Georgina Spelvin was born Dorothy May on January 3, 1936. She suffered from polio as a child, but recovered well enough to become a dancer. She began her career in "legitimate" film, as a chorus girl in Guys and Dolls. When her friend, pornographic actor Harry Reems, introduced her to porn movie director Gerard Damiano, May moved into pornography. Her stage name was a variation on George Spelvin, a name traditionally used as a pseudonym by stage actors.