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Heidi Fleiss

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Heidi Fleiss
Fleiss in 2006
Born
Heidi Lynne Fleiss

(1965-12-30) December 30, 1965 (age 58)
Los Angeles, California, US
Occupations
TelevisionHeidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
Celebrity Big Brother
PartnerDennis Hof (2009–2018; his death)
Parent(s)Paul M. Fleiss
Elissa Ash

Heidi Lynne Fleiss (born December 30, 1965)[1] is an American former procurer. She ran an upscale prostitution ring based in Los Angeles and is often referred to as the "Hollywood Madam". Fleiss has also worked as a columnist and was a television personality regularly featured in the 1990s in American media.

Early life

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Fleiss was born and raised in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles in a Jewish family. Her father, Paul M. Fleiss (1933–2014), was a pediatrician and her mother, Elissa (née Ash), was an elementary school teacher. Their marriage ended in divorce.[2] She has two brothers: Jesse (born in 1977), and Jason (born in 1968), who drowned at age 41 in 2009;[3] and three sisters: Amy, Kim, and Shana.[4][5]

Prostitution and tax evasion

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At the age of 22, Fleiss began managing a prostitution ring under Madam Alex after meeting her in 1987 via Fleiss's film-director boyfriend Iván Nagy. Fleiss stated in 2002 that Alex and she had "a very intense relationship" and that Alex's view of Fleiss "was kind of like the daughter she loved and hated, so she was abusive and loving at the same time". In the same interview, Fleiss said she worked as a prostitute for a short period to learn all aspects of the trade. At the time she was learning to take over Alex's business there was a labor shortage, as most of Alex's prostitutes were approaching middle age and planning to retire from prostitution. Alex had Fleiss revitalize the business by recruiting a new batch of young, attractive women.[6]

By 1990, Fleiss severed her links with Madam Alex and began her own prostitution ring. Fleiss has stated that she made her first million dollars after only four months in the business as a madam and that on her slowest night, she made $10,000.[7] By 1991, Fleiss was so successful that she was able to reject women who wished to work for her. In June 1993, she was arrested on charges including attempted pandering.

Federal charges were filed in 1994, and Fleiss posted $1 million bail; the state trial began the same year and Fleiss was convicted. In May 1996, her state conviction was overturned and her appeal bond was set at $200,000.[8] She was convicted of federal charges of tax evasion in September 1996 and sentenced to seven years in prison.[9] Fleiss served 20 months at the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, California. She was released to a halfway house on November 19, 1998 and ordered to perform 370 hours of community service.[10]

Fleiss's ring reportedly had numerous prominent and wealthy clients. When questioned by British television presenter Davina McCall about revealing the names of her clients, she replied "It's not my style".[11]

Media appearances

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In 1995, Nick Broomfield made a documentary about her prostitution ring titled Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam. In 2004, a TV movie was produced titled Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss.

In 1996, after having been convicted of being a madam, and shortly before her incarceration for such offences, she was interviewed by Ruby Wax.[12]

Fleiss and reality-TV personality Victoria Sellers hosted and produced an instructional DVD titled Sex Tips with Heidi Fleiss and Victoria Sellers in 2001.[13]

In January 2010, Fleiss was the third housemate to enter the final Channel 4 series of Celebrity Big Brother in the UK;[14] she was the second to be evicted.[15] She did not return for the finale.

Business interests

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In 2005, Fleiss announced plans to open a brothel in Pahrump, Nevada named Heidi Fleiss's Stud Farm"[16][17] In 2007, Fleiss opened a laundromat named Dirty Laundry in Pahrump as her plans for the brothel had been put on hold due to a "slight complication".[18] In 2009, she said that she had abandoned her plans to open such a brothel because she did not want to "deal with all the nonsense in the sex business". Instead, she said she would focus on renewable energy, which she described as "perfect for Nevada" and "the wave of the future".[19] She opened a fashion boutique in Los Angeles after being released from prison.[20]

As of July 2018,[21] and since at least January 2017,[22] Fleiss owns and manages the Flying S Ranch Ultralight Flightpark, an ultralight private use airport in Pahrump, with FAA designation NV54.[21]

Personal life

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In 2003, Fleiss accused actor Tom Sizemore, her ex-boyfriend, of domestic violence. Sizemore was convicted of the charge.[23]

Fleiss eventually moved to Pahrump, Nevada,[24] a small town near Death Valley[25] while caring for 25 parrots.[26] Drew Pinsky, who treated Fleiss for substance abuse, performed brain scans on her that showed significant frontal lobe dysfunction, which Pinsky surmised was behind her inability to empathize with people, and her propensity for doing so with birds.[27]

In 2009, Fleiss was treated for substance abuse at the Pasadena Recovery Center, which was filmed for the third season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. One of her fellow patients was Sizemore, against whom her prior restraining order had lapsed. Both Fleiss and Sizemore consented to appear together on the show before filming began,[27] and their reunion, depicted in the third episode, was amicable,[28] though Fleiss subsequently expressed mixed feelings about his presence there.[29] During the filming of the program, Fleiss left the center, and she was involved in an accident with her SUV near her home in Nevada. She subsequently returned to rehab.[25]

