 When she answered an advertisement from the World Modeling Agency in September 1983, she immediately signed a contract with that agency and did pictorials for "Cheri", "Club", and "Penthouse", which brought her to the attention of the adult entertainment industry.Allen began as a nude model and then began performing in hardcore sex films as Ginger Lynn by December 1983.Her first pornographic movie role was in "Surrender in Paradise", in which she starred with Jerry Butler.