The original 1980s GLOW — Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling — television show didn’t last all that long, and so many of the stars of the program have gone on to other interesting things.
Jeanne “Hollywood” Basone sells hand-made soaps, and just published her memoir, Hooray For Hollywood!: The True Story Of The Original GLOW Girl.
Lisa Moretti is a Class of 2018 WWE Hall of Famer after she put her GLOW character Tina Ferrari behind her and became Ivory; today she’s a dog groomer.
Nadine Kadmiri, who played the rich socialite Ashley Cartier is a successful real estate agent. Lauri Thompson, who was Suzie Spirit, is a lawyer, whereas Justice (Norniece Norment) is an ordained minister. Godiva (Dawn Rice) works in animal rescue. Jayne Adams, who was the California Doll, is a school teacher. “Sunny the California Girl” Patricia Summerland is a nurse. Former GLOW Champion Ninotchka is a professional seamstress under her real name Lori Palmer and is not Russian at all.
Others made the news with their passings, like Matilda The Hun (Deanna Booher), Babe The Farmers Daughter (Ursula Hayden), and Mountain Fiji (Emily Dole).
For all its cheesiness, GLOW influenced today’s wrestling with its in-depth character development, backstage skits, and innovative filming techniques.
Its tag team division is often overlooked, with several strong pairings making an impact, like Hollywood and Vine, Soul Patrol, and the Beverly Hills Girls.
But as I was researching GLOW for my documentary on the complete history of women’s wrestling, Circle of Champions, I came across the tag team of the Park Avenue Knockouts, made up of Roxy Astor and Tiffany Mellon, and was a bit stumped. In this YouTube clip, they take on Hollywood and MTV:
It is a well-balanced but chaotic match, comparable to ECW a few years later. There is a a lot of outside-the-ring action, but you believed the rivalry was real. I found myself wondering about Mellon and Astor.
It turns out that Roxy Astor (Tracee Leigh Meltzer) has done a lot to keep GLOW‘s memory alive, including the award-winning play AfterGLOW: The 80s Musical Experience Stage Show from 2018, and the 2024’s Matilda the Hun: The Raw Meat.
But what of Mellon? Why she didn’t get a push in GLOW, and why she isn’t often mentioned in the same conversation of others like Little Egypt, Gremlina and Ninotchka?
Through the years, I have gotten to know many of the GLOW girls, so asked Major Tanya, aka Noelle Rose, for what she remembered of Mellon. “She was quite different from her character. A very bright, intelligent and strong woman,” said Rose. “I always admired her for that and being herself. I remember sparring with her. It was always fun!”
Another, not wanting to be quoted, said that Mellon was wrongfully fired due to a lesbian relationship she had with another GLOW girl.
I dove deeper.
GLOW historian Mike Rand had Mellon his show several years back, and I realized that she was a well-spoken individual and led a very interesting and diverse life. I befriended her on Facebook and quickly came to the realization that she is truly a kind soul with high intellect.
After GLOW, Mellon changed her name to Tyffany Million (spelled Tiffany in many places), but that was but a tease for some of the other things she has done:
- She was a bounty hunter
- She was an actress in mainstream projects
- She was an adult film star, and will be inducted into the 2025 Adult Video News Hall of Fame
- She has produced films and owned her own business
- Oh, and she patented a shake awake alarm clock (under her first married name Sandra M. Giani, US patent number 5,686,882, if you want to look it up)
Society is often quick to judge based on the porn aspect of her career, yet I knew there was so much more there, a rock-star life that went in many different directions. She overcame discrimination over her sexual orientation, let alone all the biases against adult film stars.
So I reached out to Tyffany (who was born Sandra Lee Schwab, but is also known as Sandra Scott), and the following question and answer session conducted via email, slightly edited for clarity, answered a lot of what I wondered. I came away in awe of her drive and her inner spirit as a human.
GROWING UP
Q: What was it like growing up?
