LAS VEGAS—Vanna Bardot remembers feeling calm on Saturday until she arrived at the red carpet.
“I definitely started getting super anxious,” she admits. “I was a little overwhelmed and then I sat down and centered myself.
“A lot of people were telling me this might happen but I wasn’t sure about it. The fact that it actually happened is so crazy.”
Indeed, by the time the 2024 AVN Awards Show was over a few hours later the 24-year-old Vixen Angel from Miami won four individual awards, including the Female Performer of the Year crown that came sealed with a kiss—from her boyfriend Codey Steele.
He joined Hime Marie and Melissa Stratton to present Bardot with the trophy for being the top female performer in the adult industry in the past year.
As soon as Vanna climbed on the stage Codey kissed her and whispered, “you earned every single minute of all of this.”
“It’s just so much more special to me that I got to share this moment with him,” Bardot said. “This past year has definitely been some of the highest of highs and some of the lowest of lows.”
Vanna, who lost her mother last month and her cat earlier in 2023, also took home AVN gold for two career-first sex scenes for her sensational star showcase, Influence: Vanna Bardot. The Vixen Media Group production received the Mark Stone Award for Outstanding Comedy, racking up six total awards.
“Being able to do this showcase was absolutely insane,” Vanna continued. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to do another project this big in my life and I’m so glad I can say I got to do something like this.”
It turned into an unforgettable night of honors for dozens of industry luminaries at the 41st annual ceremony presented by MyFreeCams at Resorts World Theatre. Media from around the world—some traveling from countries such as Greece and Taiwan—covered the star-studded red-carpet walk that was preceded by a parade of the industry’s finest through the casino hallway.
Adult entertainment superstars Luna Star, Emily Lynne and Kazumi co-hosted the festivities along with comedian Lil Duval, while platinum-certified rapper Iggy Azalea wowed in live performances of her hit songs, “Work” and “Kream.”
Chloe Rose and Ameena Green dazzled as the Official Trophy Girls for the event that packed the three-level theatre to see winners announced in more than 120 awards categories—24 of which were voted on by the fans.
One of the loudest applauses of the evening erupted when Isiah Maxwell won the Male Performer of the Year award, completing his inspiring rise from agency intern to the pinnacle of porn performing.
Chanel Camryn captured the coveted Best New Starlet trophy for the most outstanding new female performer; and the explosive epic Machine Gunner from Digital Playground triumphed in the Grand Reel category as the best narrative movie en route to four total awards. The haul included Best Leading Actress hardware for Kira Noir; Best Oral Sex Scene for Kira and Tommy Pistol; and Best Tag-Team Sex Scene for her tussle with Charles Dera and Scott Nails.
Noir, the 2023 AVN Female Performer of the Year and three-time Best Supporting Actress, told AVN winning the lead acting prize for the role of Nicole Ransom, a black-ops specialist for the U.S. government, “feels absolutely incredible.”
She wore a stunning red evening gown for the occasion because, “I wanted to feel like an evil Disney princess.”
“I’ve never been the lead in a feature before so the fact that the first time I was able to do it I was able to do it well is so important,” Noir told AVN backstage.
In the ambitious movie that was helmed by the versatile Ricky Greenwood—who won Best Directing Portfolio – Cross-Genre—Ransom goes on a mission to apprehend a man that deserted the U.S. government with a bunch of secrets.
It turns out that man was her ex—played skillfully by breakout star Alex Jones.
“It was really intense,” Noir continued. “We had to do training and I tried to work out really hard so I could look good during it.
“Everyone that was acting with me, I feel like they were acting for me. It’s really difficult to do it unless the person that I’m doing the scene with is able to play with me and really help pull a better performance out of me. So I’m really grateful for everyone who I was in this movie with.”
The talented ensemble cast also featured real-life military veteran Kayley Gunner, Nicole Doshi, Damon Dice, Maxwell and Saturday’s vivacious co-host, Luna Star.
“Kira was amazing, she killed it,” Dice said. “Luna was great, too. And Kayley actually being an Army veteran… We had an all-star cast and it just all came together perfectly.”
The movie became especially meaningful for Greenwood, who dedicated the project to the late Robby D—the Hall of Fame director who shot more than 300 movies for Digital Playground.
