History Main / HookerWithaHeartofGold

This trope is only about prostitutes and other professional sex workers. For people who have casual sex [[ForHappiness for the pleasure of it]] rather than for money, see instead GoodBadGirl and EthicalSlut. However, the tropes can overlap when it comes to the more benevolent forms of sex work or full-scale UnproblematicProstitution. Both are liable to be against any form of sex work that is exploitative and/or emotionally damaging but might consider some forms relatively safe and thus approve of them.

** Ms. Cartman is the nicest parent (though she spoils her son far too much), but ends up in German porn and on the cover of ''Crack Whore'' magazine.

* In ''Film/OneFootInHell'', one of the crooks Mitch recruits for his scheme is Julie Reynolds, a prostitute who hopes for enough money to go East and make a respectable life for herself. Over the course of events, she falls in love with fellow conspirator Dan Keats, and the two of them plan to go straight and [[callToAgricultre buy back Dan's farm in Virginia]].

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "Guess Hoe's Coming to Dinner", when Granddad dates Cristal, who is obviously a prostitute and {{gold digger}}, but Granddad refuses to believe it. He is eventually forced to confront it when her pimp shows up. Despite an awesome/heartwarming moment where he defends Cristal's (supposed) honor to the pimp, she ultimately chooses to go back with him rather than stay with Granddad, even though he's clearly fallen for her quite hard by this point.

** Ptraci in ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'' is a helpful and sensible "handmaiden" who assists Teppic in trying to save his kingdom. Subverted in that, while she can recite the Disc equivalent of the ''Karma Sutra'' from memory, she's never actually had sex. [[spoiler: This is probably because she was handmaiden to the late king ... as her mother was before her.]]

* Ptraci in ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'' is a helpful and sensible "handmaiden". Subverted in that, while she can recite the Disc equivalent of the ''Karma Sutra'' from memory, she's never actually had sex. [[spoiler: This is probably because she was handmaiden to the late king ... as her mother was before her.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheDatingGuy'' has a young woman named Marie-Claire, who offered protagonist Mark the best sex of his life in exchange for a kidney to [[BillyNeedsAnOrgan give to her little brother, Gene]]. Gene needs the transplant to live, and Marie-Claire fully lives up to her end of the bargain.
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' has Marbles, Cha-Cha, Glitter, and fan-favorite Marshmallow, four hookers who are all friendly. The first three are recurring clients of Bob's when he took a second job as a cab driver, and they listen to Bob's problems, compliment his mustache, offer to share with him some beers and some crack, and give Tina some solid advice and a reminder of what a good father she has. As for Marshmallow, she's a semi-regular customer of Bob's and is willing to help him out with problems like the new stools making fart noises and needing to be sat on over and over until they stop.
* Yan from the ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'' episode "Good Hunting" follows this. Though she was forced into sexual slavery, she nonetheless maintains her morals. Most notably, she only goes on a killing spree in order to avenge women who were sexually assaulted by the Englishman.

* Music/SystemOfADown's song "She's Like Heroin" from ''Music/MezmerizeHypnotize'' sort of plays with this. It describes a prostitute who is more than willing to indulge her client's strange fetishes but also describes how she's toxic and addictive.
* In the RockOpera ''Music/OperationMindcrime'' by Music/{{Queensryche}}, the protagonist falls in love with Mary, a former prostitute who is now a nun.

* "Three Wooden Crosses", a country song by Music/RandyTravis, portrays a prostitute as the hero; the single mother of the singer, who survived a Horrible Accident. Ironically, Travis is, more than any other popular country singer, largely associated with gospel music these days.
* Hallelujah, a reoccurring character in many albums released by The Hold Steady, swings back and forth between a very sympathetic prostitute and devout Catholic, sometimes at once.
* French singer Pierre Perret's song ''La Pute au Grand Coeur'', ''The Whore with a Heart of Gold''. As you do.
* Slightly hinted in Laura Branigan's song ''Gloria''. Curiously, this wasn't in the original Italian song (by Umberto Tozzi).

* Music/TomWaits's "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" is, well basically, a Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis. She tries to paint herself like this, talking about how she's turning her life around. In reality, it is a subversion, as the hooker is in jail and is writing for bail money.

* Music/EdithPiaf's song "Milord" is about a gentle lower-class "girl of the port" (perhaps a prostitute) who develops a crush on an elegantly attired apparent upper-class British traveller (or "milord"), whom she has seen walking the streets of the town several times (with a beautiful young woman on his arm), but who has not even noticed her. The singer feels that she is nothing more than a "shadow of the street" (ombre de la rue).
* Music/RodStewart's "Little Miss Understood."

* In Music/TheStatlerBrothers' "Bed of Rose's" Rose takes in the narrator after she finds him begging in the streets.

* Angelica Bianca in the Restoration-era comedy ''Theatre/TheRover''. Angelica was first portrayed by Nell Gwynn, who was a real-life example, going on to become the mistress of Charles II and become his last words.
* Of all things, the musical ''Theatre/StarlightExpress'', notable for all of its cast being locomotives or railroad cars, has Belle, [[http://www.soundtrackslyrics.com/rst/Starlight-Express-1984-disc1.html#12 the sleeping car with a heart of gold]].
* ''Theatre/{{RENT}}'' has Mimi Marquez, a dancer at an S&M club. She still manages to get Roger's heart.
%%* Lucy in the musical ''Theatre/JekyllAndHyde''.

