Oct 17, 2003

VR Who is Mistress Persephone?
MP Professional domina, performance artist, owner of men, purveyor of glamorous horror erotica and lifestyle femme fatale.

VR Where are you living these days?
MP I currently share a loft space with my husband in Hollywood, CA and a home in North London, UK. We travel between both residences.

VR I know this is a hard question, but can you tell us what your life has been about?

MP I like to set out to try to top my last efforts and outdo myself in every way and that is what keeps things interesting. I love to change my appearance with wigs, makeup and costumes and never want to feel “trapped” in an image. That is the death of creativity when people come to expect or even worse demand that you look a certain way. When you allow yourself to be controlled by your fans then you have lost sight of who you yourself are and show no true personality, just a reflection of public demand. Death to art. I could never accept that because I live for myself and have been lucky to be able to carve a career out of something I love. Having to entertain the demands of others just to keep them as fans defeats the purpose of it all. Love me or leave me, I’ll still be here when you think I am cool again, LOL.

VR Have you been in any movies that we should know about of late?
MP I have just finished two video as a fem dom for Bizarre video called “Spanked Strippers” and “Fantastic Fetish”. I have also recently worked with Lyndon video but so far I have no working title. However, every week new videos go up on my webiste, SickChixxx.com produced specifically for the site.

VR When you were growing up and each morning you would look in the mirror did you feel that you were different, someone that new she was in charge?
MP I was different from everyone around me including my family. I never wanted to be complacent and live a drab suburban life. I knew I was meant for far greater things so I figured out a way to make it happen.

VR Who was your inspiration?
MP Christopher Lee because through watching his films since I was a little girl (he was my first real crush), I discovered “Hammer glamour”, the way a real femme fatale should look. I wanted to be like the women he bit! Carolyn Munro is the one that most comes to mind because he fondled her a certain way in Dracula A.D 1972 (the year I was born) that I have never forgotten. I suppose I really must pay tribute and thank Elvira for this though since watching her show “Movie Macabre” religiously as a child opened up this world to me. In a way, I am now doing what I do to give others from this and future generations a chance to discover these things through my work; my portal to these delightful images in my own way.

VR Who do you admire?
MP I admire those who have the inner drive and motivation to move past the stage of being solely a dreamer and actually becoming a doer. Life is for those who will have it.

VR What do you think makes you stand out above others in your world?
MP I am unapologetically narcissistic and make no bones about it. I am public about my lifestyle and harbor no secrets. My family is fully aware of who I am and what I do, and even when I have been told that I would not succeed unless I fit a certain mold I had enough self-love to see past this and prove that if one sets their mind to something and practices creative visualization, the world can be your oyster and you can be its pearl. It is my motto.

VR Do you get nervous when you are asked to speak to a group or perform on stage?
MP Absolutely not. I think one of my natural talents is speaking in front of crowds and henceforth I have been asked to emcee many events because it is a comfortable and exciting thing to control a crowd from the spotlight. She who holds the mic is in control.

VR What has been your biggest accomplishment?
MP I am very proud of the fact that I was able to take my two favorite passions being fetish and horror and being able to mesh them together to create my own hybrid. I have always lived within the duality of those two interests and now I have been able to make a whole successful career out doing what excites me the most with no one to answer to.

VR What really makes you happy?
MP Collecting designer and custom clothing heels, boots and hats, traveling, tasting and trying new things and being on stage. My work, my husband, Euro-horror and exploitation films, my cat, revolution and food (both cooking it and dining in fine restaurants).

VR What really makes you upset?
MP I hate nothing more than to see people with talent waste it away because they lack motivation or self-esteem. I see it all too often and after a certain point my sympathy turns to apathy just to conserve my sanity.

VR Have you ever had a true love in life?
MP I have a had a few.

VR Are you in love now?
MP Yes, I am happily married to Tim Polecat who is both my best friend and business partner. We work closely together on my website as he shoots much of the video and stills and he is also the art director and production designer for my live performance. We share a very similar outlook on life and creative aesthetic so it really is a match made in heaven.

VR Do you think you are nice person or do you think you can be a bitch at times?
MP I think everyone harbors the capacity to be moody and bitchy at times but overall, I think my friends (of which you are one!) can agree that I am a pretty sincere, honest and goodhearted person. I value my friends and care for them deeply even though I do admit to being a narcissist! Hey, I’m honest!

