Serena (born February 20, 1951) is an American former pornographic actress.
She was married to porn actor Jamie Gillis.
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A teenage runaway, Serena was discovered by a make-up artist. She began by modelling for men's magazines, then moved on to film.[3] She starred in over 110 pornographic films between 1975 and 1988, including Sweet Cakes (1976), Fantasm (1976), Fantasm Comes Again (1977), Sensual Encounters of Every Kind (1978), Honky Tonk Nights (1978), Dracula Sucks (aka Lust At First Bite) (1978), Summertime Blue (1979), Pleasure Palace (1979), Small Town Girls (1979) and Insatiable (1980).
Serena also made Accouplements pour voyeurs (1979), Le Droit de cuissage (1979) and Les Nymphomanes (shot 1979, released 1980) in France, and Glühende Haut (1979) and assorted loops in Germany.
Playboy magazine published an interview with Serena in 1978, together with other "top adult performers". In 1976, she appeared in the film Body of My Enemy, as Frida de Düsseldorf, an amazing stripper. In 1979, she appeared in the film Hardcore in an uncredited role. She has dated Warren Beatty.[4]
She is currently going by the name Serena Czarnecki, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area working as a painter, writer, poet, and textile artist.[3][2]
Serena was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame as a "film pioneer".[5]
- Interviews
- Hustler (USA) July 1983, by: Jamie Gillis & Lisa DeLeeuw, "Are Porn Stars Really Good in Bed?"
- High Society (USA) March 1983, "What Ever Happened to Serena?"
- Adult Cinema Review (USA) January 1983, Vol. 2, Iss. 7, pg. 38+40+42+44-46+48+86-88, by: Sindi Sorrell, "Serena's Scrapbook: Staying *Saucy in Sausalito--The retired Queen of Kink regales our editor with lustful tales of yore."
- Adult FYI - Conversations with Serena (USA) 1/9/2007 [3]
- Grindhouse Panel Cinema Wasteland April 2014 [6]
- Rialto Reports - Serena: Hippie, Kinky, Teenage Cruiser – Podcast 39 20th July 2014 [7]
- Art Decades April 2015 Issue 3 [8]
- Articles
- Metasex (USA) 2001, Vol. 1, Iss. 4, pg. 54–55, by: Michelle Clifford, "The Dynamic Duo, Serena and Jamie Gillis"
- Cinema-X Review (USA) March 1981, Vol. 2, Iss. 3, pg. 24–26, by: Serena, "Serena Shares Serena"
- Pictorial
- High Society (USA) March 1991, "Porn Star Hall of Fame"
- High Society (USA) May 1986
- The Very Best of High Society (USA) 1986, Vol. 1, Iss. 4, pg. 81–86, "Serena: Brush Strokes"
- Eros Sex Stars (USA) February 1985, Vol. 1, Iss. 5, pg. 23–29, by: The POM Agency, "Her Highness Serena"
- Mr. February (USA) February 1984
- Expose! (USA) September 1983, Vol. 3, Iss. 7, pg. 46–53, by: n/a, "Serena"
- Erotic Film Guide (USA) July 1983, Vol. 1, Iss. 7, pg. 20–25, by: Sneed Hearn, "Serena & Jamie: together again"
- Eros (USA) May 1983
- High Society (USA) April 1983, by: Bruce Kennedy
- Mr. April (USA) April 1983
- High Society (USA) March 1983, by: Don Lau, "What Ever Happened to Serena?"
- Adult Cinema Review (USA) January 1983, Vol. 2, Iss. 7, pg. 38–51, "Serena's Scrapbook: Staying Saucy in Sausalito..."
- Harvey (USA) December 1981
- Velvet Talks (USA) August 1981
- Eros (USA) May 1981
- Playboy (USA) November 1980, Vol. 27, Iss. 11, pg. 180, by: Arthur Knight, "Sex In Cinema 1980"
- Club (USA) August 1980, by: Serge Jacques
- Cinema-X Review (USA) April 1980, Vol. 1, Iss. 4, pg. 49–53, by: Ted Snyder, "Serena"
- Playboy (USA) November 1979, Vol. 26, Iss. 11, pg. 180, by: Arthur Knight, "Sex In Cinema 1979"
- Playboy (USA) December 1978, Vol. 25, Iss. 12, pg. 245, by: Jim Harwood, "Sex Stars Of 1978"
- Mr. November (USA) November 1978
- Playboy (USA) July 1977, Vol. 24, Iss. 7, pg. 136, "The New Girls Of Porn"
- Pix (USA) June 1975, Vol. 1, Iss. 6
- Serena in 1976: Super Woman (USA) 1976 [9]
- The Flat on Polk Street: Serena, Jamie, and Lysa in Shangri-La (USA) 1979 [10]
- Lesllie Bovee and Serena at the Melody Burlesk: The Polaroids (USA) 1978 or later [11]
- Magazine cover photo
- Erotic Film Guide (USA) July 1983, Vol. 1, Iss. 7
- Eros (USA) May 1983
- Cinema-X Review (USA) April 1980, Vol. 1, Iss. 4
- Pix (USA) June 1975, Vol. 1, Iss. 6
- Beaver Fever (USA) 1975
- Bibliography
- Bright Lights, Lonely Nights - The Memories of Serena, Porn Star Pioneer of the 1970s (USA) 2014
- Backstage Girls (USA) 2018
- Poems From Mt. Tam (USA) 2019
- Polk Street (USA) 2021
- Stars In Our Eyes: An Unauthorized Biography (USA) 2021
- Songs Of Silence (USA) 2022
Legs McNeil; Jennifer Osborne; Peter Pavia (2009). The Other Hollywood. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-195549-5.