%%* Mary Magdelene in ''Theatre/JesusChristSuperstar''.
* Averted in ''Theatre/ManOfLaMancha'', where Aldonza knows full well her status in the world and hates it (and spends most of her time singing about it).

* A similar plot is used in Puccini's opera ''Theatre/LaRondine'', where the courtesan Magda gives up the young hunk Ruggero for fear of sullying his reputation.

* Kitty Duval in ''Theatre/TheTimeOfYourLife''. She decidedly doesn't fit the stereotype, and won't let any friendly person call her a whore; her cover story is that she used to be a famous burlesque queen.
* Hedy [=LaRue=] from ''Theatre/HowToSucceedInBusinessWithoutReallyTrying''. Heck, she even has a song called "Love from a Heart of Gold".

* Heavily implied with Luca Trulywaath in VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica works as a Dive Therapist. While not outright stated, it's shown that Dive Therapy can involve sexual acts to fulfill certain client's fantasy in the Dive Therapy and Luca might practice it to improve her reputation, especially in her Lv. 5 Cosmosphere wherein one scenario she does use sex appeal seduces Croix and almost escalates from going further and in others allude to other sexual fetishes and practices. Despite being implicated as a high-in-demand prostitute who only does it earn, Luca is still a caring girl who does want to use her job make others happy even if she doesn't fully enjoy it.

* The most outward example in the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' franchise is Tethys from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', who alludes to possible prostitution in addition to learning how to dance alone in some of her support conversations, [[spoiler: due to having been abandoned by her parents [[PromotionToParent with her baby brother Ewan]].]]

* ''VideoGame/FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist'': Madame Ovaree, to some extent. Possibly the rest of the ladies at the... errr... ladies' house.
* While the term is not stated outright, it becomes obvious in your conversations with her that Astis from ''Videogame/{{Piss}}'' is a sex worker. She also has a very sweet personality and sunny disposition and is one of only three people in the game who seem to genuinely care about and be concerned for Moira (the protagonist), and she is clearly trying to look out for her and wants to help her as best she can.
* ''Videogame/{{LISA}}'' has a play on this with recruitable party member [[DragQueen Queen Roger]]. Roger hits all the marks for the trope, including drug addiction and a troubled past.

* Cristina Popa in ''VideoGame/{{Vampyr}}'' is a Romanian prostitute who works in the Whitechapel district. Though very cynical and hostile when interacting with Jonathan, she is nonetheless using this job to support herself and her brother because she has been left very little choice.
* Primrose Azelhart in ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' is a tavern dancer who is heavily implied to have done more than just dancing at her job and is all but stated to have "entertained" the clientele, as well as her master [[EntitledBastard Helgenish]]. With that said, she is still a fundamentally kind and sweet young woman who acts as CoolBigSister to other female members of the party. By extension, Prim's fellow dancer [[OnlyFriend Yusufa]] also qualifies.
* Abigail Marston (nee Roberts) from ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and its {{Prequel}} ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' was a prostitute before the events of either game. She's kind, loving, and one of the more decent people in a series full of crooks, liars, and murderers.
* The Escort from ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' uses her [[InsistentTerminology distraction]] skills to protect the Town from TheMafia.

* Yuka Otowa from ''VisualNovel/CrescendoJP''; her reasons for her descent into this lifestyle are [[BrokenBird tragic and sad]], linked to [[spoiler: her parents' suicides and the abuse she suffered in foster homes and an orphanage]]. The player can get the bad ending by making the PlayerCharacter a total bastard and having him sleep with Yuka solely for sex,[[note]]Via failing her SecretTestOfCharacter where she leads the protagonist to a love hotel to see if he can see beyond her carefree facade.[[/note]] they can get the good ending by not taking advantage of her [[spoiler:(and her and the PC can lay together of their own free will in much happier circumstances)]] and [[EarnYourHappyEnding redeem her]]. ([[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Ryo aka the protagonist is NOT that kind of guy anyway]], so treating Yuka like that makes ''[[GuiltBasedGaming the player]]'' the bastard/bitch).
* The victim of the very first case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', Cindy Stone, who was dating the resident ButtMonkey, [[MeaningfulName Larry Butz]], at the time of her murder, was revealed to have numerous "[[MealTicket sugar daddies]]". One of Larry's gifts to her was a clock in the shape of The Thinker statue, which says the time out loud when it's head is tilted. Despite being pretty heavy for a clock, in no small part due to its complex mechanisms, Stone still took it with her on a trip to France.

* Camilla from ''{{Webcomic/Zoophobia}}'' is a violence-prone stripper who is just a misunderstood girl with a passion for dance, limited by her unfortunate reputation.
* Diane in ''Webcomic/RPGWorld''. Subverted by the eventual discovery that [[spoiler: although her class is officially "Harlot," she's never actually done the deed and is in fact rather naive when it comes to sex.]]

