LOS ANGELES—Sex educator and Wicked Pictures contract performer Jessica Drake was recognized as Mainstream Star of the Year at the 2016 AVN Awards. The award-winning performer turned sexual health advocate was honored in part due to her tireless support for sex education reform. Drake’s advocacy was documented in hundreds of media articles throughout the year.
The honor marks Jessica Drake’s 12th AVN Award and 26th award overall from a major adult industry organization, including three AVN Awards for Best Actress and two AVN Awards for Best Educational Release. The 2016 AVN Awards were presented on January 23 at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.
“I’m so grateful to AVN and the Awards Committee for recognizing me as Mainstream Star of the Year,” Drake said. “My mission and passion for the last few years has been to get people to start talking about sex in a more open, positive way, removing the shame and stigma that society so often applies. I am so very thankful to the media for allowing this and for joining me to spread this message. My goal for 2016 is to keep doing this, keep reaching more and more people, and keep providing them with realistic, pleasure based, shame free Sex Ed.
“My humble thanks to Wicked Pictures, to Steve, Daniel, Adella, Chris, and everyone who has helped and encouraged me along this path,” added Drake.
In recent years, Drake has been a frequent contributor to many media publications and outlets, speaking out in support for sexual wellness and healthy attitudes toward sex. Starting with her best-selling sex education series, Jessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex, which provides explicit demonstrations and frank discussion of sex techniques, fetish sex, intimacy issues, and other topics, Drake has grown her stature as a sex educator through mainstream articles and personal appearances.
Most recently the adult superstar began writing for Stylecaster.com, where she offers relationship and sexual advice, including her newest articles on the female orgasm available here, and her expert tips on foreplay, which can be found here.
Her other media appearances include a recent Daily Beast article, where Drake spoke of the subpar sex ed curriculum offered in schools: “Just like it’s been proven that abstinence only programs don’t work to reduce teenage pregnancy, I think ignorance in this case is not bliss. This is a very real issue because technology is everywhere.”
Likewise, Drake was consulted by Cosmopolitan magazine on 2015’s blockbuster film, Fifty Shades of Grey. “It's not an accurate representation of the BDSM lifestyle at all. If anything, it's the epitome of things in a dominant-submissive relationship—or any relationship—that could go awry,” stated Drake.
In a January 2015 CNBC report, Drake was hailed for expanding her scope from performing to writing, directing, and more: “One of the role models for diversification in the industry is Jessica Drake. A performer since 1999, Drake is something of an exception in porn, having worked exclusively for Wicked Pictures since 2003. But rather than simply staying in front of the camera, she expanded her focus,” wrote Chris Morris.
Other outlets that have featured Drake include Playboy, the Huffington Post, Vanity Fair, New York Daily News, Crave Online, Daily Mail, Maxim, Refinery 29, and GQ, along with scores of others who shared Drake’s message of sexual health and her positive view of the adult industry.
“Congratulations to Jessica Drake on redefining what it means to be a 'Mainstream Star' within our industry,” said Wicked Pictures owner Steve Orenstein. “Over the course of a brilliant career, Jessica has appeared in Hollywood movies and TV shows, as well as popular music videos, but it is her tireless efforts to educate and help people however she can, which really have had the most impact beyond the walls of adult entertainment. I am extremely proud of all that she has accomplished and all that she will continue to do.”