Tyffany Million: I was born in Richmond, Calif., which is in the San Francisco Bay area. My parents divorced when I was seven. My mom worked her ass off to raise two kids by herself and did an outstanding job. She’s the best mom ever, and we’re very close to this day. I went to private Catholic schools my entire life, and my high school was all-girls …. which probably explains why I’m atheist now! My father died in 1994 from a heart attack at the age of 56. However, my mom has been with my stepdad since 1989, and I love him dearly. To me, he’s my dad, and we’re very close. My brother Larry is two years younger than me and is a big shot at the Social Security Administration in DC. My stepbrother JonHenry is 11 years my junior and he’s quite a character! As far as my personal life, my husband of 23 years (Ron Escott) and I divorced in June of 2024 (he’s 12 years younger than me). I now have a 23-year-old boyfriend. I’m 58. I’ve always been a cougar, but now I’m a super-cougar!
PRO WRESTLING
Q: How did you start your pro wrestling career?
Million: I was at my agent’s office and there was a sign on the wall behind him for GLOW Auditions. I had just started watching the show at the urging of my lesbian roommate Carmen and had become a fan! I told him, “Hey, I want to try that out!” He was very surprised, looked at me funny and said, “You?” So, he set an appointment for me to meet Matt Cimber. Matt cast me on the show and the rest is history!
Q: Favorite matches and why?
Million: My favorite match was Tiffany versus Ninotchka, because we did a superplex from the second rope! We did that move during the rehearsal and were warned by GLOW management not to do it because it was too dangerous. During taping, she got me in the turnbuckle and whispered in my ear, “Wanna go for it?” I said, “Yes!” We knew at that point that there was nothing that management could do about it because the cameras were on. So, we did it and of course, it was successful and looked great!
Q: Favorite pro wrestling stories on the road?
Million: Not sure if you can print this? But when I was in GLOW, I was sexually into women and was “involved” with one of the other GLOW girls. We had a lot of hot sex on the road!
Q What is your favorite wrestler?
Million: I was in love with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson until he came out as a Trump hater. However, I do like Roman Reigns.
Q: What did you enjoy about wrestling? Did you enjoy being a tag team or wrestling in singles?
Million: I loved my tag team partner Roxy Astor! GLOW couldn’t have matched me up with a more perfect partner. We were friends in real life as well. We maintain a friendship to this day.
Q: What did you not enjoy about pro wrestling?
Tyffany Million: The pay! GLOW paid us only $400 per week and held back $150 per week. That was paid to us at the end of the season, so long as we didn’t commit any “violations.”
BEYOND THE RING
Q: Favorite movies?
Million: Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. I’ve seen it five times! I love war-themed movies. Not a chick-flick person.
Q: Favorite food?
Million: That’s an easy one. BBQ pork ribs!
Q: Favorite music?
Million: I’m a total rocker and my favorite band is Korn. But lately I’ve been listening to a lot of ’80s music, and I’m a huge fan of Depeche Mode. I saw them live in Los Angeles in the ’90s, three nights in a row! I’m also a big Lady Gaga fan and I’ve seen her live four times.
Q: Favorite TV show?
Million: It’s a toss-up between Breaking Bad and The Sopranos.
Q: How did you get into bounty hunting?
Million: I was already a licensed private investigator and was looking to expand into bail bonds. I was at a training course for bail bondsmen — in California, before I moved to Arizona — and seated behind me was this huge tatted-down Mexican guy who looked like he had just gotten out of prison! Everyone else in the room was avoiding him, but not me. I turned around to him and said, “You look interesting, what’s your story?” He said, “I’m a bounty hunter.”
This perked my ears up because I had thought about doing bounty hunting before. In California, one way you can be a bounty hunter is to be a licensed P.I. So, I peppered him with questions and got his boss’s phone number. The next day, I called his boss and asked if he had any use for a female bounty hunter who didn’t look the part. Most female bounty hunters are “butchy.” He said yes and arranged to meet me. I was hired on and was able to break a few cases that his other hunters had been unable to break. They were very happy with me and wanted to train me to do executive protection. Unfortunately, that came to an end when my bosses’ partner, a female former sheriff’s deputy, found out about my porn past, and made my boss fire me. Shortly thereafter, I moved to Arizona, became a bail bondsman, and went solo as a bounty hunter as well.