* The pornstar/director/producer Zig Zag from ''WebComic/SabrinaOnline'' is another subversion; she has the required DarkAndTroubledPast and heart of gold, but loves her job and takes great pride in the quality of what she produces. Later on, she pretty much takes up the role of spiritual mentor to the (comparatively) prudish main character and proves a shameless mothering figure to the other members of her studio. She also guest-stars in a number of other WebComics.

* Lou Dem Five in ''ComicBook/BuckGodotZapGunForHire'' is a madame with a heart of gold. No, really, she's quite nice and basically founded what eventually became a franchise for the purpose of making sure the girls got an even break. Her best worker, Sizzlin' Sue is also an example of this.
%%* In ''Webcomic/MenageA3'', this is Gary's [[http://www.menagea3.net/d/20090716.html vision]] of his favourite porn-star Amber-Amber.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Dreamless}}'', the male lead Takashi's friends hire him a prostitute. He is not amused. The woman is very accepting of his explanation that he's not interested in getting his money's worth, and proves herself to be quite pleasant.
* Ga Yeon's unni from ''Webcomic/SongOfTheCloud'' [[spoiler: who dies of an unnamed disease within the first few chapters; the disease is presumably lung cancer]].
* Clarice from ''Webcomic/GirlsWithSlingshots'', who is an S&M dominatrix for hire and a porn store clerk; especially in the last issues of the webcomic, where we see her as extremely lonely and longing for affection, and ends up pairing up with the [[BookWorm book nerd]] Joshua.

* Isabelle from ''Webcomic/PandorasTale'' is a sex worker and resistance member who ends up as Pandora's de facto guardian when the escaped Helper imprints on her. She's kindhearted and patient, and takes her new role very seriously, teaching Pandora about consent and fending off clients who think she's available based purely on the fact that she's a Helper.
* Borba is writing a prologue to ''Webcomic/BornToBeAlive'' that features a polar bear prostitute named Katya. She offers to share her income with a vixen friend named Nadja, but the clients want nothing to do with foxes. Nadja calmly accepts the rejection, so she may have a glimmer of gold too. [[labelnote:Spoiler--click to reveal]]She has a daughter to take care of.[[/labelnote]]

%%* [[VideoGame/{{Metroid}} Samus Aran]], of all people, serves this role in ''WebVideo/ThereWillBeBrawl''.
* Creator/BradJones' miniseries "WebVideo/TheHookerWithAHeartOfGold" simultaneously plays with, lampshades, and keeps the trope straight in that the hooker in question actually has a ([[{{Cyborg}} cybernetic]]) golden heart. She's still pretty nice, though.
* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's BFF Nella has a "schoolteacher who is also a whore with a heart of gold" in her [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette/nostalgia-chick/17773-my-little-pony My Little Pony melodrama]]

* Six of ''WesternAnimation/TrippingTheRift'' is a former sex slave, until a programming upgrade made her too smart and sensible to suit that line of work.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Although not true, Bart [[DiscussedTrope discusses]] it in "Sweets and Sour Marge" by referring to Erin Brockovich as "the prostitute with a heart of gold."

* Referenced in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', with a [[CouchGag newspaper headline]] reading "Hooker Killed for Heart of Gold".
* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Hell is Other Robots", there is Hooker-bot 5000, programmed with a heart of solid gold.

* [[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill The Hills]] take in a woman that turns out to be a hooker, trying to earn her GED and lead a better life, but "fell back into" prostitution because of the money she ''wasn't'' making at Strickland Propane. She, after a series of events where Hank "bought" her from her old pimp, became somewhat of a family friend, eventually attending Luanne's wedding.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseJonahHex'', the bargirl who provides Jonah information about the murders in exchange for enough money to leave the life. After Jonah rewards her, she thanks him by kissing his cheek. His ''scarred'' cheek.

* Prostitution is thought of as a fairly prestigious business in many works by Creator/RobertAHeinlein. A skilled Hetaera is usually a very perceptive and emotionally soothing person. The ones noted by name are especially so.

