Oscar-nominated Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody led a secret life as a lapdancer in seedy strip clubs before she was discovered by a big-time Hollywood producer.

Cody - who is a contender for the best Original Screenplay award at the 2008 Academy Awards next month - was bored of her job as a secretary when she entered an amateur stripper competition, and got hooked.

She says, "I'm a textbook adrenaline junkie, I was at a place in my life where I felt underestimated. I just figured I would rather do something reckless than spend the rest of my life in a vanilla prison."

She went on to chronicle her experiences in an Internet blog which led to the publication of her memoirs, Candy Girl: A Year In The Life Of An Unlikely Stripper, in 2006 - an event that kickstarted her career. But the 29-year-old was nervous about her family's attitude to her raunchy past when she called them to let them know she had landed a book and film deal.

She adds, "It was an interesting phone call (when telling her family). To say, on the one hand, 'I am going to be a published author;' on the other, 'It's about stripping, and I did it for a year and I didn't tell you.'"

Juno - a comedy about a pregnant teenager whose child is adopted - has also earned an Oscar nomination for its star, 20-year-old Ellen Page, who received a nod in the Best Actress category.

The movie has also been nominated for Best Picture.

- Diablo Cody Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)