One of the all-time greats of porn's Golden Age, AVN Hall of Famer Kelly Nichols has won awards for her acting chops as well as her smoldering sexuality. Her notable X-rated credits include Chuck Vincent's Roommates, which appeared on the cover of AVN's first issue in 1982,and In Love, which won her a Best Actress award from the Adult Film Association of America the following year.

Before entering the X-rated industry at the tail-end of the '70s, Nichols body-doubled for Jessica Lange in the Dino de Laurentiis remake of King Kong and played the nail-gun victim in a notorious scene from the slasher classic The Toolbox Murders. She was married to horror novelist John Skipp, who scripted VCA's Misty Beethoven musical, and later to director Wesley Emerson (Wadd).

Nichols has remained in the biz since her retirement from performing in the '90s, working behind the scenes as a makeup artist. She has played BDSM and non-sex roles for VCA and other studios on occasion, and made a return after 25 years to hardcore boy/girl with Tom Byron in his Seasoned Players 8.