Besedka Johnson was discovered by executive producer Shih-Ching Tsou in the ladies' locker room of a gym she frequented. It was Besedka's dream to be an actress since she was 15. After 70 years, her dream came true. Starlet is her first and final film role.
The graphic sex scenes were filmed with porn star Zoe Voss, who acted as a double for Dree Hemingway.
Besedka Johnson passed away shortly after the release of this movie. She died on April 4, 2013, due to a post-surgical bacterial infection. She was 87.
Director Sean Baker considered casting Dakota Johnson and her real-life grandmother Tippi Hedren together before deciding on Besedka Johnson and Dree Hemingway.
The abandoned zoo that Jane (Dree Hemingway) and Sadie (Besedka Johnson) visit is the old Griffith Park Zoo in Los Angeles. The zoo has been closed since 1966.