Juliet Carr, better known as Juliet Anderson or Aunt Peg, was discovered deceased on Monday morning, January 11th, 2009 at her home in Berkley. According to the friend who found her, Kevin Fong, there were no visible signs of foul play or suicide. She was 71 years old and had Crohn-Lesniowski Disease (AKA Chrohn's Disease), a congenital autoimmune affliction of the gastrointestinal tract, for which she had only recently sought treatment.

Juliet Carr is famous for playing the persona of the older, well-aged, experienced woman who has a lot to offer sexually. In effect, she is the original MILF-archetype. In an era when women over 40 were practically unheard of in adult films, she was breaking ground with her Aunt Peg series.

On her web site, Juliet Carr writes she entered the industry in 1978 at the age of 39 when --

A small downtown theater was looking for “attractive women over 18 for soft-core sex show, short hours, lots of fun, good pay.” I figured I had nothing to lose by checking it out. I was scared to death but went to the theater anyway and was accepted immediately. But the woman who hired me told me: #1 the owner of the theater, Alex d’Renzy, also a renowned film maker, would have to give the final OK but was in the middle of shooting a film and #2 not to tell him my age as late 30s was considered too old.

When I met Alex he asked me if I’d like to be in the film he was shooting. “Pretty Peaches”. It was a small but important role of a rich man’s maid. It sounded simple enough and I needed the $200 to pay my rent. In addition to going on to perform in over 30 features, most of which are now classics, Juliet Carr also directed between 1982 and 1984. Unfortunately, she was essentially stone-walled by the good ole' boys club. She claims to have been financially and emotionally ruined with the filming of Educating Nina, Nina Hartley's first adult film role. It was Juliet who discovered Nina and cast her in one of the most memorable roles of her career. Carr writes of the experience,

It was a huge undertaking with a strong story, talented actors and superb production values. However, this gem was a financial and emotional disaster for me. As the first woman producer of X-rated films, the men who ran that industry were intimidated by me and retaliated by never releasing Educating Nina. Devastated, I quit the adult entertainment industry.

The industry has come a long way in the past two and a half decades, with women not only directing, but running their own production companies. Juliet Carr helped pave the way -- she was truly ahead of her time. She died a legend and will be sorely missed.

According the the AVN obit, Juliet talked of wanting donations to be made to the Humane Society in lieu of flowers. Even in the end, she thought of others before herself.

[Article image of Juliet Carr/Juliet Anderson courtesy of AVN.com]