* Tránsito Soto from Creator/IsabelAllende's ''Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits'' is a PluckyGirl who takes her promises seriously and sees prostitution as a way to build her own life. With a bit of help from her once-patron Esteban Trueba she ''does'' make it big in the capital, reinvents herself as the most beautiful and smartest prostitute there, is a BenevolentBoss to her fellow sex-workers when she creates her own brothel, [[spoiler: and repays the favor by saving Esteban's granddaughter Alba from the military.]]
* Jude Keller in ''The Passion of Mary-Margaret'' by Lisa Samson. An unusual version of the trope as Jude Keller is male.
* The ''Literature/{{Shadowleague}}'' books give us Rochalla, who is only a prostitute because she needs to buy medicine for her younger brothers and sisters, all of whom are dying of the plague.
* Creator/HonoreDeBalzac being a 19th-century author, ''loves'' this trope. In his works, we find Esther in ''Scenes from a Courtesan's Life'', Coralie in ''Lost Illusions'', arguably Marana in ''The Maranas'' short story or even the eponymous ''Girl with the Golden Eyes'' (though there are [[DepravedBisexual other]] [[PsychoLesbian issues]] at work there)... Of course, it tends to [[RedemptionEqualsDeath end badly]] for the poor girl. Generally speaking, Balzac likes his {{Good Bad Girl}}s.
* This is double subverted in ''Got'', a crime novel by an anonymous author who goes by the letter D. The protagonist has had several (paid) experiences with the prostitute in question and strongly respects her even though he is aware she does not love him. Then he happens to bring a BriefcaseFullOfMoney to their latest tryst, on his way to deliver it to a crime boss, and of course, she can't resist the temptation to steal it. The double subversion comes in that she's not the villain here -- she's a reasonably decent person doing everything she can to escape her hellish life, and she's not nearly as evil as the aforementioned crime boss, who wants her dead and that money back no matter what the consequences.
* Xaviera Hollander described herself like this in her autobiography ''The Happy Hooker''.
* Alma Schmidt (aka "Lorene"), Prewitt's girlfriend in James Jones' ''Literature/FromHereToEternity''. (In the film version, this was sanitized by making the character a "hostess" at a nightclub.)
* Belle Watling, the madam with a heart of gold, in ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'', who always has clear moral insight, strangely enough, and donates generously to the cause. (Other characters of this type named Belle are probably [[MeaningfulName allusions to her]].) The [[LiteraryNecrophilia authorized sequel]] ''Rhett Butler's People'' makes her even more sympathetic by revealing that she fell in love with Rhett and had his child.
* Lula from the Literature/StephaniePlum novels… sort of. When she first meets Stephanie, she is, indeed, a ho'; after she's maimed lightly and tied up on Stephanie's fire escape, she opts to leave the sexing life to become a bounty hunter herself. She routinely brings up "back when I was a ho'" as it relates to the current situation. She has kind of a stereotypical "sassy black woman" attitude about her that would conflict less with the trope if she were smarter in general. She's incredibly gung-ho about the ''idea'' of being a bounty hunter, but, as a consequence of aforementioned not-that-brightness, she has a tendency to [[UnwantedAssistance make things worse]].
* The Literature/InDeath series occasionally features sex workers (termed "licensed companions" in the setting, which has legalized and instated regulations upon the profession) as victims, witnesses, and/or suspects. They run a gamut of personalities and mostly aren't portrayed as especially good or bad, but there are some examples of the trope. The foremost is recurring character Charles Monroe, a high-class male LC who plays a supporting role in several books and becomes a friend to Eve (and eventually quits the business to become a sex therapist).
* In the Naguib Mahfouz novel, ''The Thief and the Dogs,'' there's a character named Nur. She's been in love with the main character since before the story began, is sweet, helpful, honest, and is portrayed as a victim swept up in the AntiHero's rampage of murder and crime, all the while remaining dogmatically optimistic about her lot in life and determined to overcome it. Oh, and did I mention she's a prostitute?
* Corbie in ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'' is a prostitute when [[GentlemanWizard Felix]] [[JerkassWoobie Harrowgate]] meets her. She helps him find a cheap hotel, helps him learn a strange city... and he takes her as his apprentice.
* Trope is very common in novels which deal with adventurous characters, where most prostitutes are treated with uncanny sympathy. James Clavell's Literature/AsianSaga springs to mind. Part [[JustifiedTrope justified]] as the usual environment where the characters live (sailors, adventurer merchants, military men on and around the battlefield) has few opportunities to allow people make friends and build relationships outside - if Character X's nearest woman in many miles is a hooker, after some time they will become good friends, for sheer necessity if anything.
* The prostitute Boule de Suif in Creator/GuyDeMaupassant's "Boule de Suif" refuses to sleep with a Prussian officer out of patriotism, but her rich and snobbish traveling companions (who constantly insult her even though she shared food with them! because she's that nice) tell her French soldiers are dying because the officer won't let the nuns continue on to the hospital unless she gives in. So she does. She is pretty much the only moral non-hypocritical character in the story.
* In ''Literature/EvaLuna'', the main character refers to the girls who work under [[MissKitty La Señora]] as basically this. They're normal, kind-hearted, good-looking, hard-working young women who dote on her via taking her out to the movies and have cake afterwards -- it's just that they happen work as {{High Class Call Girl}}s, and the then-pre-teen Eva doesn't judge them for their occupation.
* Tránsito Soto from ''Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits'' is a PluckyGirl teen hooker from a tiny brothel who really wants to make it in the city. This amuses her client Esteban Trueba, who gives her money to do so; Tránsito takes it very seriously, and only accepts the cash [[ThePromise when he lets her promise that she'll pay it back.]] Not only she ''does'' make it in the capital, becoming a ''gorgeous'' HighClassCallGirl who also helps out the hookers that work with her, but [[spoiler: she ''does'' keep her promise to Esteban by saving his granndaughter Alba from the military that keeps her prisoner.]]
* Ruby in the Colleen [=McCullough=] novel ''The Touch''. To the point where she and the wife of the man she's the mistress to become the best of friends.
* [[spoiler:Finnick Odair]] from ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' [[spoiler: is a rare male example, since he was forced into prostitution by the Capitol.]]
* Averted with Angel in Francine Rivers' ''Literature/RedeemingLove'' -- she’s so embittered by the constant objectification she’s received during her life as a “soiled dove” that she has become very [[IceQueen cold]] and [[FemmeFatale manipulative]]. Played straight with a couple of other prostitutes in the same novel, such as Lucky, who, while rather sad and lonely, is also quite compassionate and maternal.
* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'': Reynard's love interest, Hermeline, plays it straight.
* Invoked in ''[[Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo 1634: The Baltic War]]'': as a group of mercenary officers are fleeing from probable execution, they decide to see if the intended spouse of one of them, a former prostitute, will hide them.
--> '''Patrick:''' So, here we are in Southwark, about to test a legend. Is there really such a thing as a whore with a heart of gold?
* Creator/ToniMorrison [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] this trope in her novel ''Literature/TheBluestEye'', which features three prostitutes named China, Poland, and Miss Marie (the last of whom is a BigBeautifulWoman). Morrison explicitly states that they are ''not'' Hookers with Hearts of Gold: they hate the men they sleep with and the wives of those men, have no problem with charging their clients, and entered their profession not out of desperation or need, but because they ''like having sex.'' However, they're also the only characters in the book who are consistently kind to Pecola, the story's BrokenBird: they let her stay with them, tell her stories, give her presents, and even take her for outings to movies and a carnival.
* When Ban Daur visits an exclusive gambling den in ''[[Literature/GauntsGhosts Blood Pact]]'', the ''hostess'' who welcomes him feels genuinely sorry for the young, gentle man who is about to waste his life and fortune. [[spoiler: She doesn't realize yet that her establishment will be soon scammed by Rawne and his cronies.]]
* Petra in ''Literature/{{Caliphate}}'' is a poor Christian girl forced into prostitution because [[DefiledForever she was raped by her master's son]]. She is still delicate because of the abuse she endures. Her "trainer" [[MissKitty Ling]] arguably counts herself, even though she puts Petra through a lot of suffering, she still feels bad about the poor girl and [[spoiler:secretly plans to smuggle her out of safety to China]].
* Antonina in the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'' is an ''former'' high-class courtesan, but that didn't stop Belisarius from falling in love and marrying her.
* Many supporting characters in ''Literature/TalesFromNetheredge'' count -- Rask, Joy, [[spoiler:Charna]] and others -- as well as two of the protagonists.
* Brutally deconstructed in the Vietnamese epic poem ''Literature/TheTaleOfKieu''. The protagonist Kiều is tricked into the profession by a pimp, and is raped repeatedly. Any attempts she made to escape from the brothel or preserve her "dignity" (i.e. virginity) is anticipated by her head madame Tú who concocts plans to crush her spirit, make Kiều thinks she is no longer worthy of love and has no "dignity" left, so that she would give in and serve clients. Even after she has escaped the brothel, she remains traumatized. [[spoiler:In the end, she is reunited with her first love, but only enters a SexlessMarriage with him as she no longer thinks she is worthy.]]

