Editing Traci Lords (section)

=== 1987–1991: Transition to mainstream, ''Not of This Earth'' and ''Cry-Baby'' ===
After spending several months in therapy, Lords decided to concentrate on acting. She enrolled at the [[Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute]], where she studied [[method acting]] for three months. After leaving the school, Lords placed an advertisement in ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' looking for representation. She was contacted by Fred Westheimer and although the agency declined to officially represent her, he decided to send her out on a few auditions. As a result, she was offered a guest role in an episode of the television series ''[[Wiseguy (TV series)|Wiseguy]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Broeske|first=Pat H.|date=March 20, 1988|title=Traci Does TV|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-20-ca-2391-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, she met the director [[Jim Wynorski]], who was directing the remake of [[Roger Corman]]'s 1957 sci-fi classic ''[[Not of This Earth (1957 film)|Not of This Earth]]''. He immediately cast Lords into the lead role of Nadine Story, and ''[[Not of This Earth (1988 film)|Not of This Earth]]'' (1988) became her first mainstream film since her departure from the adult film industry. Although the film failed at the box office, it did well in video sales. Based on that success, Lords was offered to appear in Wynorski's next film, ''The Haunting of Morella'' (1989). However, Lords turned down the offer due to the requirement of having a nude scene, since she was trying to establish herself as a serious actress.<ref>{{harvnb|McCarty|1995|p=120}}</ref> She also signed with a modeling agency under her birth name Nora Kuzma and appeared on two covers of [[Joe Weider]]'s magazine ''[[Muscle & Fitness]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Broeske|first=Pat H.|date=January 31, 1988|title=A Model of Fitness|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-31-ca-39403-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> Around that time, Lords became a spokesperson for Children of the Night, an organization for runaways and abused children, and was planning to release a book titled ''Out of the Blue: The Traci Lords Story''.<ref name=orangecoast>{{cite magazine|last=Weinberg|first=Marc|date=July 1988|title=The Return of Traci Lords|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7mAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA192|magazine=[[Orange Coast Magazine]]|pages=192–195|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref>

In November 1988, Lords enrolled in another acting class and again began looking for an agent. In December, she mass-mailed her resumé to various agents and arranged a meeting with Don Gerler. Lords auditioned for the part of [[Breathless Mahoney]] in the film ''[[Dick Tracy (1990 film)|Dick Tracy]]'' (1990), but the role went to [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]].<ref>{{cite episode|series=Into the Night|first=Rick|last=Dees|network=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|date=1991}}</ref> TraciLords.com states "John Waters called her a Sexual Terrorist".<ref name="palmspringslife/traci-lords">{{cite news |last1=Gieseke |first1=Winston |title=Getting Steamy With Traci Lords |url=https://www.palmspringslife.com/traci-lords/ |access-date=8 May 2023 |work=Palm Springs Life |date=September 9, 2019 |quote=Traci Lords: John Waters once referred to me as a sexual terrorist.....}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bio |url=https://tracilords.com/pages/bio |website=Traci Lords .com |access-date=8 May 2023 |quote=Kevin Smith called her an American Pop Icon. John Waters called her a Sexual Terrorist.; The Official Traci Lords Website}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Alexander |title=Traci Lords: American Pop Icon and Sexual Terrorist |url=https://gedmag.com/afterdark/traci-lords-american-pop-icon-and-sexual-terrorist/ |access-date=8 May 2023 |work=Gay Entertainment Directory magazine |date=3 January 2020 |quote=Kevin Smith named her an American Pop Icon, John Waters named her a sexual terrorist,}}</ref><ref name="BWW/Lords-WBB">{{cite news |last1=Kaan |first1=Gil |title=BWW Interview: John Waters' Fav Traci Lords - Now a Woman BEHIND BARS |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/BWW-Interview-John-Waters-Fav-Traci-Lords-Now-a-Woman-BEHIND-BARS-20200106 |access-date=8 May 2023 |work=BroadwayWorld.com |date=January 6, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="cheatsheet/depps-cry-baby-co-star">{{cite web |last1=Dorwart |first1=Laura |title=Johnny Depp's 'Cry-Baby' Co-Star Once Claimed He Innocently 'Climbed Into Bed' With Her – 'I Was Nervous As Heck' |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/johnny-depps-cry-baby-co-star-once-claimed-he-innocently-climbed-into-bed-with-her-i-was-nervous-as-heck.html/ |website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet |date=21 January 2021}}</ref> By May 1989, [[John Waters]] cast her for his teenage comedy musical ''[[Cry-Baby]]'' (1990).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Dougherty|first=Margot|date=September 11, 1989|title=What Hath John Waters Wrought? A Musical with a Cast You Wouldn't Believe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604134702/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20121144,00.html |archive-date=4 June 2009 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20121144,00.html|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> She won the role and appeared in the film alongside [[Johnny Depp]] and [[Ricki Lake]].<ref name="vanityfair/Hirshey/WATERS">{{cite magazine |last1=Hirshey |first1=Gerri |title=WATERS BREAKS |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/4d678438-2edd-45a1-a445-3c6193ddd8b7 |access-date=8 May 2023 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=March 1990}}</ref><ref name="FilmThreat_1989_08_Waters">{{cite news |last1=Pearce |first1=Mary Vivian |title=John Waters on Cry Baby |url=http://movielore.johnnydepp-zone2.com/CryBaby1989_08FilmThreat_Waters.html |access-date=8 May 2023 |work=Film Threat |issue=21 |publisher=Johnny Depp Zone Interview Archive |date=August 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719031429/http://movielore.johnnydepp-zone2.com/CryBaby1989_08FilmThreat_Waters.html |archive-date=19 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="teen-beat-1989-may">{{cite news |title=A Day on the Set of Johnny Depp's New Movie |url=https://johnny-depp.org/teen-beat-may-1989/ |access-date=8 May 2023 |work=Teen Beat |agency=Johnny Depp .org |date=May 1989}}</ref> The film was a critical and commercial success, and her portrayal of the rebellious teenager Wanda Woodward established her as a legitimate actress. On the set of the film, she met the property master Brook Yeaton, whom she began dating.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Waters|first=John|title=Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year=2019|isbn=978-0374214968}}</ref> The couple married in September 1990 in [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Allis|first=Tim|date=May 3, 1993|title=Reborn Yesterday|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20110342,00.html|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=March 15, 2016|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220516/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20110342,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In June 1990, the exercise video ''Warm up with Traci Lords'' was released. Directed and produced by her former boyfriend and business partner Stewart Dell, the video had been filmed in early 1988.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gable|first=Clark|date=March 24, 1989|title=Whatever happened to Traci Lords, the porno queen who decided to go straight?|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-03-24/news/8903240084_1_clark-gable-green-hornet-gidget|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150315212413/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-03-24/news/8903240084_1_clark-gable-green-hornet-gidget|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 15, 2015|newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> As Lords wrote in her autobiography, she was unsatisfied with the final version of the video. An extended version was reissued in 1993 under the title ''Traci Lords: Advanced Jazzthetics''.

In 1991, Lords starred in the thriller ''[[Raw Nerve (1991 film)|Raw Nerve]]'' and the action crime film ''A Time to Die''. Lords appeared in such popular TV shows as ''Roseanne'', ''Married... with Children'', ''MacGyver'' and ''Hercules''. She continued modeling and walked the runway for fashion designers such as Janet Howard and [[Thierry Mugler]].<ref name=literotica>{{cite journal|last=Tzara|first=Alexander|date=October 5, 1995|title=Traci Lords: I Was A Teenage Pornstar|url=http://www.i.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=7936|journal=Trigger|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref>