This feature appears in the June issue of AVN magazine.
LOS ANGELES—Addyson James started her adult career in Arizona in August 2023. “A local company reached out to me, for like three years. I kept saying no. Not because I was afraid of porn, but because I was afraid of being on the Internet and what it could do to my career at the time. I was a skincare and laser technician, and before that I was in the Navy for five years, as a helicopter mechanic before going into aircraft supply and logistics.”
The production company found her through her “vanilla Instagram” account. “They would send nice messages, just checking in, and the third time—I had been thinking about it—I was like, I’m just gonna do it. See what happens. I don’t care any more.”
The scene was “just a boy/girl. It was a long day. I didn’t know what it was like to be on set, but it was wonderful. They made me feel comfortable, all my do’s and don’ts were respected, they took really good care of me. I felt really good when I left that evening. I was glad that I did it. I felt really empowered. There’s so much negativity around porn from the outside. Negative negative negative. I like the fact that I made the decision myself. I really thought about it and I was okay with whatever the outcome was going to be.”
She shot three scenes for that online company, Hot MILFs Fuck, then went to the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo “and that’s when I got my first agent. The first year was super-overwhelming, just because I had no idea what I was walking into. There’s a lot of people, there’s a lot of people you’re talking to. A lot of moving parts. It was very exhausting. It was amazing, it was a great opportunity and I had a blast, but this year I felt better equipped because I knew what to expect.”
Now represented by Nexxxt Level, the native of Burlington, Vermont, tells AVN her best scenes so far have been for Missa X. “I think five times, and I have another one coming out this week,” she adds, noting other strong scenes for Naughty America and Team Skeet. She also puts out her own material on OnlyFans, ManyVids, and LoyalFans: “All of the things. solo, girl/boy, or girl/girl/boy. Across the board.”
“It’s interesting how you develop a kind or relationship with your scene partner when you’ve never met them,” she says. “It takes place pretty quickly, because you’re going to do a scene with them. There has been no struggle connecting with people, which has been very nice. I like to meet new people, I’m looking for people to collab with.”
Her words to live by are: “The harder the struggle, the more glorious the win.”
She explains, “Every time that I overcome something, I feel like that achievement is that much sweeter. I’ve been faced with adversity and I always managed to find a way around that adversity and make it happen.”
James still lives in Arizona and comes to L.A. to shoot “as often as they ask me to. Sometimes I’m out here three or four times a month.”
Photography by @kogafoto
