Still, of all the renovations made to the Las Vegas home Kate purchased in July, the thing that excites the trans porn star the most is her new trophy case.
Enclosed in glass and bordered by sparkling LED lights, the built-in cupboard displays Kate’s impressive collection of AVN awards. Kate had nine of them when she moved in last summer.
After what happened Jan. 23, she may need to install another shelf.
Long considered an icon in the industry, Kate was named Trans Performer of the Year at the 2021 AVN Awards for an unprecedented third time. She also nabbed a trophy for Best One-On-One Trans Sex Scene for her tryst with Khloe Kay in Evil Angel’s The TS Life 2. And Kate claimed victory in the Favorite Trans Star category that was voted on by fans.
Eight years after shooting her first scene, Kate now boasts 12 AVN awards—more than any trans performer in history.
“You have no idea how much this means to me,” Kate said while accepting her award via Zoom during the virtual ceremony. “I have worked my ass off—literally worked my ass off—to get to where I’m at. I love all of my fans. I would not be here without you.”
Kate’s three-trophy haul was a feat she never would’ve predicted around this time a year ago. During a wide-ranging interview with AVN a week after the awards show, Kate revealed she “almost gave up” on performing last winter, when self-doubt began to creep in after she came up short in the Performer of the Year voting for the second straight year. Kate—who won the award in both 2017 and 2018—said being in a handful of toxic relationships made matters worse.
“They were like, ‘You’re too old, your time is up,’” Kate said of past boyfriends. “It was a mental brainwash. I felt like I was falling off.”
Seeking an escape after the 2020 AVN Awards, Kate traveled alone in February to Tulum, Mexico, where she met a group of strangers from New York who quickly became close confidants. Jet-skiing and laying out at the beach during the day; fancy dinners and dancing at night. Kate had so much fun with her new friends—she said she felt “uplifted”—that she decided not to renew her expiring lease in Los Angeles so she could move to the Big Apple to be close to them.
Kate, who grew up near Orange County, said she’d dreamed of living in New York City for years but was always romantically involved with someone who discouraged it.
“Once I was single, I was like, ‘Fuck it!’” Kate said.
Kate settled in into her Upper East Side apartment shortly before the lockdown. Even in the midst of a pandemic, she felt at peace. Winter was giving way to spring, allowing Kate to spend afternoons taking her chihuahuas, Thor and Apollo, on long walks in the park as trees began to bloom. Other days they zig-zagged up and down the deserted city streets.
“It was beautiful,” Kate said of the scenery. “I feel like you can’t really walk around in LA or Vegas, unless you go to the Strip. But in New York you can walk anywhere. Everything just started to feel so good again. I was in a place I’d always wanted to be, and I had a new, fresh group of friends.
“I felt like I was starting over.”
As much as Kate loves shooting for major studios, the pause in production caused by COVID was actually beneficial for her career. Kate began channeling her energy toward her OnlyFans account—writing her own scripts, producing her own scenes and studying the technical side of the industry like never before. The more knowledge she gained, the more Kate realized that a pivot toward directing could be in her future.
“I grew so much in 2020,” Kate said, “not only as a performer, but in every aspect. Writing my own stuff and producing my own scenes gave me such a new perspective, and I loved it. I hope one day I can start directing for a company.
“It would be nice to find a balance. I don’t think I can do 20-25 scenes a month anymore. I don’t want to completely stop performing, though. I love that part, too much. I love what I do.”
It definitely shows.
While it’s often a struggle for veteran performers to maintain their popularity, Kate’s brand—even though she may not admit it—continues to strengthen as the demand for trans content increases.
Kate became the first trans contract girl in history when she signed with Evil Angel three years ago. And in November of 2019 she graced the cover of AVN Magazine—a feat previously-unachieved by any trans star. Even when Kate came up short in the Performer of the Year voting in 2019 and 2020, she was still widely-regarded as the face of trans porn.
Some of best work of Kate’s career was shot in 2019 and released in 2020. Among the highlights were a pair of AVN-nominated group scenes: a romp with Casey Kisses and Febby Twigs for Devil’s Film’s "Meet My Old Roommate"; and a sensual threesome with Lauren Phillips and Sinn Sage for Lust Cinema’s “Burlesque Story.”
But it was Kate’s scene with Kay in The TS Life 2 that landed both performers an AVN trophy last month for Best One-On-One Trans Sex Scene. There was a sentimental aspect to the award for Kate, who was a mentor of sorts to Kay when she entered the business in 2018.
Kate said she requested that Kay be her partner in the scene, adding that she views her as “a little sister.”
