to Hahn, on the afternoon of December 6, 1980, when she was a 21-year-old church secretary, she was drugged and raped by Bakker and another preacher, John Wesley Fletcher.^[1] Hahn was given a $279,000 (equivalent to $748,250 in 2023) pay-off for her silence, which was paid with PTL's funds to Hahn through Bakker associate Roe Messner.^[1] Bakker, who made all of the financial decisions for the PTL organization, allegedly kept two sets of books to conceal the accounting irregularities. Reporters from The Charlotte Observer, led by Charles Shepard, investigated and published a series of articles regarding the PTL organization's finances.^[2] This precipitated Bakker's resignation and the publication of Hahn's claims. In his 1997 book, I Was Wrong, Bakker disputed Hahn's account, claiming that he was "set up" and that the sex was consensual.^[3]

Acting and modeling career

After the public revelation of the Bakker scandal, Hahn posed nude for Playboy (November 1987, December 1987 and September 1988)^[4] and videos appeared in several television shows, including Married... with Children. She was also known for her frequent appearances on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.

Personal life

Hahn was born in Massapequa, New York, and graduated from Massapequa High School.^[5] She had a relationship with comedian Sam Kinison and appeared in his music video for "Wild Thing" in 1988. In 1991, she began a relationship with the co-creator of Married... with Children, Ron Leavitt, which continued until his death in 2008.^[6][7]

In December 2017, Hahn disclosed that she is married to Frank Lloyd (a film stuntman), is no longer active in show business, and lives on a ranch north of Los Angeles. In July 2023 People magazine reported that Hahn's husband Frank Lloyd had filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences and stating the couple had been separated since 2018.^[8]

Filmography

• "Wild Thing" music video by Sam Kinison (1988)
• "Critical Mass" music video by Nuclear Assault (1989)
• Married... with Children as Ricki (1 episode, 1991)
• Bikini Summer II (1992) as Marilyn
• Dream On as Reporter 1 (1 episode, 1992)
• Blossom as Girl #1 (1 episode, 1992)
• "Runnin'" music video by Brittania, directed by Bryan Michael Stoller (1994)
• Amanda and the Alien (1995) (TV) as TV Host
• Unhappily Ever After as Miss Taylor (3 episodes, 1995)
• Hollywood: The Movie (1996) (V) as Esther

References

1. "Larry King Live Interview with Jessica Hahn (rush transcript)". CNN. July 14, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
2. Ostling, Richard N. (August 3, 1987). "Enterprising Evangelism". Time. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
3. Jim Bakker (1997). I Was Wrong: The Untold Story of the Shocking Journey from PTL Power to Prison and Beyond. Thomas Nelson. p. 512. ISBN 978-0-7852-7136-9.
4. List of people in Playboy 1980–89#1987
5. Ketcham, Diane (February 12, 1995). "ABOUT LONG ISLAND; At the Repository of High School Memories". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2017. Copies of The Sachem, as the Massapequa book is called, are scattered throughout the collection. A long-haired Jerry Seinfeld pops out of the pages of 1972. In '74, Mr. Buttafuoco and his wife graduated. There is just one comment under Mr. Buttafuoco's picture. It says, 'I love Mary Jo.' Other graduates of the Massapequa schools include the Baldwin brothers, Alexander, '76, class president; Dan, '79; Billy, '81, and Stephen, '84. In Ms. Hahn's Class of '77 were also Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Tim Van Patten, an actor and Brian Baldinger, a professional football player.
6. "Married with Children episode 'So This Is How Sinatra Felt (1991)' trivia". IMDb. 1991. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
7. "So why did the LA Times leave Jessica Hahn out of Ron Leavitt's obituary?". Tabloid Baby. February 12, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
8. "Husband of Jessica Hahn, Secretary in Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Scandal, Files for Divorce".

Further reading

• Richard N. Ostling (April 6, 1987). "TV's Unholy Row: A sex-and-money scandal tarnishes electronic evangelism". Time. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007.
• "Magazine Buys Story From Jessica Hahn". The New York Times. July 14, 1987.
• Andrew L. Yarrow (September 28, 1987). "Celebrities of Summer Are Cashing In". The New York Times.
• "Church Chat, Season 13: Episode 6, Saturday Night Live transcript". December 5, 1987.
• "Judge Orders Ex-PTL Secretary To Repay Hush Money to Ministry". The New York Times. July 21, 1988.
• "Transcript of interview with Larry King". CNN. July 14, 2005.

External links

• Jessica Hahn at IMDb