* [[http://askicepack.tumblr.com/ Ice Pack]], a fan-made Zebra escort in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipisMagic Ponyville]]. He's good enough that many of his clients are repeat customers. However, he has turned down underage clients before, and when an underage filly attempts to buy his services, [[http://www.ponibooru.org/post/view/81547 he takes her to an amusement park instead]].
* In ''Fanfic/LostCauses'', Jessica Rabbit's DarkAndTroubledPast involves her being forced into prostitution because the only "job" she's able to do is have sex. This leaves her social pariah even amongst other Toons. Still, Jessica is a sweet woman who was simply conditioned to deal with her traumatic life.
* ''Fanfic/KitsuneNoKenFistOfTheFox'' gives us minor character Kohada, who was forced into prostitution by a friend's boyfriend. While she's a BrokenBird who covers up her brokenness by being a StepfordSnarker, the narrative notes that in her time as a sex slave, she's had a few genuine moments where she willingly indulges and "tutors" johns who admit to being virgins out to silence their friends' VirginShaming.
* In ''Fanfic/EyesWideOpenAllTheTime'', Aki Yazaki is a homeless streetwalker and the resident TeamMom of the Freebird gang.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3123443/3/The-Little-Child-to-Lead-Him The Little Child to Lead Him]]'' a prostitute named Lacey teaches Harry how to care for his infant cousin.

* Massively averted by Tralala in ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' by Creator/HubertSelby. She's just as cruel, greedy, and violent as the local thugs who pimp her out. In contrast, her portrayal by Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh in the film adaptation gives her some of this tropes' quality, as when she comforts the young neighborhood boy with a misplaced infatuation with her, and seems genuinely moved (in spite of herself) by her last trick's love letter.
* Nancy from ''Literature/OliverTwist''. It's only implied in the original, but in the foreword to a later edition, Dickens confirmed that she was, in fact, a prostitute.

