Charlotte Dory Washington of Las Vegas, one of the few female leaders in the adult entertainment industry and prominent sex work activist, died on Monday at the age of 40 in a tragic plane crash with her husband, MBC Casino Chairman Zacharias Washington.

Dory Washington was born in 1976, a time of growth in the adult entertainment industry with the proliferation of home video players. Her mother, a Las Vegas nightclub dancer, died from complications after birth and she was raised by her father Jean Dory, a former male escort and long time fixture in the Las Vegas LGBT ball community. 

She attended St. Anna’s Preparatory School and graduated with honors from Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s in Business Management. During her sophomore year she married Zacharias Washington,  the son of a third generation Japanese American casino owner. Their first daughter was born weeks after their wedding.

“Our parents were such close friends it was bound to happen. She and Rias really understood each other,” Twyla Banner, sister-in-law to Dory Washington recalls. “They  both ended up in demanding jobs but they always found home together.”

Washington Dory began her career in 1998, leading the operations for her father’s adult entertainment company, Virtue Entertainment, an online exclusive pornography company—something that was revolutionary for the time.

“I was an old crank gibbering about how I wanted to change things in the industry. I knew the product but Charlotte kept the lights on, the checks paid and found a buyer for every silly idea I had. It was the hardest and most joyous time of my life.” her father, Jean Dory says

She gave birth to two more daughters and Virtue closed a decade after it’s founding due to the emergence ofP2P sharing platforms. It was purchased by conglomerate Cybersmash Studios where Washington Dory was brought on as Director of Business Integration and quickly rose to Vice President of Insight. In this role she launched several verticals focused on uplifting BIPOC performers,  female pleasure and bodies that broke the gender dichotomy.

 Her most revolutionary work was done during her off hours where she used her influence to advocate for sex workers rights, pro-choice and LBGT legislation before Nevada State Legislature and The United States Congress.  She is perhaps best known for a searing OP-ED  on why she was no longer attending political fundraisers and would be giving to organizers and those in need in cash.

Washington Dory and her husband were taking their small plane from an anniversary trip in Napa Valley when the engine failed, killing them and the pilot on impact.