Stephanie Bishop, born Stephanie Patricia Green on September 12, 1959, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was raised in rural New Hampshire after moving there in the 1960s. Of Caucasian descent, she took up ballet as a child, dancing with the New Hampshire Ballet Company from 1968 to 1976 and performing in regional theater until age 18. She pursued her dream of training at the American Ballet Theater in New York City but left in 1978, dissatisfied with her roles. She then joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving at Camp Lejeune and rising to corporal before being discharged after six years for fraternizing with superior officers. She worked briefly as a prostitute and entertainer at Baltimore’s “The Block” nightclub, where she got her trademark full-body tattoo—a snake from her left nipple morphing into a tiger of interlaced skulls across her belly, ending as a snake at her clitoris—inked by Philadelphia tattoo artist Harry Von Groff. Adopting the stage name Viper, she entered the adult film industry in 1986 at age 27, introduced by Bill Margold, with whom she had a five-year romantic relationship. Using aliases like Stephanie Bishop, Viper appeared in approximately 70 hardcore adult films from 1986 to 1993, working with studios like Western Visuals and directors like Bill Majors and Jim South. Notable films include Mystery of the Golden Lotus (1989, as a Nazi spy), White Trash (1986), Erotic Heights (1993), and Double Penetration 1 (1987), with her threesome scene alongside Scott Irish and Tom Byron in the latter noted for its intensity. She was best known for her uninhibited performances, particularly in anal and group scenes, and collaborated with performers like Eric Edwards, Mark Wallice, Ray Victory, and Peter North.