Jodie Fisher Goes From 'Blood Dolls' Starlet to Hewlett-Packard Greeter

Aug. 9, 2010— -- The woman whose sexual harassment complaint led to the resignation of Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd has had featured roles in a string of racy movies, was a "cougar" on a reality TV show and was used as a role model in the book "The Girlfriend Test."

She is also, her resume and a friend attest, a former property management executive and a committed single mom.

Jodie Fisher, 50, has used several names including Jodie Coady, Jodie Coadie-Fisher, Jodie Fisher-Coady and Jodie Lin Fisher.

HP's marketing department hired Fisher in 2007 to organize events for HP executives. She would be paid up to $5,000 per event to greet people and make introductions among the event's attendees, acting as a social coordinator.

According to Fisher's friend, Los Angeles-based psychological expert Dr. Wendy Walsh, her work at HP was a job that was perfectly suited for her. Walsh, book author and frequent contributor to momlogic.com, cited Fisher's warm, sunny attitude in her book, "The Girlfriend Test."

"I used her as an example when I was trying to teach women about being open and welcoming in their body energy, and her social skills are off the charts," Walsh told ABCNews.com.

"She can work any room and make anybody feel special," she said. "I'm sure she was a huge asset to HP."

HP's board of directors launched an investigation that determined Hurd had listed other people as his dinner partners on expense reports when in reality he had been out on numerous private dinners with Fisher.

Walsh said much attention is being paid to Fisher because of her sexy movie roles, while less attention is being paid to Hurd.

"We have to be careful how we point fingers in our culture," she said. "It's really easy to blame women because they're attractive."

"Men do not cut big checks, and they don't get fired over nothing," Walsh said.

Fisher has said in a statement she and Hurd settled the complaint privately and without litigation, but has offered no details on the settlement. Fisher's attorney, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, also would not comment on the details of the settlement.

Fisher's statement also said she was "surprised and saddened" that Hurd lost his job.

Walsh said that although she and Fisher had not been in close contact in recent years, she was able to text her encouraging words during the media storm. "She's safe and she's in hiding, and she's with her son," Walsh said.

Jodie Fisher Was Featured in Movie "Intimate Obsession"

Prior to working with HP, Fisher's resume included property management and actress. Fisher appeared in some racy R-rated movies during the 1990s, including "Blood Dolls," "Body of Influence 2," and "Intimate Obsession."

She most recently appeared on the reality dating show "Age of Love." The program paired Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis with two groups of women divided based on whether they were older "cougars" or younger "kittens." Fisher, then 46, fell into the cougar group and was eliminated in the first episode.

Walsh said her friend's resume is the "ultimate in freelance," and said it is loaded with jobs, including "some great work in property management."

She pointed out that single mothers need to be creative in the way they obtain an income while avoiding the long hours that make caring for a child difficult.

Walsh said she met Fisher 12 years ago when the women found themselves in the same infant playgroup at their church.

"[We] were champions of the breast feeding brigade, bonded through the identity crisis that often accompanies new motherhood," she wrote in her blog.

Fisher, Walsh said, nursed her son for 18 months.

"Being a mother is Jodie's primary career, let me assure you of that," Walsh wrote. "She nursed her son for 18 months, survived a dangerous miscarriage, went through a painful divorce, and then picked herself up, dusted herself off, and got a kick ass job at Hewlett Packard."

Walsh recalled a conversation she'd had with Fisher when she first began working with HP. "She was saying how much traveling she was doing, and how she loved her job. At that point it was early on, so I didn't hear anything," Walsh said.