After completing treatment for substance abuse, Fleiss briefly became engaged to Dennis Hof, owner of Nevada's Moonlite BunnyRanch.[30] Fleiss said in 1994 that she is a vegetarian.[11]

In August 2013, Nevada police found nearly 400 marijuana plants growing at her home in Pahrump, Nevada, but did not arrest Fleiss and submitted their report to the district attorney's office.[31]

In 2022, Fleiss announced that she would be moving to Missouri after someone shot one of her parrots with a pellet gun.[32]

In media

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In 2022, Fleiss was the subject of HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story, an iHeartRadio podcast produced, written and hosted by Molly Lambert.[33]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 The Doom Generation Liquor store clerk film debut
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead herself
2004 Alien 51 Evelda
2009 Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie Fluffy voice
2010 Celebrity Big Brother Herself contestant; placed 11th/12

Published works

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  • Pandering. Los Angeles: One Hour Entertainment. 2002. ISBN 9780972016407.
  • The Player's Handbook: The Ultimate Guide on Dating and Relationships. Los Angeles: One Hour Entertainment. 2004. ISBN 9780972016414.

References

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  1. ^ "Heidi Fleiss Biography: Criminal (1965–)". Biography.com. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "Heidi Fleiss ruff". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 2008.
  3. ^ "Jason Fleiss", OregonLive, March 3, 2023
  4. ^ Colker, David (July 19, 2014). "Dr. Paul Fleiss Dies at 80; Father of 'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  5. ^ Hubler, Shawn (April 9, 1995). "Did father know best?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  6. ^ "Life and Times of Heidi Fleiss". Larry King Live. (transcript) CNN. February 8, 2002. Archived from the original on August 6, 2003. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  7. ^ Labi, Nadya (September–October 2003). "In Defense Of Prostitution". Legal Affairs. Yale Law School. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  8. ^ "Conviction Quashed In Heidi Fleiss Case". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 30, 1996. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  9. ^ "Heidi Fleiss Given 37-Month Sentence". The New York Times. January 8, 1997. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  10. ^ "Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss Placed in Halfway House". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1998. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Smolowe, Jill (December 19, 1994). "A High Price to Pay". Time. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2007.
  12. ^ "Heidi Fleiss". IMDb.
  13. ^ Adams, Guy (October 5, 2006). "Celebrity children: The troubled world of Victoria Sellers". The Independent. London: Independent Print. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  14. ^ "Celebrity Big Brother 2010 contestants unveiled". BBC News Online. January 3, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  15. ^ Gripper, Ann (January 15, 2010). "Katia Ivanova and Heidi Fleiss evicted from Celebrity Big Brother". Daily Mirror. UK. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  16. ^ Knapp, George (May 26, 2005). "I-Team Exclusive Interview With Heidi Fleiss". KLAS-TV. Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
  17. ^ "Heidi Fleiss eager again to do what she does best". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. June 19, 2005. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
  18. ^ Lalama, Pat (July 2, 2007). "Heidi Fleiss Opens 'Dirty' Laundromat". Fox News Channel. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
  19. ^ "Heidi Fleiss gives up on plan for brothel for women]". Las Vegas Review-Journal. February 10, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  20. ^ Staff, WWD (December 17, 2003). "Heidi Fleiss' New Risqué Business". WWD. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  21. ^ a b "NV54 - Flying S Ranch Ultralight Flightpark". AirNav. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  22. ^ "NV54 - Flying S Ranch Ultralight Flightpark". AirNav. January 5, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  23. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (August 18, 2003). "Sizemore Convicted of Abusing Fleiss". People. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  24. ^ Knapp, George (May 24, 2005). "Famous Hollywood Madam Moves to Nevada". KLAS-TV. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  25. ^ a b "Video of Celebrity Rehab Episode 3.8 ("Acting Out") at VH1.com". Archived from the original on March 1, 2010.
  26. ^ "Las Vegas News | Breaking News & Headlines". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  27. ^ a b Rochlin, Margy (February 1, 2010). "Addicted to Rehab". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  28. ^ "Video of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Episode 3.4 ("New Patients") at VH1.com". Archived from the original on January 30, 2010.
  29. ^ "Video of Celebrity Rehab Episode 3.5 ("Loss") at VH1.com". Archived from the original on February 8, 2010.
  30. ^ "Fleiss to Marry Brothel Boss". ContactMusic.com. World Entertainment News Network. June 25, 2009. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  31. ^ Watts, Amanda (August 14, 2013). "Marijuana plants found at 'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss' Nevada home". CNN. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  32. ^ "'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss plans to leave Nevada after pet parrot shot". The Guardian. January 8, 2022.
  33. ^ Krueger, Katherine (April 11, 2022). "'Heidi World' Is the Deliciously Addictive Story of an All-American Hustler". Elle. Retrieved January 16, 2024.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heidi Fleiss.
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