Annie Sprinkle

Annie Sprinkle was born Ellen F. Steinberg on July 23, 1954, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A self-described "nice Jewish girl" whose parents were academics, she grew up in the greater Los Angeles area, and was a bashful girl well into her teens. Of her youth, Annie has said, "I was not a sexual child. I was very shy and inhibited. It wasn't until I lost my virginity at the age of 17 that I even became interested in sex." However, once she surrendered her maidenhead, sex was her lifelong concern, becoming a means of expression, then an art form, and finally a venue for exploring spirituality, First, however, it was a living.