Q: What was it like having a reality show?
Million: My reality TV show, Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter, aired in 2007 on the WE Channel. It featured me, my husband Ron, and my two girls Sabree and Ever. It contrasted my life as a wife and a mom with my career as a bail bonds agent and bounty hunter. I was shocked when I got the show because I thought for sure that they’d Google me, find out that I was a former porn star, and that would be the end of it. But they didn’t, apparently! Doing the show was fun, but honestly it detracted from my bail bonds business. Reality TV doesn’t pay well, especially for your first season. So, I lost money doing the show. During taping, both the WE Channel and the production company, World of Wonder, found out about my porn past. That’s probably why there was no season 2. That was a huge mistake, in my humble opinion. They should have used my past to promote the show! It certainly would have attracted a lot more viewers!
Q: What are some of your favorite moments working on mainstream TV and film ?
Million: I got to meet Madonna on the set of the movie Dick Tracy! I was there for an audition, and she stood right next to me and chatted with me for a few minutes before I even realized that it was her! She’s very petite, about 5’1″, and wasn’t wearing any makeup.
Q: Explain your passion and transition into the adult film world?
Million: Before I was in GLOW, I was a stripper at the world famous Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco for several years. After GLOW ended, I eventually went back to stripping. I had also become a fan of porn films and had thought about doing them myself. However, I was in a relationship at the time with my oldest daughter’s father and he didn’t approve, so I didn’t do it. Instead, I got my real estate license and started selling real estate in Bakersfield, Calif. Shortly thereafter, he and I broke up. Now there was nothing standing in my way of doing porn!
I asked around at the club in LA where I was stripping if anyone had any contacts in the porn biz. One guy hooked me up with Reb Sawitz at the Pretty Girl International agency. He was a competitor to Jim South at World Modeling Agency. Reb took me on, and the rest is history! I eventually migrated over to World Modeling Agency and Jim South. I learned a lot from legendary porn star fellow AVN Hall of Fame inductee Nina Hartley. She is a pioneer in our industry and is by far my favorite female to work with in lesbian scenes.
Q: Explain why and if the adult film world is positive?
Million: Everyone likes sex! Or if not, they should! Watching porn can be a healthy adjunct to a hot sex life, especially when you watch it with your partner, so long as it doesn’t become an addiction. Like with anything, there’s always too much of a good thing. I enjoyed my time in the adult film industry and have many fond memories.
Q: How do you feel you made an impact in the adult film world?
Million: When I started out, few women were doing interracial film scenes. In a way at that time you could say that the adult film world was somewhat racist. I never have been in my entire life — I see people as people. I worked with African-American porn star Sean Michaels, who was always a gentleman. Michaels was elected the president of the Adult Performance Artists Guild in 2016 and has been prolific in the adult film industry advocating for performers rights.
Q: Any current projects that you are working on ?
Million: I will be working on a fictional graphic novel series with Marvel comic book artist Rusty Gilligan called The Recruiters. The stories are based on real life in regards to EMS, military, and law enforcement. My character will be a law enforcement persona. The goal for the series is to educate people in fire safety, drug abuse awareness, first aid, and to help recruit people to be involved with EMS, law enforcement and the military. I am also going to be making a comeback in the adult film world and will be working with AVN Hall of Fame inductee Sean Michaels Sean Michaels, AVN nominee Foxxxy Darlin, and transgender adult actress Peggy Bambalino.
Q: Greatest achievement in life?
Million: My two girls, Sabree Lane and Ever Skye.
Q: Best advice in life?
Million: Never burn a bridge.
TOP PHOTO: GLOW‘s Tiffany Mellon and Roxy Astor with Mr. T. Photo courtesy Tyffany Million
RELATED LINKS
