Who is Stormy Daniels, the porn star who got Donald Trump indicted?

Donald Trump indicted on criminal charges arising from alleged hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels

Former United States President Donald Trump was indicted by New York grand jury on Thursday after an investigation, which was led by the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.

The criminal charges against the former President- a first for any US President- are surrounding the hush payments made by Trump to Stormy Daniels, an adult star, before the 2016 US Presidential elections.

So who is Stormy Daniels, the woman in question in this scandal? Here are a few things to know about her:

• Daniels, whose original name is Stephanie Clifford, is an adult actress who was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Following her parents' divorce, she was raised by her mother. Daniels was neglected by her family members and as per her memoir released in 2018, she was sexually abused by an older man at the age of nine.
• Before entering the world of movies, Daniels first turned to striptease. After entering adult film industry, she worked in different capacities in the movies such as star actress, director and screenwriter, winning numerous awards for her work.
• As per Daniels, she met former US President Donald Trump in 2006 at a gold tournament. Trump invited her for dinner in his suite where the former President was dressed in his pyjamas, while welcoming her. In her book "Full Disclosure", Daniels wrote that the two went on to have what “may have been the least impressive sex I’d ever had”. Trump has denied that two ever had sexual relations.
• In October 2016, during the final stages of the US Presidential elections which Trump eventually won, Daniels signed a non-disclosure agreement in which she pledged to not reveal details of her sexual encounters with Trump in exchange for a $130,000 payment, as per documents filed in Los Angeles federal court. The agreement was signed by the lawyers of both Daniels and Trump. Trump, however, did not sign the pact.
• Two years later, in 2018, Daniels filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump in the federal court over a Twitter post in which the then US President accused her of a "con job" after she revealed she was threatened over publicizing her account of an alleged sexual relationship with him.
• On Thursday, Trump was indicted in New York City on criminal charges arising from the hush money paid to Daniels to avoid a controversy during the 2016 Presidential elections.