Early life

Clifton Britt was born in New Jersey. After attending Morristown High School, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia for two years but graduated from Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences with a double degree in History and African-American studies in 1993.

Career

After graduating from Syracuse, Steele became a stock broker trainee at the brokerage firm of M S Farrell in 1993. Once he earned his Series 7 trading license he moved to Oppenheimer Financial in the World Trade Center. He has stated that he would have been in the buildings and been a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks had he kept his old job as a stockbroker. In a 2015 interview in AVN magazine, Steele commented about his transition into the adult industry, "Once I was licensed, it opened the door to a whole new recreational side of the industry. The guy who trained me invited me to a party in a hotel suite, and it ended up being a sex party like the ones in Wolf of Wall Street. It wasn't long before a bigger director from Los Angeles gave me a job and suggested I attend the annual porn industry convention in Las Vegas...". With regard to his decision to switch careers and industries and in consideration for how lucrative securities trading can be, Steele stated, "I tell them it's not like I was already a master of the universe. I was working 12 to 14 hours six days a week. I made six figures, but my quality of life wasn't commensurate."

Steele has said that his stage name came about back during the days when he worked as a stockbroker when he took the subway to visit a client. At that time he had already decided to move in the adult film industry and use the last name "Steele". His client was located in Midtown Manhattan and, Steele said, "I got off the subway at Madison, ... on the corner of Madison and Lexington Avenues", where he was struck by the sound of "Lexington" as a first name.

He started appearing in adult movies in April 1996, in New York City. He got his earliest exposure appearing in the interracial amateur productions of Lynn Carroll, an over 40 Milf and frequent co-star with Lex. He moved to Los Angeles and joined the industry full-time in March 1998. Initially he shot mainly for the companies such as West Coast Productions and director Spunky. Later, he appeared on videotapes produced by Anabolic and Diabolic. At the beginning of 2004 he joined Red Light District Video for a brief period.

Directing

Steele directs and performs exclusively for his own production company, Mercenary Motion Pictures (Headquarters in Encino, California), which he founded in 2003 and serves as chairman and CEO since 2005. The company reported annual net profits of $2.6 million in 2005.

In 2013 he joined the Evil Angel roster of directors.

Mainstream appearances

Steele has worked as a model on the side and acted in minor TV roles. He appeared in two episodes of Showtime's Weeds in 2007 (3x07 "He taught me how to drive by" and 3x08 "The two Mrs. Scottsons"), playing himself at a movie shoot filming a scene with Kirsten Price and Jessica Jaymes. He appeared in the 2009 feature film Crank 2: High Voltage and also appeared in an episode of the FX series Nip/Tuck (5x05 "Chaz Darling") as a male escort at a party.

Advocacy

In a 2015 interview, Steele was asked to comment about new to the industry, fellow performer Paige Jennings who goes by the stage name Veronica Vain. Steele stated, "If her intentions are to start her own studio, that definitely takes a business mind, and if she's got it, she can thrive." Like Steele, Jennings had been working on Wall Street, but for the asset management firm Lazard Asset Management. She received media attention for the announcement that she was quitting her internship to pursue a career in porn.

Personal life

Steele was engaged to porn actress and director Vanessa Blue, and the two have appeared together on Playboy TV (in his two-season show Lex in the City) and in several movies. They ended their relationship in June 2006. In 2008, Steele and Blue filed federal lawsuits against each other over the ownership of numerous videos that first appeared under the Mercenary Pictures label. The suits were settled in March 2009 after meeting with an alternative dispute resolution jurist. As of February 2016, he was married to a French-Canadian woman.

Politics

During his time studying African-American studies, Steele developed an awareness of American politics and African-American rights. In 2008 he expressed his support for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Awards

• 2000 AVN Award - Best Anal Sex Scene (Video) - Whack Attack 6
• 2000 AVN Award - Male Performer of the Year
• 2001 AVN Award - Best Couples Sex Scene (Video) - West Side
• 2002 AFW Award - American Male Performer of the Year
• 2002 AVN Award - Male Performer of the Year
• 2002 XRCO Award - Best Threeway Sex Scene - Up Your Ass 18
• 2002 XRCO Award - Male Performer of the Year
• 2003 AFW Award - Best Sex Scene (Video) - Lex the Impaler 2
• 2003 AFW Award - Best Anal Sex Scene (Video) - Up Your Ass 19
• 2003 AFW Award - American Male Performer of the Year
• 2003 AVN Award - Male Performer of the Year
• 2003 AVN Award - Best Anal Sex Scene (Video) - Babes in Pornland: Interracial Babes
• 2003 AVN Award - Best Couples Sex Scene (Video) - Lex the Impaler 2
• 2003 FOXE Award - Male Performer of the Year
• 2003 Venus Award - Best Actor (USA)
• 2004 FOXE Award - Favorite Male Performer
• 2004 NightMoves Award - Best Actor (Fan’s Choice)
• 2005 AVN Award - Best Anal Sex Scene - Lex Steele XXX 3
• 2005 FOXE Award - Male Fan Favorite
• 2005 XRCO Award - Sex Scene, Couple - XXX
• 2008 Urban Spice Award - Crossover Male
• 2008 Urban Spice Award - Visionary
• 2009 AVN Hall of Fame inductee
• 2009 XRCO Hall of Fame inductee
• 2009 Hot d'Or Award - Best American Male Performer
• 2010 Urban X Award - Best Couple Sex Scene - MILF Magnet 4
• 2010 Urban X Award - Best Gonzo Director
• 2011 Urban X Award - Director of the Year

[ Source: Wikipedia ]