VR Do you have any pet peeves?
MP Oh yes...people who lie for no reason, men who wear sandals, people who complain and ask for advice and never follow it, patent leather being incorrectly referred to as “patten” leather in ebay auctions, unmotivated people, the slang word “hella”, tasseled gold shoes and loafers...I could go on forever!

VR Where do you see yourself in the future?
MP Living in a home in Hancock Park with a stable of 5-7 branded slaves living in the cottage in the back to serve me and my husband as I find new ways to supersede my old accomplishments with new ones.

VR As a professional dominant genetic woman do you think you have receive proper respect you deserve in life?
MP How does a ruler become a ruler? She makes herself so. To want is to live. I ask for things and find ways to get them. Respect has to be earned and all of my hard work over the last decade means I get it in droves and it feels so good! I surround myself with only the kinds of people that make me feel good.

VR Do you think you still have more work to do for the transgender community?
MP I have always been a drag queen at heart and it is thanks to the transgender community that I refined my own makeup and hair skills. I love the community and I think that I’ll never be able to give back enough to all of the people who have and currently support me. I couldn’t be a diva without other divas to learn from. I love glamour and being larger than life. If I let myself slip for even a minute, I know some t-girl will school me in a minute and get my drag in check.

My hair and nails can always be a little longer, my heels a little higher, my corset a little tighter. I’ve got some stiff hot divas to compete with and this means my work will never be done!

VR Persephone, you and I have been friends for many years now and I honor that friendship, but I have never been through a session with you(it is not what I am into) can you tell us what different types of session you have to offer?

MP Thank you, I value you very much as well! So weird to see how time flies.

My Specialties
* Boot, shoe, and foot worship
* Psychodrama and sensually sadistic play
* Trampling
* CBT including sounds and catheters
* Teasing and tickling
* Corporal (light to heavy)
* OTK, domestic discipline and governess scenarios
* Nail torture with my 1.5" - 3" talons
* Cellophane mummification
* Water sports
* Smothering and breath play
* Nipple play
* Violet wand and Folsom unit for electrical play
* Play piercing
* Smoking fetishes
* Vampire scenarios
* Leather and rope bondage
* Humiliation and verbal abuse
* Interrogations
* Butler/Maid Training
* Transformation
* Financial slavery
* Weekend and extended stays available.

VR Do you feel the fetish world or the world of domination is getting its fair shake from the moral right wing or do you think they are they are just a bunch of hypocrites?
MP I do think they are hypocrites and not even just in the world of Washington D.C. but also in the entertainment industry. While is currently in vogue to allude to BDSM and fetish in films and television, it is still taboo to admit to living such a lifestyle even though so many of the producers, directors and the entertainment industry are into the scene.

VR Do you have a favorite movie and why?
MP I have so many favorites, it is impossible to pick one but I will for the sake of the interview choose Danger: Diabolik, the Mario Bava spy film starring John-Phillip Law and Marisa Mel. The sets are extraordinary, the Ennio Morricone soundtrack is to die for and the women all look unbelievable in their Paco Rabanne couture garments. Lots of wigs and eyelashes for the eyes and he looks so sexy in the black latex catsuit! I just love the Euro 60s and this film has it all!

VR Who is your favorite fiction character(s), in literature or in the movies, and why?
MP Oh I just love Gilda, the Rita Hayworth character. She is so glamorous, such a femme fatale and the sexual tension between her and Glenn Ford is so thick you can cut it with a knife. My mother looked a lot like Rita when she was younger and I always wished she was more like Gilda. Now I have become that femme fatale!

VR Can you recommend us a motivating or inspirational book that has changed your perception about the world?
MP The Art of Seduction. I live it.

VR What words of wisdom would you give a to someone who is reaching out for help?
MP There is always someone out there for you to bond with. Seek out your peers even if you can only do so online. The voice of reason often exists among the freakiest communities.

VR Do you have a final statement, for our readers?
MP Never be afraid to be open about who you are because those who reject you and push you away will inevitably lead you to find a better group just like you, who will embrace you for your beautiful uniqueness in a world so full of sheep shaved on the same boring farm.

Note from Vicki Rene: Mistress Persephone and myself have been best of friends for many many years, we have Jim Thompson, my old room mate, to thank for that. This woman is as close to perfect as you will find, a simply beautiful woman in every aspect of life. Also if you treat this lady with the respect she deserves you will find her to be a great friend. I want to thank her for this outstanding interview and hope I get to see you in May of 2004 at "Dress to Thrill" in Las Vegas Nv.