Michele Watley, better known by her stage name Midori (born July 19, 1968), is an American singer, dancer, model, actress and former pornographic actress. She was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2009. She was the first African-American woman to win an AVN award, when she was named "Best Supporting Actress" in 2001. Watley was also named one of the top 10 "hottest black porn stars" of all time by Complex and The Independent named her "the queen of the black hardcore market". Early life and career Michele Watley was born in Durham, North Carolina. Watley has a sister, Jody Watley, and a brother. When Watley was a toddler, her family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, followed by Chicago, Illinois. Her grandfather and father were ministers. Her parents divorced when she was twelve, and Watley and her sister Jody moved to California. Watley called her childhood "sheltered" and that her parents were "strict". When she was in junior high school, she said she was "mortified" seeing girls kissing their boyfriends. Eventually, Watley turned into what she called "a wild child". As a teenager, Watley started dancing, performing hip hop, ballet and jazz styles. She studied theater in college and performed in plays. As a young adult, she lived in England for nine months and in 1986, she attended dance school in France. Watley was also a hair model for Vidal Sassoon, as well as a backup singer and dancer. As Michele Watley, she acted in commercials and modeled in Elle. She did not pursue modeling full-time, as she was "not tall enough to be a super model". Career She appeared as Michele Watley in John Landis' comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, Coming to America (1989), as one of the nude bathroom maidens. After her role in Coming to America, she changed her stage name to Midori. She worked as an exotic dancer for four years and in 1995 she started performing in hardcore pornography. Her first scene was with Jake Steed. After that scene, she did not perform in films another year. Watley's rationale for entering the adult film industry was to increase the representation of women of color in the industry, which has historically been white. In the 1990s, Watley began directing pornographic films and started backup singing, including for Kid Rock in 1999. She initially tried to avoid appearing in stereotypical Black themed films, and early