August Ames, a porn actress who made more than 270 films during a four-year career, was found dead on Tuesday. She was 23.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office said the cause of death was asphyxia and ruled it suicide, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
She is survived by her husband, porn director Kevin Moore. He gave this statement to AVN.com:
“She was the kindest person I ever knew and she meant the world to me,” Moore said. “Please leave this as a private family matter in this difficult time.”
Born Mercedes Grabowski in Nova Scotia, Ames entered the porn industry in 2013. During a prolific career, she was nominated for Best New Starlet at the 2015 AVN Awards. She also was nominated for Female Performer of the Year in 2016, 2017 and, for the 2018 awards in Las Vegas in January, according to the New York Daily News.
Behind the scenes, Ames reportedly struggled with bipolar depression and multiple personality disorder ― problems she discussed three months ago in a podcast with porn director Holly Randall.
“Some days I’ll be fine and if I’m not doing anything, I’ll get these awful flashbacks of my childhood and I get very depressed and I can’t get out of bed and cancel my scenes for like a week or two,” Ames said.
Ames’ death came two days after she sparked an uproar on Twitter with a tweet about why she doesn’t like to work with male performers who also do gay porn.
Ames then attempted to defend her comment.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also text HELLO to 741-741 for free, 24-hour support from the Crisis Text Line. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.
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