“Everybody put all this effort into pushing it in the right direction and it shows in the movie,” Greenwood told AVN. “It was a lot of fun and it was also very stressful for me because of the pressure I put on myself. But the fact that we did it for [Robby’s] memory on top of that, now everybody will know that it was the best movie of that year.”
The veteran stud Scott Nails agreed, telling AVN, “This is probably the most fun I’ve ever had on set. We got to play with real guns and blow shit up.”
Jones added, “I got to be the fucking bad guy for the first time.”
Principal photography for Machine Gunner unfolded on an iconic movie ranch in the LA area—the same one that Damon Dice’s great grandfather traversed when he was a prop master for Universal Studios for four decades.
“He used to shoot John Wayne’s army and cowboy movies on that same ranch,” Dice said.
“We were out there for a while, so it actually felt like after a few days that we were in it. We became the characters.”
Meanwhile, the suave, soft-spoken Maxwell—a five-tool porn player from Cleveland, Ohio—charmed the crowd with his effortless cool from the moment his name was announced. Isiah almost didn’t attend the show because he is in the process of moving—not to mention he was pet-sitting for a friend in LA.
But when Greenwood—who directed him in Adult Time’s Grand Reel contender Sally Mae: The Revenge of the Twin Dragons—urged him to make the trip, he reconsidered.
“Ricky was like, ‘Hey man, I would really love if you came down,” Maxwell said. “So I packed up everything as fast as I could and made sure I got here.
“One thing my barber said to me is make sure you go get an award if you win it because they don’t award us often. I was like, ‘You’re right.’
“This is just something that I’m grateful for. I would’ve truly been sad if you all would’ve called my name and I wasn’t here.”
In a surprise to no one who knows him, Maxwell made a classy acceptance speech, pointing to how the porn community supports each other. He elaborated on the sentiment in the winners circle.
“We celebrate each other the best and it’s something I truly cherish,” said Maxwell, who is on pace to eclipse three thousand sex scenes this year after making his debut in front of the camera in 2013.
He started his industry journey in 2011 as an intern for Tee Reel’s Ideal Image Models.
“And then I became a publicist and agent—and then graduated into the performer side of the business,” Maxwell said.
When Isiah shifted to performing full time in 2016 he never looked back, vaulting to the A-list and earning a reputation as a team player who is ready for anything on the call sheet.
Back in the day he worked at Burger King.
“I went from flipping burgers to flipping mattresses,” Maxwell cracked backstage.
Chanel Camryn managed to deliver one of the most animated acceptance speeches of the evening after slipping and dropping an earring as she climbed onto the stage.
“I don’t know what to say… I just really love being a part of this industry… Thank you to every guy whose made me cum!” she began, before later thanking Mark Spiegler and George Jiries from the Spiegler Agency and letting out an adorable scream before disappearing behind the curtain.
“I’m still in shock,” Chanel said in the winners circle. “I couldn’t get any words out. It was amazing. I’m just so happy to be recognized.
“Even being nominated was like winning, so like actually winning is insane, especially since I love all of those girls so much. And most of them are in my agency, too, so I’m rooting for them more than I’m rooting for myself.
“It was just a really amazing year.”
The 22-year-old showstopper, who was born in Florida and lived in Alaska for 10 years before coming to LA, performed in more than 140 scenes during the eligibility period and surpassed the 200-scene milestone in less than two years.
“My mom gave me such a hard work ethic,” Camryn, who did grueling shifts in a skilled nursing facility before adult, told AVN. “I’ve always worked multiple jobs, I’ve always worked so hard. And then when I came into this industry I really loved it from the moment I shot my first scene even though it wasn’t a great scene.”
Chanel continued, “I kind of just came into this industry hoping I could be the most reliable and then that would be where I start.
“Because I didn’t think that I was the hottest or the most—I don’t have like a big anything—but I really cared and I put my heart and soul into all of my scenes even when I’m working a ton. I’m so grateful.”
In one of the most closely contested categories of the program, MyFreeCams model OnlineGirl_, aka Alex Knight, emerged victorious as the Favorite Cam Girl through fan voting.
