Kingwood classmate upset over porn star's use of her name Porn actress just liked classmate's name

The real Syvette Wimberly isn't too happy about the kind of attention that comes her way

She may not be a star, but Laura Madden has made a name for herself in pornographic movies. The problem is it's not her own.

When she embarked on her career in 2004, Madden, 25, selected the stage name Syvette Wimberly. She has appeared in a dozen or so hard-core videos under that name, including Irresistibly Delicious, Innocence and Dominance and others inappropriate for mention in a family newspaper.

But Madden's nom-de-sex did not spring from her imagination. It belongs to an old classmate at Kingwood High School, and the real Syvette Wimberly is none too happy about the attention that has come her way from people wondering why she was appearing in 18 and Hitchhiking.

So unhappy, in fact, that she recently filed suit against Madden and Vivid Entertainment Group, a major producer of adult films, asking that they no longer use or publicize the name and demanding damages for inflicting "humiliation, embarrassment, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, mental anguish and anxiety."

"The purpose of the lawsuit is to get her to stop using this name," said Wimberly's attorney, Caj Boatright. "We're not out looking for millions of dollars."

Career questions

Boatright said Wimberly, 25, who lives in Houston, came to him because she was tired of getting phone calls and e-mails from friends and acquaintances asking about her new and unconventional career. Saying the lawsuit arose out of concerns for personal safety and reputation, he described Wimberly as "a sweet girl," not an angry woman out for vengeance.

"She felt disappointed and didn't understand why (Madden) would do this," he said. "She wondered why she wouldn't use Syvette and some other last name."

Madden's attorney, Kent Schaffer, said his client did not choose the name to cause a problem for Wimberly or to get back at her for some old grievance, but simply because she liked the sound of it.

"There is no bad blood between them," Schaffer said. "Laura never meant to harm this other girl. Anyone who knows (Wimberly) knows she is not the actress. Nobody thinks that the girl in the movies is the Syvette Wimberly who they grew up with in Kingwood."

Vivid had no comment on the lawsuit, filed in Harris County last month, because the company had not yet been served, a spokesman said.

The lawsuit is not likely to get very far, predicted Mark Kernes, legal editor for Adult Video News, a trade industry publication.

"I don't ever remember hearing of a decision where a court said you can't use this name because it belongs to someone else," Kernes said. "I don't think that would happen, though I admit this is somewhat of an unusual name."

Name-related lawsuits

Kernes said he could recall no instance in which someone even sued a star such as Jenna Jameson or Peter North because they shared the same name. He did mention name-related lawsuits involving porn actresses Nina Hartley and Mary Carey , but those involved trademark or Internet domain issues.

Part of the lawsuit would appear to be moot. Madden no longer does adult videos, Schaffer said.

"She has no connection to the adult entertainment business in any way, shape or form and has started her life over," he said. "She thought that was pretty much behind her. Then this lawsuit pops up."

Schaffer said if the main point of the lawsuit is to get Madden to stop using the name, she would agree to that immediately.

"They'll never get a penny from her," he said. "She doesn't have any money, for one thing, but even if she did this suit will never hold up in court. I'm not aware of any court that has upheld such a lawsuit. If I use your name to defraud somebody, that's different. If I use it to obtain a loan or get a credit card, that's different."

The one thing that surely will result from the lawsuit is something both parties say they are trying to avoid: publicity.

"The real Syvette Wimberly is going to have more unwanted attention as a result of this lawsuit than she ever would have before," Schaffer said. "Now it's certainly local news, state news and maybe even in some places national news. This will be a boost for the film company. Other than that, everybody loses."

Neither Madden nor Wimberly could be reached for comment.

mike.tolson@chron.com