%%* Kamala in Creator/HermannHesse's ''Literature/{{Siddhartha}}''.
* Traditionally, Mary Magdalene, friend of Jesus has been depicted as a harlot, but this comes from [[WordOfDante tradition]] and not from [[Literature/TheBible scripture]]. For an excellent revision of Mary, read Creator/ChristopherMoore's ''Literature/LambTheGospelAccordingToBiff'', which is essentially a subversion of the entire New Testament.
** There is a scriptural example in the Old Testament, with Rahab (see Joshua 2), helping two Israelite spies escape Jericho. She even ends up as one of Jesus's ancestors.
** The Book of Hosea is a subversion. The prophet Hosea was told by God to marry the harlot Gomer (no, not that [[Series/TheAndyGriffithShow Gomer]]) as a metaphor for God's relationship with Israel. [[HumansAreBastards She wouldn't give up her whoring ways,]] [[MeaningfulName her (possibly illegitimate) children ended up with depressing names referring to how God felt about Israel,]] and [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory Hosea had to buy her back.]]
* Grushenka from ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'' is depicted as this for most of the book. It doesn't help that her beauty is such that a man can't really take his eyes off her. But later on, we learn that she's a nice person at heart, not the manipulative slut we'd imagined. Some people would be disappointed by that.

%%* Esmenet, one of the main characters of ''Literature/SecondApocalypse'', is like this.
* Fantine in ''Literature/LesMiserables'' turns to prostitution as the only available way to support her daughter and herself, in that order. Neither the book nor [[Theatre/LesMiserables the world-famous musical]] takes her occupation lightly: the musical devotes an [[LyricalDissonance upbeat musical number]] to the dehumanizing life of a seaside hooker. The book is still more detailed about it, but then again, the book details everything.
* ''Literature/StripTease'', by Creator/CarlHiaasen, hinges on this trope: Erin Grant becomes a stripper, but only because she has to do something lucrative to pay off her legal fees from trying to get custody of her daughter from her sleazeball ex-husband. She never actually has much of a romance with anybody, let alone being saved by ThePowerOfLove, and she gets the happiest ending of anyone in the book.
* The eponymous prostitute/pimp/crime boss from ''[[CyberPunk Burning Chrome]]'' is a total subversion. Hooker with a heart of steel, indeed.
%%* Mona, in Gibson's ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy'', plays the trope completely straight.
* Angelica Bianca in the Restoration-era comedy ''Theatre/TheRover''. Angelica was first portrayed by Nell Gwynn, who was a real-life example, going on to become the mistress of Charles II and become his last words.

* Two of them in ''Literature/CloudOfSparrows''. Marianne married Stark in a {{flashback}}, and his CharacterArc is about seeking revenge for her murder. Heiko is a geisha and assassin sent to kill Genji if he ever proves troublesome, but she later decides to let him live.

* In ''Literature/TheoriesOfRelativity'', the 13-year-old girl who is the main character sets his eye on slowly becomes more and more hooker-like. As the story progresses, he suspects more and more that she has sexual experiences. All the while, they still stay friends and she makes some stupid decisions which hurt the protagonist. In the end, [[spoiler:the protagonist just loses hope on her.]]

%%* Lorena from ''Literature/LonesomeDove'' is a prime example.
%%* Vita from ''Literature/AndEternity''.
* Creator/JohnSteinbeck: He loved this trope.
** He used it in ''Literature/CanneryRow'' and its sequel ''Sweet Thursday''.
** Kate from ''Literature/EastOfEden'' is the complete inverse of this trope, the Hooker With A Heart of Pure Malice.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out.
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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''LightNovel/SaiunkokuMonogatari'' has Kochou, the head courtesan of the capital's best brothel, who serves as a close friend and CoolBigSis to the protagonist Shuurei.
* From ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'' Anise, a prostitute from the slums of Baldadd is Alibaba's mother, and a very caring and sweet one too. She even [[ParentalSubstitute adopted her son's best friends]] after their [[AbusiveParents father]] disappeared.
* In the second episode of the ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' series, Yohji Kudo meets and befriends the prostitute Maki, who betrays her pimp for him and ends up dead because of it. Yohji later kills the pimp both to avenge her and because the pimp was one of the targets of Weiss' original mission; meeting poor Maki just made the pimp seem that much more despicable, so he enjoys it more than he would have otherwise.
* Natsuki Mogi, Takumi Fujiwara's crush from ''Manga/InitialD''. She's actually a quite sweet GirlNextDoor aside of ''that'' detail, and later [[CharacterDevelopment does her best to get out of teen prostitution]] (or "compensated dating" aka ''EnjoKosai'' in the anime) when she decides Takumi is the right guy for her, but [[BreakTheCutie it's MUCH harder than she thought]]... [[DieForOurShip And guess who gets bashed]] [[TheScrappy and called "heartless, stupid, vapid whore" by fans]]?
* Luca, a prostitute in the Conviction arc of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'', is one of the few genuinely good characters in its CrapsackWorld, and gets props for being one of the VERY few good people who doesn't end up being [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished maimed or raped or killed off for being good]], since, [[WorldHalfEmpty in the Berserkerverse]], being good automatically enlists you in the RedShirtArmy.
* In at least the anime version of ''Manga/SamuraiGun'', there's Ohana. Forced to work in the local brothel due to a debt racked up by her now-dead parents, she's otherwise a very sweet girl and the girl that CelibateHero Ichimatsu visits -- primarily because she has no qualms about the fact he doesn't want sex from their time together. She also has a crush on him, and he is implied to have a crush on her. Towards the end of the series, the brothel is burned down and she is given work as a waitress at the same restaurant that Ichimatsu does.
* Nokaze of ''Manga/{{Jin}}'' is a HighClassCallGirl working in Edo Red Lights district and kind of a jerkass, but she's honestly caring for her friends and once she finds out how good a doctor Jin is, she's always there to help him.
%%* Yuri in ''Manga/{{Nana}}''.
* Karen Kasumi from ''Manga/{{X1999}}''. She never becomes a love interest for any of the main characters, though it's strongly hinted that Karen does have feelings for [[NiceGuy Aoki]], but doesn't act on them because he's married (or in the TV series, recently divorced). She has a tragic past involving cults and parental abuse, and then she's a motherly figure for the younger Seals [[spoiler: and in the manga, ''for one of the Angels'' - driving him to pull an HeroicSacrifice for her sake.]]
* According to her backstory, Lalah Sune from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' was a teen prostitute before Char recruited her.
* Marida Cruz from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'' also fits this trope perfectly: while initially your usual, stoic character, she turns out to be one of the most fleshed out characters in the story, and offers Banagher insight, advice, and even encouragement. In addition, she also cares greatly for her "princess", and her "Master", Suberoa. [[spoiler: And when you remember that she's one of the "discarded" Puru clones, she becomes even more tragic.]]