The former dance teacher, who has been crowned Miss MFC five times in her 13-year career and finished second in the monthly contest for the most tokens on 11 other occasions, said backstage, “I am shaking and that [trophy] is super heavy."
She calls her faithful MFC members “Dragons Army.”
“I want to say I’m really grateful for their support through 13 years and that I like to be their captain,” Alex told AVN, clutching her trophy in the winners circle. “I love them a lot and I’m just lucky to have it. It’s not only my award, my trophy—it’s ours.”
Still in a state of disbelief, Alex added, “Even now holding this, like it’s so heavy. It kind of brings me back to reality. Like you got it, it’s yours. Feel it. That’s yours in your hands.
“I don’t know, I’m just so happy and I can’t think straight.”
Among the other big winners who were revealed on stage were Tommy Pistol, who claimed his record fifth Best Leading Actor award for his role in Adult Time’s Feed Me that director Ricky Greenwood accepted on his behalf; and Daisy Taylor, who was awarded Best Thespian - Trans/X for “Daisy’s Flower Box,” a TransAngels production. Aubrey Kate, August Skye and Nicole Doshi made the announcement.
Violet Myers and Chris Diamond won the fiercely competitive Best Boy/Girl Sex Scene award for their performance in “She Ruined Me” for Deeper; Myers also received Fan-Voted AVN Awards for Favorite Female Porn Star and Hottest All-Girl Creator Collab with Angela White.
The Hall of Famer White also brought home the Best Gangbang Scene trophy for her Brazzers showcase, Angela White: Unbound, and collected statuettes for Favorite Porn Star Creator, Most Spectacular Boobs—for the record seventh consecutive year—and Hottest Anal Creator Collab with Alex Mack.
Emma Rose repeated as Trans Performer of the Year; Penny Barber rode to victory in MILF Performer of the Year; Hollywood Cash grabbed Best Male Newcomer; Amirah Adara triumphed as Girl/Girl Specialty Performer of the Year; Cherry Kiss captured International Female Performer of the Year; and Vince Karter snagged International Male Performer of the Year.
Meanwhile, Maitland Ward, Olivia Jay and Scott Nails announced that Coco Bae had received the Favorite Indie Female Creator—to go with addition awards for Ultimate Oral Content Creator and Supreme Solo Content Creator.
Vicki Chase enjoyed a glorious night of accolades, hitting the stage to accept the Best Star Showcase award for Ninfómana, a Jonni Darkko production distributed by Evil Angel in which she performed in all five scenes.
The same pair made up the winning team for the 2014 epic V for Vicki, capturing the Best Star Showcase trophy at the 2015 AVN Awards Show.
In a project that had been talked about for two years that was released on Cinco de Mayo last year—an ode to Chase’s Mexican heritage—the performer reunited with Darkko for scenes full of air-tights, DPs and all kinds of major league hardcore.
“Thank you AVN so much for this honor,” Chase said, turning heads in a gold foil couture gown. “I am so speechless right now. But I have to thank Evil Angel, Jonni Darkko for the opportunity again to be here. It’s so surreal—I am at a loss for words.
“… Thank you so much to all the men who killed it with me, you know who you are. OK, there was a lot of you. Thank you for your amazing contribution to this award.”
When Chase made it to the winners circle, she shed a few tears and said, “I am so mind-blown.”
“I didn’t expect this,” Vicki continued. “I really do enjoy my work… Jonni is somebody that has always has thought of me in such a way that makes me believe in me. He makes me believe that I am that woman that he sees. Because that woman’s not always present but it is in front of his lens—he brings her out. And he’s right, she’s there. She’s savage, she’s sexual. she’s strong. He would say…you’ve been Chased.”
Vicki also won Best Blowbang Scene for “Mouths of Babes Part 1,” a Deeper production; and Mainstream Venture of the Year for her emotional acting turn in the indie short “Everything in Its Right Place.”
Liz Jordan, who made her adult industry debut in the spring of 2020, received her first AVN Award, winning Best Girl/Girl Sex Scene for her performance with Vanna Bardot in “Punch” for Slayed. It marked Bardot’s record third straight win in the category.
"This is my first award ever,” Jordan said breathlessly backstage. “I’m shaking. I’m so nervous. But it was amazing. It was so good.”
