Legendary big boobs 1980s and 1990s porn goddess Christy Canyon is the undisputed comeback queen of the adult biz, having made a string of retirements and high profile returns to hardcore movie stardom during her two decades at the top. Her mercurial Gemini temperament gets part of the blame for her rollercoaster career, the men in her life the rest. Christy describes herself as having always been a little flaky. Born in Pasadena, California, on 17 June 1966, of Italian-American and Armenian-American background, she grew up a typical Valley Girl.

"I loved teasing the boys and shopping at the malls," she says. In second grade, she got sent to the principal's office for coercing the girls in her class to draw Playboy style magazines to sell to the boys. She was eventually kicked out of Providence High School before graduating from North Hollywood High. Fresh out of high school, she was spotted strolling down Sunset Boulevard by porn actor Greg Rome and asked if she'd ever modelled. Christy says she was kind of flattered. He gave her a photographer's card for 'figure modelling', but she didn't take up the offer, even after she and Rome ended up dating. Several months later, working as a hostess at a restaurant at night and selling cheap clothes by day, Christy found herself broke.

"I was literally down to my last five bucks and my car insurance was due, my rent was due, I mean everything was due," Christy recalls. She dug out the photographer's card Greg Rome had given her from some drawer she had left it in, made the call and the rest, as they say, is history. So began the career of one of the biggest adult movie stars of the 80s and 90s. For someone who would be inducted into both the XRCO and AVN Halls of Fame, and be rated in 1999 among AVN's top twenty-five adult stars of all time, it seems funny to hear Christy recall: "When I started, I didn't know how to give a guy head. Ron Jeremy had to teach me. He'd hold my head down and say, 'No, Christy, you have to do it longer than ten seconds,".

She first quit porn in 1985, just nine months after her debut, at the request of her then boyfriend. Christy worked as a receptionist and bookkeeper for her father before returning in 1989. After quitting again in 1993, she made yet another major comeback to become one of the first Vivid Girls in 1995. "When I burn out on it, I quit because I never want it to become like a job. In the meantime, I dance," Christy explains. In 2003, she wrote her autobiography Lights, Camera, Sex! which candidly told much about her career and personal life, including relationships with high profile Hollywood directors John Frankenheimer and Adam Rifkin, not to mention actor Robin Williams.

These days Christy concentrates on looking after her personal website and working as a host for Playboy Radio. She still commands thousands of devoted fans worldwide, among them Eighties brit band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, who immortalised her in their song Heaven Is, which merrily chirps, in wishful thinking for us all: 'Heaven is Christy Canyon falling in love with me'. The buxom 36DD-24-36 legend appeared under numerous aliases over the years. They include Cristy Canyon, Missy, Tara White, Sara Wine, Tara Wine, Linda Daniel and DeeDee.