Gloria Leonard

Gloria Leonard was an American performer, publisher and free-speech advocate whose career moved from adult film into magazine publishing, trade-association leadership and advocacy. Born on August 28, 1940, in the Bronx, New York City, New York, United States, she began her adult-film career in 1974, during the adult-film industry's 1970s Golden Age and performed principally through 1984. Her screen work also earned recognition from AFAA, AVN and XRCO, including the 1986 AFAA Best Actress award for the 1985 four-part feature Taboo American Style. Sometimes credited as Gail Leonard, Gail Leonardi or Gayle Leonard, she worked in U.S. film and publishing.

By the late 1970s Leonard had entered magazine publishing, becoming publisher and editorial leader of the adult magazine High Society. Her leadership at the publication formed part of a career phase that extended into the 1990s.

Leonard's career expanded into organized industry advocacy. She served as administrative director of the Adult Film and Video Association of America from 1989 until its 1992 merger with the Free Speech Coalition. She was elected president of the Free Speech Coalition in 1998 and continued in the office in 1999 and 2000, three consecutive years. Her advocacy focused on free-speech issues affecting the adult industry, and she received adult-industry Hall of Fame recognition. Leonard died in Hawaii on February 3, 2014, after a stroke.