Who is Stormy Daniels, the woman who claims to have had an affair with President Trump?

By Debbie Lord, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

July 12, 2018

Adult film star Stormy Daniels, who has claimed to have had an affair with President Donald Trump, was arrested Wednesday at a strip club in Ohio on misdemeanor counts of "illegal sexually oriented activity."

Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted hours after the arrest that charges against Daniels for allegedly touching three undercover detectives had been dismissed.

>> Read more trending news

“Unbeknownst to her, the police had set up a sting operation in the strip club with multiple officers,” Avenatti said. “I think it’s an absurd use of law enforcement resources.”

Daniels gained national attention when she made claims that she and Trump had a one-time sexual encounter more than a decade ago and that the president’s attorney paid her prior to the 2016 election to keep the tryst quiet.

Daniels, who has had a long career in the adult entertainment industry, continues to tour the country performing at strip clubs.

So, who is Stormy Daniels and how did she become famous outside of the adult film industry? Here’s what we know about her.

Her given name is Stephanie Gregory.
She is 39 years old. She was born on March 17, 1979, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A quote beneath her yearbook photo reads: "We will all get along just fine as soon as you realize that I am Queen."
She has been married three times.
She has a daughter.
She has a love for horses
She has not seen either of her parents in more than a decade.
The New York Times reported that Daniels said in an interview when she was 23, that she has "very mixed emotions about stripping because stripping got me where I am now. I own my own house, I own my own car, I own my own business. My credit is excellent. I have nice furniture and nice things."
She considered becoming a journalist.
Her stage name is said to have come from a combination of the name of Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx's daughter – Storm -- and Jack Daniels whiskey.
She began her career as a stripper after she graduated high school. She moved in the adult movie business after that.
While she has had a successful career in adult movies, she has also been in several mainstream movies and music videos, such as the movie "The 40-year-old Virgin," and Maroon 5's video "Wake Up Call." She was the pole dancer in that video.
Since 2002, she has worked for Wicked Pictures, a studio that produces adult movies.
In 2004, she began writing and directing for the studio.
She won the Best New Starlet Award from Adult Video News, and the organization's award for Best Screenplay – Video.
She was a Penthouse Pet of the Month in 2007.
She has been inducted into the Adult Video News Hall of Fame.
In 2009-2010 she considered a run for the U.S. Senate from her home state of Louisiana.
She has sued Trump over what she called a 'hush-agreement' concerning the affair she claims to have had with him. She said the affair happened in 2006. Trump has denied the two had an affair.
She said Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid her $130,000 in in 2016 before the presidential election in exchange for her silence.The details of Daniels alleged affair with Trump were made public in an interview with In Touch Weekly.
Daniels says she was threatened by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot as she put her child into a car seat. According to her, the man said, "Leave Trump alone. Forget the story. That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom."
She is working on a personal perfume line called "Truth."