* In ''Anime/{{Grenadier}}'', Touko Kurenai opens a brothel-complex after retiring as a member of the Ten Heavenly Enlightened. Said red-light-district is a neutral zone which serves as a sanctuary for war-weary warriors and a refuge for survivors of violence, as well as offering redemption for perpetrators of violence who wish to reform themselves.

* In a roundabout way, Peorth of ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''; She's a wish-granting goddess who specializes in romantic wishes (both literal and as a euphemism).

* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'':
** Yumi Komagata, loyal to her lover Makoto Shishio until the very end, as well as a BrokenBird and Soujiro's CoolBigSis.
** [[SonOfAWhore Yahiko's]] IllGirl mother was this before she died, and when an enemy tries to use his mother's profession as a slur against Yahiko [[ShutUpHannibal he replies that he's proud to be her son]] since she did everything she could to take care of him.

* ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' has a twisted example of a woman who is a prostitute and has a heart of gold... and a split personality, each of which takes only one of these two features.
* ''Manga/{{Amakusa 1637}}'' gives us Kichou aka Kikuhime, the gorgeous mistress of a cruel daimyo who befriends {{The Hero}}ine Natsuki. She's very much a NiceGirl with some shades of BrokenBird [[spoiler: and falls in love with Natsuki's childhood friend Eiji]].
* Ryuuji's mother Yasuko in ''LightNovel/ToraDora'' acts like this trope, but like Miko Nakarai she isn't a hooker, just a late night bar hostess -- which in some aspects is perceived as pretty much the same in Japan. Aside from that, she's a very kind-hearted person and loves her son a lot.

* Yuki, one of the main characters of ''Manga/AcidTown'' fits neatly into this troupe; [[spoiler: At age eleven, the death of Yuki's mother forced him to result to prostitution to feed himself and his baby brother.]]

* Cass and eventually Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' fall into this troupe. Both boys resort to prostitution to help deal with troubled homes lives and drug addiction. (Cass due to his alcoholic, AbusiveParents and Jeremy due to the trauma of Greg's abuse as well as a result of being an orphaned teenager in Boston.) Both boys take care of another young boy, Bon Bon who is so dependent on drugs that he literally cannot function. Daisy also fits into this trope when she [[spoiler: tells Jeremy about Greg's doings at the whore hotel and how he said he killed his previous wife.]]
* In ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', Toki and many (if not all) of the other women in Irontown used to work in brothels. They are very kind, if sarcastic, and all bravely take up arms and defend their town from the invading samurai.
* The {{josei}} manga ''Oiran Chirashi'' is about a FishOutOfTemporalWater young woman named Haru, who has to become a HighClassCallGirl to survive in the [[RedLightDistrict Yoshiwara]] of the Tokugawa shogunate. She's shown as initially naive, at times way too sensitive to do her work well [[BeautifulAllAlong despite her beautiful looks]], and showing compassion towards those in trouble - like when she [[spoiler: tries to help an IllGirl prostitute but fails, and is emotionally crushed when she learns that the girl died and wasn't even given a proper burial.]]
* Yuko from ''Manga/MyLesbianExperienceWithLoneliness'' fits the bill, complimenting and accommodating the neurotic protagonist in a life-changing event. Her agency seems friendly too.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Stacy-X was a member of the X-Men after her brothel was destroyed, and had a rivalry with Husk for Archangel's affections. Sadly, she was PutOnABus and wasn't mentioned again until ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' some 3 years later, where she lost her powers and was killed shortly after the Decimation. However, she returned in the limited series ''Vengeance'' with no explaination given as to how she was alive or regained her mutant abilities.

* Trish from ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable''. It's very easy to understand why Tank is crushing on her.

* Clara from ''Clara… de noche'' (''Betty by Night'' or ''Betty by the hour'' for the english speakers). She's actually a sweet, good natured girl who happens to be the most envied and desired hooker in her city, with her mandatory sad backstory. That doesn't stop her from being a [[SingleMomStripper kind and good natured mother]] [[SonOfAWhore for her son]], make frequent donations to charity, offer discounts or "work" free for down-of-the mill potential customers and being helpful and friendly to everyone.