“We fucked the shit out of each other,” Bardot, a Slayed contract girl for the past two years, recalled. “We had a great time. It was our first time working together in this scene. Thanks to Laurent Sky for directing it. He really pulls a special kind of performance out of the person.”
“I felt like we were on top of it,” Jordan added. “Like he didn’t have to tell us twice, we were going at it.”
Derek Dozer, an AVN Hall of Fame member with almost 25 years in adult who swept the warehouse of an adult studio during the early days of his career, won the Outstanding Directing - Individual Work award for Influence: Vanna Bardot.
Vanna returned to the stage to accept the honor on Dozer’s behalf before he decided to take the stage with her, saying simply, “It’s about time.”
Influence also secured the Best Music award for an original song by adult star/singer Queenie Sateen that was produced by George Lewis Jr., titled "Under My Influence.”
It became the first movie from VMG to receive the Mark Stone Award for Outstanding Comedy. Retired directing great Axel Braun teamed with Kenzie Taylor and Cherry Kiss to announce the honor.
The narrative of Influence—which was written by Kayden Kross—centered on the shady underworld of organized crime and crypto-scammers.
“There were a lot of moving parts, I kind of came in a little bit later to the production,” said Dozer, who at first wasn’t scheduled to direct it. “It was a lot. But if it wasn’t for [Vanna] I wouldn’t have taken it on such short notice.”
The five-part crossover showcase that rolled out on VMG’s studio sites Tushy, Blacked and Slayed entailed Bardot doing her first anal and first D.P.—both scenes won the AVN Award on Saturday night. She did her first anal with Maximo Garcia and the DP with Alex Jones and Dante Colle.
Bardot lauded Dozer for creating an environment on set in which she could thrive.
“I always really appreciated his directing style,” Vanna said. “I love that he doesn’t over direct a scene. He lets the performers do what they’re good at and be their own kind of performer on camera.
“He doesn’t try to make anybody into something that they’re not. And he knows how to give just the right amount of subtle direction to get the scene where it needs to be while still letting performers be themselves.”
Wearing a nude-colored dress decorated with silver rhinestones and wiping tears from her eyes, Bardot told AVN that her boyfriend Codey played coy after returning from the AVN Awards Show rehearsal on Friday night.
“I asked him, ‘What award are you presenting?’ And he lied,” Vanna said with a smile. “He said he was presenting something else. And I was like, ‘But you’re nominated for that category, you can’t present an award you’re nominated for.’
“And I kind of had a feeling—and then right before he went up [to present Best Boy/Girl Sex Scene and Female Performer of the Year], he’s like, ‘I’ll see you there in a little bit.’”
“If they had me get up there and give that award to someone else I was like, bro come on, for real?” Steele, who has been dating Bardot for more than four years, told AVN backstage.
“This is for her right now.”
Bardot trained for every aspect of Influence, which began shooting in June. She hired a personal trainer with whom she worked out three times a week while also staying on a strict diet.
Sometimes she would wake up as early as 5 a.m. to get ready for the gym.
After Vanna and Codey embraced at centerstage on Saturday night, she gave her most heartfelt acceptance speech of the show.
“When I first started in this industry my biggest goal was just to be nominated. I told myself if I could just get nominated once that all of this would be worth it,” Vanna began.
The former hair salon assistant and dancer made her porn debut in 2018 when she was 19.
“So to be up here on this stage accepting this fucking award is so surreal,” she continued. “ … I didn’t know if I was going to make it in this industry, not because I didn’t want it but because there was so many amazing talented women in this industry. I am so honored to be nominated with all of you tonight.
“I have to thank my agent at ATMLA. Thank you Mark [Schechter] for always respecting me and everyone else, not just as performers but as people. I have to thank [co-owner and executive producer] Mike Miller and [casting director] Mike Moz and everyone on the Vixen Media Group team. Thank you for shining the Vixen spotlight on me the past few years. I would not be up here without you guys. I want to also thank my family for loving me so unconditionally.
“Thank you to my friends and my love, Codey Steele. Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.
“And lastly thank you AVN. Thank you for recognizing all the hard work I put in this past year. I will always remember this moment.”
For the complete list of winners, click here.
For photo galleries, click here.
Photography by Toby Acuna & Jeff Koga
