Althea Flynt Biography

Althea Flynt, née Leasure, was an American magazine publisher and wife of pornography publisher, Larry Flynt. She and Larry were the co-publishers of the pornographic magazine ‘Hustler.’ An Ohio native, she grew up in an abusive home. When she was eight years old, her father shot and killed three people, including her mother and maternal grandfather, before killing himself. She was subsequently raised at the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Orphanage (OSSO Home) in Xenia. However, she repeatedly ran away after being sexually molested at the homes of the prospective adopters. She met Larry at the age of 17 and was hired by him as a go-go dancer at his Hustler club in Columbus, Ohio. Althea went on to become the ‘Hustler’ magazine’s first life-size centrefold and later served as its publisher and editor. In the early 1980s, she became addicted to drugs and later was diagnosed with AIDS. She passed away at the age of 33 due to accidental drowning.