* ''ComicBook/{{Revival}}'' has Nikki the stripper: she's drug-free and has strong boundaries against actual sex work. Overall she is a decent match for her boyfriend and a stabilizing force for his son. The boy's mother can't see past Nikki's profession and blames her for the father's failure to improve himself.
* ComicBook/RedSonja seeks out the world's greatest prostitute Aneva in ''The Art of Blood and Fire''. Aneva is hoping to create a BandOfBrothels to protect herself and her fellows but is persuaded to join Sonja when she learns that if Sonja is successful one thousand slaves will be freed.

* Most characters in the [[FanFic/HookerVerse Hooker!verse]], to various extents. WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick gets this status through her PetTheDog moments towards the Critic; WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic because of the sheer terribleness of his situation making him TheWoobie by default; Liz for comforting the other characters and being able to not only stay a genuinely nice person but also hold on to a religion despite it all, etc...
* Klee in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/88520/1/welcome-to-the-brothel/das-laufhaus Welcome To The Brothel]] is definitely this trope. She showed the protagonist enough care, playfulness, and affection to not only make his first time a really good one but also helped to keep him from going insane from the war.
** Klee reprises this role in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/106068/1/relax/intimacy Relax, ]] which is a followup story. It turns out that she and the protagonist from Welcome To The Brothel have an ongoing relationship. It's really heartwarming.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''-''VideoGame/BioShock'' crossover, ''{{Fanfic/Vision}}'', we know that Zephyr is one of the few nice ponies in the city from her first chapter. In the next chapter, we also learn that she's the other half of this trope when Siren walks in on her and SoftSpokenSadist Echo.
* In ''FanFic/OriginStory'', one of the nicest characters is Louise Fulford, who was trapped in prostitution by her kidnapper/pimp, and took the first opportunity to escape the life that was given to her.

* In an episode of ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', Justine Bateman plays a highly paid hooker who Michael (played by her brother, Jason Bateman) mistakes for his long lost sister. He hires her as an accountant due to this misunderstanding and puts her in charge of a huge amount of money. Michael suggests the fact she doesn't steal it means that she isn't his sister.

* Primrose Axelhart in ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' is a tavern dancer who is heavily implied to have done more than just dancing at her job and is all but stated to have "entertained" the clientele, as well as her master [[EntitledBastard Helgenish]]. With that said, she is still a fundamentally kind and sweet young woman who acts as CoolBigSister to other female members of the party. By extension, Prim's fellow dancer [[OnlyFriend Yusufa]] also qualifies.

* Angelica Bianca in the Restoration-era comedy ''Theatre/TheRover''. Angelica was first portrayed by Nell Gwynn, who was a real-life example, going on to become the mistress of Charles II and become his FamousLastWords.

* ''Series/AFrenchVillage'': Natacha, a prostitute who Henri meets, not only is a very nice woman, but also risks her life aid a resistance group by gathering information on the Germans.

* Brutually deconstructed in the Vietnamese epic poem ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Kieu The Tale of Kieu]]''. The protagonist Kiều is tricked into the profession by a pimp, and is raped repeatedly. Any attempts she made to escape from the brothel or preserve her "dignity" (a Vietnamese slang imply virginity) is anticipated by her head madame Tú who concocts plans to crush her spirit to make Kiều thinks she no longer worthy of love and has no "dignity" left to make her give in and serve clients. Even after she escaped the brothel, she obviously had a lot of trauma and ended the story reunited with her first love but only enter a SexlessMarriage as she no longer thinks she is worthy.

* Brutually deconstructed in the Vietnamese epic poem ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Kieu The Tale of Kieu]]. The protagonist Kiều is tricked into the profession by a pimp, and is raped repeatedly. Any attempts she made to escape from the brothel is anticipated by her headmadame Tú who concocts plans to crush her spirit to make Kiều thinks she no longer worthy of love and has no "dignity" left to make her give in and serve clients. Even after she escaped the brothel, she obviously had a lot of trauma and ended the story reunited with her first love but only enter a SexlessMarriage as she no longer thinks she is worthy.

* [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar Implied but never fully confirmed]] in regards to Terry's first girlfriend Lily from the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' first movie. She's very beautiful, [[HourGlassHottie curvy]], nicknamed the "Queen of South Town", first wears a white dress with a generous cleavage, is a part of [[BigBad Geese Howard's]] entourage, and throws a rose in the air with the promise of spending a whole night with the man who catches it -- but any word similar to this trope or "HighClassCallGirl" is never directly uttered. And a big part of Lily's characterization goes more for her being a BrokenBird with a DarkAndTroubledPast [[spoiler: who's murdered by her sponsor Geese for pulling a HighHeelFaceTurn for TheHero, Terry, who ''was'' a part of said DarkAndTroubledPast as well.]]

* Axl Rose of music/GunsNRoses, crashed at a stripper's apartment; afterwards the entire band ended up crashing at the stripper's apartment at the same time and destroying the place. The stripper even gave Izzy rides to rehab.

* Axel Rose of Guns N Roses, crashed at a stripper's apartment; afterwards the entire band ended up crashing at the stripper's apartment at the same time and destroying the place. The stripper even gave Izzy rides to rehab.