Heidi Lynne Fleiss born December 30, [ 1 ] is an American former madam. She ran an upscale prostitution ring based in Los Angeles and is often referred to as the "Hollywood Madam". Fleiss has also worked as a columnist and was a television personality regularly featured in the s in American media.
Fleiss was born and raised in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her father, Paul M. Their marriage ended in divorce. Fleiss stated in that Alex and she had "a very intense relationship" and that Alex's view of Fleiss "was kind of like the daughter she loved and hated, so she was abusive and loving at the same time". In the same interview, Fleiss said she worked as a prostitute for a short period to learn all aspects of the trade.
At the time she was learning to take over Alex's business there was a labor shortage, as most of Alex's prostitutes were approaching middle age and planning to retire from prostitution. Alex had Fleiss revitalize the business by recruiting a new batch of young, attractive women.
By , Fleiss severed her links with Madam Alex and began her own prostitution ring. In June , she was arrested on charges including attempted pandering.
She was released to a halfway house on November 19, and ordered to perform hours of community service. Fleiss's ring reportedly had numerous prominent and wealthy clients.