“I’m very proud of Khloe,” Kate said. “It’s always good to see girls grow and get ahead in this business. There are so many girls that come in and then leave after a year or two, because they think it’s going to be easy, and it’s not.
“Khloe has it all together. She’s a true professional I’m glad she’s getting recognized for it.”
Kay told AVN she had fond memories of shooting the scene with Kate. In the movie, the two were engaged to be married, but after having sex to open the film, Kay got cold feet and backed out of the commitment, which led to all sorts of sexual escapades involving Kate, Kay and other performers.
“Evil Angel is usually very gonzo,” Kay said. “So I wasn’t aware walking onto set that day that it was actually going to be a feature film, and that they were doing scripting and B-roll and stuff. It was cool because it was my first Evil Angel scene with words, and it was my first scene with Aubrey, which is something our fans were really wanting.
“Aubrey has a lot of knowledge and loves to give it to new girls. She steers them in the right direction. I met her about two weeks after I started in the industry. It was cool how friendship grew into something. I looked up to her. So to win your first AVN trophy with a friend who you look up to, and to do it in your first scene together… it’s very special.”
The award was one of two on the night for Kay, who also scored a victory in the ultra-competitive Best Trans Sex Scene category. Kay’s threesome with Natalie Mars and Adriana Chechik in “Stay Gold”—a scene from Adult Time’s Transfixed Volume 6—called for Kay to be smeared with gold body paint.
“I remember glitter being stuck in my hair forever,” Kay said. “At one point, we were fisting Natalie Mars, and we were all fingering each other. I felt like we had glitter in our asses for days, because the gold paint had little specks of glitter in it.”
Kay said she felt fortunate to appear in a scene with prominent stars such as Chechik and Mars.
“Going into it, it was nerve-wracking,” Kay said. “Both of them are powerhouse performers. You kind of have to follow their lead. Adriana is so amazing. You kind of lose yourself in the moment because of her energy. It was also the first time I’d ever been squirted on. Luckily for me it was by Adriana, so that was awesome.”
Kay said she shot a limited amount of studio scenes during the pandemic but used the downtime to engage with her supporters on social media. She’s eager to return to a full-time schedule in 2021. Moving forward, Kay said she only plans to shoot scenes with other women. Kay said she’s been a longtime fan of Katrina Jade and would love to be paired with her in a project. She also wants to work more with friend and frequent scene partner Casey Kisses.
“We have really great chemistry,” Kay said. “Casey is so sweet and amazing and down to earth. It’s all positive vibes with her. She just makes you happy. You walk away from hanging out with her with a smile on your face.”
Kisses has been beaming the past few weeks, too, following her win for Top Trans Cam Model at the AVN Awards. The honor was a special one for Kisses, whose journey into the industry began when she started camming five years ago after a car wreck that left her unable to walk for months.
“It means a lot to me because I’m so passionate about camming,” Kisses told AVN. “I work so hard at it. This award has given me so much motivation. This year I’m going to go at it even harder.”
Kisses was also a top contender for Transgender Performer of the Year along with stars such as Kay, Daisy Taylor and Lena Moon, whose seven nominations were more than anyone in the trans genre. At the end of the day, though, it was Kate who found herself on top once again.
“It’s always been competitive in so many different aspects,” Kate said. “Not only is it, ‘Is she a good porn star?’ It’s, ‘Is she the prettiest?” or ‘Did she have enough surgeries to look feminine?’
“Other times, you think you have a best friend, but if you win, they hate you all of a sudden, because they didn’t win. It’s such a dog-eat-dog situation. I’ve definitely learned a lot of lessons.”
Kate, though, remains undeterred.
“I can’t wait to put crazier stuff out there,” she said. “I mean, I don’t think I could ever be the type of performer to put three dicks in my ass."
Kate paused and laughed.
“But maybe two,” she said.
Kate plans to split her time in 2021 between her apartment in New York and her new home in a gated community in Vegas. Kate has already appeared in a critically-acclaimed feature in Burning Angel’s The Widow alongside Pierce Paris. She’s in midst of filming another showcase, and she recently shot a scene with a high-profile male star who had never worked with a trans performer.
“I’m not allowed to give any details,” Kate said. “But trust me, it’s going to be hot. I’m just excited to be shooting again. Winning AVN gave me that extra pep that I needed, that little boost.
“For a while it felt like people had forgotten about me. But now it’s like, ‘Helloooo … I’m back!”
Photos 1, 2, 3 & 8 via Instagram @officialaubreykate
