Anneka Di Lorenzo

Anneka Di Lorenzo, later Anneka Vasta (born Marjorie Lee Thoreson; September 6, 1952 – January 4, 2011), was an American model and actress. She was known for appearances in Penthouse magazine and roles in exploitation films.

Early life Marjorie Lee Thoreson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. When her parents, Leroy and Patricia (née Hull) , divorced in 1965, she ran away from home to Los Angeles, where she worked as a receptionist, a cocktail waitress, and a topless dancer. During this time she took on various aliases and it was under the name of Priscilla Shutters, while still in her teens, that she was sentenced on such counts as auto theft, possession of a tear-gas gun and passing false checks. As Caligula spent over two years in post-production, its sets and costumes were used to make the Italian comedy film Messalina, Messalina! (1977) in which Di Lorenzo reprised her role as Messalina, this time as the main female character. Other films in which she made an appearance included the 1974 exploitation films The Centerfold Girls, Mama's Dirty Girls, and Act of Vengeance; later she had a bit part as a nurse in Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill (1980). However, after Caligula was released in 1979, her participation in the hardcore sex scenes made it difficult for her to find work in mainstream films. She later said that she had consumed drugs and alcohol to get through the scenes. Though she was ultimately awarded $4 million, she lost it on appeal.

Later life and death Following the end of her glamour career, Di Lorenzo lived out of the limelight, taking various jobs and then training as a yoga instructor. In 2000 she opened a short-lived branch of The Forever Young Experience Inc. under the name Anneka Thoreson, together with Philip Vasta. Later she married Vasta, but her marriage and her future business ventures failed and by 2010 she was living with one of her sisters.

Filmography Year Title Role NotesRef.1974 The Centerfold Girls Pam Segment: "The Third Story"1974 Mama's Dirty Girls Charity 1974 Act of Vengeance Chris 1977 Messalina, Messalina! Messalina 1979 Caligula Messalina 1980 Dressed to Kill Nurse Final film role