Candida Royalle lived a life full of passion and purpose.

Candida Vadala aka Candida Royalle lived from October 15, 1950 – September 7, 2015

Candida
Candida

One year after her death, Candida’s work went to Harvard.

Candida was a pioneer of erotic cinema.  She started Femme Productions and Femme chocolat.

Femme productions was about “erotic cinema” and women focused.  The pornography wasn’t just for men.  Her movies put a woman’s voice to adult movies which were generally very male focused.   These films gave men something they could enjoy with their female partners because Femme movies are “sensually explicit”.

Femme Productions
Femme Productions

They’re less graphic and don’t include the famous “money shot”.

The Life and Career of Candida Royalle

Candida Royalle is a well-respected actor in the adult industry. In a business where the reputation of a person isn’t really something that gets recognition, Candida made a name for herself through her hard work and dedication. While some people just remember her from her days as an active pornstar, we’re going to be talking about her transition from a performer to an adult star to a business owner and eventually to a sought-after speaker. Let’s dive into the life and career of the legend, Candida Royalle.

Personal Life

Candida Royalle, or Candice Marion Vadala was born in New York on October 15th, 1950. Candice didn’t plan to enter the adult industry, as a matter of fact, she was trained in music, dance and art. She started her education at the High School of Art and Design and Parson’s School of Design. She even enrolled in the City University of New York to pursue her career in this field.

In the ’80s, Candice was married to a producer Per Sjostedt. They got divorced later on and she announced in 2006 that she was engaged to someone. She had no children.

Candida died only a few years ago on September 7, 2015. It was ovarian cancer that took her in Mattituck, New York at the age of 64.

The Start

Candice was very keen on creating a name for herself through her musical and art career. She was regularly performing at local jazz clubs and bars, but she was struggling and was barely able to stay on her own two feet. She thought she was just starting her career small and it would soon pick up and take her to places she never even dreamed of. However, she quickly found out that the music industry held nothing for her and decided to switch paths.

Early days
Early days

A friend recommended her to pursue modeling. She tried to follow that career direction, but after talking to a few show producers, she found her way to the adult industry. At first, she found the profession despicable. “I’d never even seen one (porn video). Insulted, I stormed right out”.

But, her boyfriend actually tried participating in porn and was cast in the lead role of a movie named Cry for Cindy. She went to meet him on set and was shocked by the professionalism on the set. She didn’t know that the people there would have this idea about sex and would consider it just like any other job. Once Candida was reassured that there aren’t any life-threatening diseases involved, she signed up.

Moving On

Candida started shooting porn movies in 1975. She starred in about 25 movies throughout her whole career. She even wrote most of them herself. Her last movie was filmed in 1980 called Blue Magic. It might’ve been the end of a career, but it was the start of a much more illustrious one.

candida_royalle
Candida Royalle

Candida started writing for adult magazines for the next decade and in 1984, she would make her return to the porn industry. But, this time, she would be on the other side of the camera. She started her own company by the name of Femme Productions. Femme Productions wasn’t like any other business of its time. The 70s and the 80s was called the golden era for porn. And, at that time, most of the movies being made really objectified women and didn’t really treat them as a human being. And, Candice broke that tradition.

Realistic Pornography

When she was still working as a performer in the industry, she would often question the ethics and morals of her profession. Eventually, she became more comfortable with her work and discovered that porn isn’t always bad for society. It could be entertaining and even inspiring at times. But, there was a negative aspect of the adult film industry and she set out to rectify that error.

As said, the porn industry was objectifying women and creating porn that was only suitable for men. During that era, women were starting to feel more comfortable expressing their sexual desires, and Candice began the evolution of the porn industry and started creating films for women and couples alike. She stated that she wanted to stop the depiction of sex in a graphic and grotesque way. She created porn that was friendlier and the situations in her movies were more common in everyday lives. She said that she absolutely despised the sort of movies where the male actor ejaculates on the woman’s face and feels like it is a disrespectful act for women all over the world. The final cumshot is still a thing these days, but such things like BDSM on women and even torturing women on camera wouldn’t be common if we had another Candice. Feminism wasn’t a term back then, but if there was a feminist that wanted women to be in a better condition, it was Candida.  Hence, feminist porn was born.

Appealing to Women and Couples

This was a question that was often asked. “What makes your porn so different from every other movie out there?” Candice would reply that the reason women and couples feel comfortable watching films from Femme Productions is because they’re not willing to watch women considered sluts. A husband wouldn’t like to spice up his sex life by bringing home a CD that treats women like garbage. He would much rather bring something from Femme that portrays actual scenarios. We all know how weird the scripts are. Just remember, a woman does not have sex with you if she’s at your house delivering pizza. While such situations appeal to young adults, the more matured audience would like something more reality-oriented. And, that is what Candida was creating.

Public Speakers

More photos

Have you ever seen a pornstar, or even a former pornstar, giving lectures at universities and dignified institutes? This is what set Candice apart from literally every person in porn back then. This is why we wrote the generous introduction that we did. She has spoken at venues like the Smithsonian Institute, the American Psychiatric Association’s national conference and the World Congress on Sexology. A few of her other conferences were at institutes like Princeton, Columbia, Wellesley College and her alma mater, the New York University. All of this was because of what the message in her movies was. She was the first and the only erotic filmmaker to be invited as a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists.

As An Author

After all of the knowledge she gained during her time as a performer and director of adult movies, it was only fitting that she’d put all that information on pen and paper. Her book was named How to Tell a Naked Man What To Do and it was purely written for married or committed women that were having trouble expressing their sexual needs in front of their partners. Candida poured every ounce of her 30 years in the entertainment industry in this book and teaches the right way for women to ignite their sexual relationships and fulfill their fantasies. This book was written and published in October 2004. The book was published in the United States by Simon and Schuster / Fireside and in the United Kingdom by Platkus Press. The paperback was published two years later in February 2006. The book is currently available on Amazon.

How to tell a naked man what to do
How to tell a naked man what to do
Cover
Cover

The Next Decade

There’s no notable achievement of Candida in the next decade but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t doing anything. It was reported that she was spending the majority of her time mentoring and guiding young women that were about to enter the field of pornography. She is one of the few people in the world that have stared at the camera from both ends and her experience in unlike anyone else’s. Regardless of what part of the porn industry women were about to enter, they only came to one woman for advice – Candida Royalle.

More happy snaps
More happy snaps

The Documentary

In 2014, a documentary was started on the life of Candida named While You Were Gone: The Untold Story of Candida Royalle. This documentary wasn’t about her career, it was about her personal life. What most folks don’t know about Candice is that her mother left her when she was only 18 months old. Royalle made quite an effort to find her birth mother but her efforts were in vain. She didn’t even have an idea whether her mother was dead or alive. These events were recorded in the documentary that she was producing herself. However, Candida passed away during the production of the documentary. Though, it was speculated that the shooting was completed and all the required footage was already filmed. The documentary may be released in the near future, but as of yet, there isn’t anything confirmed.

The filmography

Female Fantasies
Female Fantasies

Femme Productions

  • Female Fantasies
  • Femme
  • Urban Heat
  • Christine’s Secret
  • Three Daughters
  • Revelations
  • A Taste of Ambrosia
  • Rites of Passion
  • Sensual Escape
  • Female Fantasies
  • Feeling It!
  • One Size Fits All
  • Bridal Shower
  • Stud Hunters
  • Under the Covers
  • My Surrender
  • The Gift
  • Eyes of Desire
  • Eyes of Desire 2

Femme Chocolat

Femme Chocolat features a more ethnically diverse cast of actors and actresses than was typical at the time for adult films.  The Femme Chocolat films are also directed by women of color.

    • Caribbean Heat
    • Afrodite Superstar

 

She was also a sought after speaker.

Candida Royalle was also an author.  Her first book, “How to Tell a Naked Man What to Do,” was published in the U.S. and in the U.K.