CHATSWORTH, Calif.—She’d spent an entire year striving for this moment, but when it finally came, Gianna Dior didn’t know what to say. Or how to act.
Dior was fresh off the red carpet in Las Vegas last January when AVN Awards Executive Producer Gary Miller approached her shortly before the start of the ceremony. He asked if she was excited.
Dressed elegantly in a long emerald gown, the stunning brunette froze.
“I had so much anxiety,” Dior recalled Thursday. “I was not myself. I just stood there. I couldn’t even be excited because I was so nervous.”
Anyone who has been nominated for Best New Starlet can probably relate. Other than Female Performer of the Year, the award is widely regarded as the most-coveted prize each winter at the AVNs. It was clear Dior realized as much after she was announced as the victor, cradling the trophy while delivering a heartfelt acceptance speech in which she vowed to do even bigger things in 2020.
Dior spent the past 12 months delivering on that promise. Despite the challenges of the COVID era, she shot high-end scenes for nearly every major company en route to becoming one of the top overall stars in the industry.
“It was one of the biggest things I ever could've won—definitely the biggest accolade in my career so far,” Dior said. “It helped me a lot in terms of becoming more confident. That was the main thing. Before I won, I didn’t think I was shit. Winning (Best New Starlet) helped me be more confident in my work and all the scenes I was doing.”
Dior’s comments came Thursday during a Zoom seminar at the virtual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo presented by MyFreeCams with many of the BNS candidates for 2021. As her reign nears its end, Dior reflected on the past year during a Q-and-A with host Peter Warren and also offered words of encouragement to the performers who are up for this year’s honor.
One of them was Adira Allure, who has created quite a buzz in the industry during the past year for her extreme scenes, many of which were shot in gonzo format. Allure said she entered the industry as an anal performer and eventually decided to push the envelope. She described her rookie year as “intense.”
“I’ve done a lot of things I never thought I would do,” Allure said. “My view on porn and the world has changed so much during the last two years, in a good way, because of porn. I’m very grateful for that.
“I always knew that I was destined to be a star. I just didn’t know ‘porn’ was going to be in front of that. I moved to L.A. when I was 18. I didn’t want to go to school. I was always a highly sexual person and had dabbled in a little bit of sex work here and there. Eventually I just made the leap. Once I started doing it, I was like, ‘OK, this is definitely for me.’”
Allure said she was wrapping up a shoot in November when she was flooded with text messages about her BNS nomination.
“That was the moment,” Allure said, "where I was like, ‘All right, bitch. Every old man that told me I was too old to join porn, every person who tried to weigh me down in my life and tell me I couldn’t do it … look at me now!’ I don’t care if I win. Just to be nominated is enough for me.”
Also on the call was rising star Alexis Tae, who decided to enter the industry in January of 2019 after growing tired of juggling waitressing jobs while trying to make ends meet. The newest Spiegler Girl, Tae said she’s become sentimental in recent weeks when “SnapChat memories” from that period surface on her phone.
“I remember what it felt like coming into L.A. for the first time,” Tae said. “It’s been such a crazy journey. I’ve grown up in this industry. Two years is a lot of time when you’re so young. I’m learning so much.
“I went from being super vanilla to being disgusting, and I love it. I got to learn a lot about myself. I found the real me. It helps me to be unapologetic in life, just because everything is out on the internet. Every bad moment I’ve had is out there. So what do I have to be shy about? I love it here.”
Another top contender for Best New Starlet is Jewelz Blu, who worked as a cam girl and a professional dom before transitioning into porn. Blu’s voice radiated excitement as she talked about incorporating her hobby—fire dancing—into a scene for the BurningAngel movie Evil Tiki Babes.
“I used to perform at small festivals with my friend,” Blu said. “We had our own little performance troupe. Fire dancing is a big passion of mine. Being able to actually do that in a scene this past year was so amazing. Combining two things I love, fire and sex, together … amazing!”
Blu said being nominated for Best New Starlet was the cherry on top of a memorable year.
“It feels exciting,” she said, "because a lot of people had doubts about me in the beginning of my career because I’m doing it with the blue hair and whatever. A lot of people were telling me, ‘Oh, you can’t do that. You’re not going to be successful. You have to have the girl-next-door look.’ So it feels good to get this far.”
Blu said she found out she was nominated by watching the live stream of the AVN Nominations Party in November, adding that she “did a little dance and had a celebratory glass of wine” after hearing her name called.
Kiarra Kai, meanwhile, didn’t even realize the online event was occurring because she was so wrapped up in her latest project. Kai said she’s purchased a miniature school bus—“I’m one of those weird people,” she said—and is renovating it into a small living space where she will eventually reside.
“I was in my school bus doing my construction, taking out seats with grinders,” Kai said. “A whole bunch of people started texting me. I was like, ‘Is this a cruel joke?’ I didn’t even know because I don’t pay attention to all of the news. I’m always in my own little land in the woods. I was like, ‘Oh my God, is this real? I’m going to tweet about it. If I’m wrong, they’ll correct me.’"
Kai credits her rise in the industry to a self-assuredness that was missing when she first entered porn.
“I was kind of unsure, and I feel like the industry was unsure about me,” Kai said. “At one point I just decided, ‘Fuck it! I’m going to do whatever I want.’ And I think I relaxed more, and I think the fans and everyone saw that. I just decided to be my weird self, because it’s definitely weird. People saw that and thought it was more genuine.”
Scarlit Scandal said she was with some of her colleagues from Motley Models during the nomination announcement. The family environment and sense of camaraderie, Scandal said, is something she’s come to treasure since entering the industry in May of 2019.
“I decided I was finally going to break out of my quiet little shell and do something I’ve never done before,” Scandal said. “I was really hurting in the situation I was in. Something was telling me I needed change.”
Scandal sent an email to Blacked.com, and people there directed her to Dave Rock at Motley Models. Soon after, Scandal had a contract—and a new direction in life. Scandal’s inaugural year included her crowning as a Vixen Angel as well as an appearance in Playboy.
“I used to go in my mom’s closet to look at her magazines, so that was unreal to me,” she said. “Porn completely brought me out of my shell. I was this un-confident, insecure little girl before I joined. Now I’m this big, blossoming, confident bitch, and no one can tell me anything.
“I can’t wait until next year, because I’m going to kill it. I’m going to do 10 times better than I did this year.”
Scandal’s approach to the future is precisely in sync with the parting words of advice Dior had for the 2021 candidates. As prestigious as the Best New Starlet award may be, and as gratifying as it is to win, no performer should be hanging her head if she doesn’t hear her named called Saturday night.
A trophy may be a nice ode to the past, Dior said. But it doesn’t determine your future.
“Whether you win or lose,” Dior said, “keep working on your career and keep getting bigger. Don’t give up just because you didn’t win. Only one person can win. Sometimes it’s just luck of the draw. Even if you think you should win and you don’t, it can’t be the end of the world.
“You’ve got to keep going.”
See the 2021 Best New Starlets Panel in the @AEexpo Clips Store on AVN Stars here: stars.avn.com/aeexpo/media
