Tera Patrick was born July 25, 1976[4]inGreat Falls, Montana and raised near San Francisco, California. Her mother is Thai and her father is of English, Irish and Dutch descent.[5][6] When she was just ten, her mother left her and she grew up with her father David Hopkins, a carefree hippie.[5] She took weekend classes at the Barbizon Modeling and Acting School for two years. She always loved the way she looked.[1][7] She claimed she was sexually assaulted at one of her first photo shoots by the photographer. She said he "was feeding [her] champagne and Valium" until she "was getting wasted".[7] Later, she spent two years in Tokyo, where "she became addicted to Valium and alcohol and spent her paychecks on shopping sprees".[8] When her father learned she had become sexually active, he complained to her agency, pointing out she was underage. She was sent back to the United States, "sixteen years old and already a washed-up model".[9] At age 18, she obtained a GED, briefly studied nursing at Boise State University, then received EMT certification from a local vocational school.[10]
Patrick has appeared in Playboy and Penthouse, where she was the "Pet of the Month" for February 2000[11] and was selected as "Pet of the Year" runner-up. In 2003, Patrick became the masthead publisher of Genesis.
In 2006, Patrick and her then-husband, Evan Seinfeld, launched a talent agency representing models and actors. According to a quote on the agency's website, Patrick's goal "is to help girls (and guys) in the business to be treated with respect, and realize their true potential...." Additionally, she owns a production company called "Teravision", which along with Vivid Video released its first feature, Desperate, starring Patrick and Seinfeld. In April 2006, it was announced that she would host the Exxxotica Miami convention.[12]
In November 2006, Patrick starred in a Vivid/Teravision production titled "Tera Patrick's Fashion Underground" where she performed with Jean Val Jean and Tommy Gunn. In the same film her husband, under the name Spyder Jonez, performed with Lanny Barby. In an interview, Tera Patrick says she's OK with him doing scenes with other girls.[13] The two made five movies for Vivid and ten for Teravision (with Seinfeld appearing under the name "Spyder Jonez"; he has also directed some features).
In an interview with the Adult Film Database in February 2007, Patrick stated she would only continue to work in front of the camera for two more years, but planned on releasing her starring adult titles over the next decade.[14]
Patrick retired from shooting scenes in the adult industry in 2008 but continues to operate her website, production company, and pursue other business ventures. She licenses her movie catalog worldwide.[17]
In 2011, Complex magazine ranked her at #2 in their list of "The Top 50 Hottest Asian Porn Stars of All Time."[27]
In 2012, Patrick appeared in the tenth episode of season one of Showtime series Girls of Sunset Place.[28]
In 2014, Patrick appeared in two mainstream movie productions. In the Dave Foley and Andy Dick comedy Live Nude Girls, she was cast along with fellow adult industry performers Bree Olsen and Asa Akira.[29][30] Patrick also appears in the horror movie Angel of Darkness: The Legend of Lilith[31][32]
In August 2014, Patrick announced hosting an hour-long weekly radio show on Vivid radio on the Sirius/XM network.[33]
In May 2018, she appeared in Time magazine as a model in artist Nika Nesgoda's 2002 photographic series, Virgin, portraying the Virgin Mary along with Stormy Daniels and other adult film actresses.[34][35]
Tera Patrick starred in an Indonesian mainstream horror film Rintihan Kuntilanak Perawan (Moaning of Virgin Ghost),[36] which was presented countrywide from October 14, 2010, through November 16, 2010.[37]
Patrick's memoir, Sinner Takes All,[1] co-written by journalist and author Carrie Borzillo, was published by Penguin imprint Gotham Books on January 5, 2010. The book chronicles Patrick's path to stardom, along with various other life experiences she had along the way. During the writing process, which she describes as "cathartic", Patrick discusses how she and her mother repaired their relationship, and how she addressed problems within her relationship with her former husband, Evan Seinfeld. Patrick commented, "I wanted the book to end happily. I knew there were problems with our marriage obviously, and the decision to leave him came about quite suddenly."[38]
After a three-year relationship, Patrick married musician and fellow porn actor Evan Seinfeld in a small ceremony in Las Vegas on January 9, 2004, where they were attending the 2004 AVN Awards show. On September 30, 2009, the couple announced that they were ending their marriage.[39] Tera remains sole owner of her production company, TeraVision Inc.[40]
Patrick gave birth to a girl on February 25, 2012.[41] The father is Hollywood special effects artist Tony Acosta, known for his work on 300, Dawn of the Dead and Man of Steel.[42]
In an interview with Holly Randall on September 6, 2018, Patrick stated that she moved to Italy with her daughter, where she married an Italian defense attorney. She first visited that country in 2015 after getting an offer to do feature dance shows with a company based there.[43]
