Celebrity Sex Tape Timeline

Guide Note:

There is no definitive date for the start of the "celebrity sex tape" trend, though the recent revelations about a Jimi Hendrix Sex Tape would certainly be a contender, but it was the release of sex tapes from Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton that made the phenomenon of famous people recording themselves engaging in sex acts into a national obsession. The release of sex tapes has become so frequent, and such a rite of passage, some celebrities go ahead and take the initiative of releasing their own before bootleg copies even have a chance to hit the Internet. (As in the case of Dustin Diamond, better known as "Screech," who hoped that self-releasing a sex tape would boost his career prospects).

• Rob Lowe
  • In 1988, Lowe filmed himself engaging in sex with two women - one of them only 16 - while attending the 1988 Democratic Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. He pioneered the tactic of entering rehab after a sex tape revelation, which has only become more popular with time.

• Tonya Harding
  • The honeymoon video of Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly (her conspirator in all that Nancy Kerrigan unpleasantness) became so widespread and popular on the Internet, the figure skater and her husband went ahead and released it themselves through Penthouse home video. (Trivia: the "wedding gown" worn by Harding in the video is a Halloween costume, not her real gown.)

• Pamela Anderson
  • Pam's featured on two blockbuster sex tapes - one with ex-husband and Poison frontman Bret Michaels and the other with ex-husband and Motley Crue frontman Tommy Lee.

• Paris Hilton
  • 1 Night in Paris, recording a night of passion between Hilton and ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon, has become the most infamous of all sex tapes, and made the socialite one of the most infamous, obsessed-over celebrities in America. Though the original leaked segments of the video were all in night vision, the subsequent video release included full color footage. Hilton receives royalties for the DVD.

• Colin Farrell
  • A 13-minute video of the film star cavorting with Playboy Playmate Nicole Narian leaked on to the Internet in January of 2006, despite the actor's legal efforts to block distribution.

• Kim Kardashian
  • Paris Hilton's friend and fellow socialite made a sex tape featuring herself and rapper ex-boyfriend Ray J. The tape was going to be released by porn company Vivid Entertainment before Kardashian sued the company, eventually receiving a $5 million settlement. As it did with her blonde friend, the tape's release made Kardashian a considerably larger celebrity than she had been before, eventually landing her the reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians.