Former veterinarian Charlie Forde, 36, reveals why she left her demanding profession in Australia to pursue a career as a porn star in Los Angeles
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] former veterinarian has revealed her unconventional career change, explaining why she traded her respected profession to move to Los Angeles and become a pornographic actress.
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Charlie Forde, 36, initially pursued a career as a physical therapist in Australia, working in the intensive care units of hospitals, before transitioning to veterinary medicine.
Her entry into the adult entertainment industry began while she was studying for her veterinary degree as a way to earn extra income. However, she quickly realised that she saw a more promising future for herself in porn than as a vet.
“Being a vet was so exhausting and we have six times the national suicide rate,” she told DailyMail.com. “50 percent of vets leave within the first five years of graduating. It’s such a demanding job,” she continued.
Charlie recalled her challenging time at veterinarian school, where she battled sleepless nights and long working hours for weeks on end.
“I was doing 130 hours a week at my peak. I remember being on a placement where I was on call for every two hours, every other night of the week,” she recounted.
“I was working so hard to pay to graduate, to sit my exams and to get grades that I wasn’t surviving financially.”
Things took a turn for the worse when Charlie was involved in a car accident after a particularly long night, which served as a wake-up call that things needed to change.
“I tried to figure out what I could do in order to pay my way through vet school and someone suggested that I actually try porn,” she shared.
“So porn gave me a space where I could drop euthanasia and angry clients and sad animals and I could just do something fun for a change.”
Charlie began her adult film career in Australia before moving to Europe. There, she eventually signed with prominent porn agent Mark Spiegler. “I realised that I was doing something right so I got a Visa for America and the rest is history,” she said.
In addition to her work as an adult performer, she has also established her own production company, which has garnered multiple nominations at the AVN Awards, often referred to as the “Oscars of porn.”
“I love the process of producing and directing specifically. I mean, I love performing as well, but I think my heart is more so in the creation,” she gushed.
While running her own company has provided her with financial security, Charlie is cautious about encouraging others to abandon their degrees for sex work as she did.
“I do well on OnlyFans, but the average amount of money made from an average person on OnlyFans is about $400 a month,” she said.
“So unless people are coming into OnlyFans with a business mind prepared to work full-time, be savvy with marketing and spend money to make money, they’re never going to make big money,” she continued.
“I know people who are veterinarians who have OnlyFans and they don’t make a lot of money, whereas I’m in a slightly different category because I built a name for myself in the adult industry.”
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has recently acknowledged the concerningly high suicide rate among vets, which is higher than that of the general public.
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This admission followed the death of a vet who took his own life with a drug used to euthanize pets, highlighting the emotional toll of the profession.
