This is the cover story of the June 2026 issue of AVN magazine.
LOS ANGELES—Emma Rose grew up on a ranch in Central Florida, getting out of bed early to feed the animals before taking multiple buses to school.
That blue-collar upbringing wasn’t easy, but she gained life lessons in the process.
“I do think that it gave me a good work ethic and it’s why I do love working—just not on a farm,” she jokes.
Rose took that same initiative when she broke into adult in 2020, making an immediate impact, earning the respect of her colleagues, collecting numerous accolades and enjoying the climb.
Looking back, the two-time AVN Trans Performer of the Year admits it all happened so quickly. So recognizing the need to center herself again, she decided to take 2025 off to recharge and reconnect.
“I owed it to myself and to my family to take a break and reflect and to just kind of process everything because I feel like, especially being in the porn industry, you’re in the fast lane,” Rose says.
“And sometimes you don’t really think about it when you’re just traveling and working all the time. Last year was a really nice time to reflect and also make new plans.”
Armed with refreshing clarity and a hunger to get back to business, she returned to the set in March, squaring off with the sensational Eva Maxim for TransAngels in an encounter titled “Stuck at the Top.” That scene, which was released on May 15, provided her global fanbase with a taste of what they were missing.
But it wasn’t so much of a comeback as it was a fierce new beginning that has set the tone for what is shaping up to be the finest season of Rose’s career.
“I still have my firsts that I still haven’t done in porn that I’m shooting this year,” Emma teases. “I have some things in place—like blowbangs, gangbangs, DP—all my more extreme [scenes] that I’m finally pulling out of my pocket with new companies and new features and everything.
“It’s going to be a really crazy year. I’m so excited to be back—it feels like I never left.”
So is Michael, the 15-year veteran producer who leads The Dream Team for TransAngels in San Diego. Michael shot Rose’s first scene back and has been behind the camera for dozens of others as she’s racked up more than 35 outings for the studio in the past six years.
“Emma is a true pleasure to work with!” Michael tells AVN. “She’s incredibly professional, always prepared, and really understands how to create a great scene from every angle… literally. She knows her angles so well, but at the same time, she’s also just naturally easy to photograph because she looks incredible in everything she does.”
Michael continues, “What really stands out to me and my team is how much she cares about the final product. She’s invested in making the scene the best it can be, not just for herself, but for everyone involved.
“She cares about her scene partner, she cares about her brand, and she approaches everything like it’s a true team effort. That kind of attitude makes a huge difference on set and is a big reason why her scenes consistently turn out so strong.”
Rose tells AVN the timing of her return this past spring wasn’t tied to anything in particular.
“I was bored out of my mind,” she says, laughing. “But after the year of really working on my work-life balance—which I’ve been better at now—I’ll see how long that lasts.
“Coming back I was actually kind of nervous because being gone for a year, it’s like there’s so many new people, and then directors change. It’s just been a whirlwind already. It’s only like my second month and then my third month I already have over 23 scenes coming out.”
In a testament to the depth of Rose’s popularity, she won the Fan-Voted AVN Award for Favorite Trans Porn Star in January at the 43rd annual AVN Awards Show at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas—despite not shooting any new studio scenes in 2025.
“It was so nice,” says Rose, who already has amassed more than 45 industry awards. “I think that I had like two scenes come out all of 2025 that I shot the year before. And for my fans to come and show out—I love my fans so much.
“I’ve had my fans, especially my top ones, longer than any relationship I’ve been in. It’s coming on six years now with some of them and we talk every day. It’s a piece of my heart that I will always hold.”
Rose launched her professional career in January 2020, completing her first handful of scenes before the entire country shutdown due to the COVID pandemic, “and I was like, oh well, there goes my porn career.”
She did her first scene—titled “She’s Gonna Be a Massive Star”—for Christian XXX’s site, Pure-TS.com, in Las Vegas just days before the annual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. But she was so new to the game that she didn’t realize the largest porn convention in the world was about to happen, too.
Porn production ground to a halt just two months later, “but then luckily, with all the safety precautions, I started shooting again that July,” Rose recalls.
“And then it’s just been a rocket ship.”
Steven Grooby can attest.
The AVN Hall of Fame executive, who is the founder and CEO of the pioneering Grooby Productions as well as the Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs), has been instrumental in Rose’s trajectory. His iconic studio saw major star qualities, shooting her no less than 17 times during her first two years in adult.
One of those initial releases, directed by Buddy Wood for GroobyVR and unveiled in March 2020, is called “Star Is Born.”
“Emma Rose, what’s to be said that hasn’t been already, or is apparent? Performers who have longevity and an appeal that keeps fans requesting more aren’t just about looks,” Steven Grooby tells AVN. “Emma is clearly gorgeous, with a great body and one of the best performers around.
“It’s also about her warm and sexy disposition that engages with the fans. It’s the authenticity of a real person, who appears to love what she does.
“She has an awesome smile and instead of being some aloof, unreachable porn star, she feels relatable. That character, confidence, those bright eyes, and engaging smile are what separate her from so many others.”
Rose received two awards at the 2021 TEAs in Hollywood, Calif.—Best New Face and GenderX Model of the Year—and then she claimed the Hardcore Performer of the Year crown at the 2022 TEA ceremony.
Steven Grooby continues, “We’ve worked with Emma since 2020. She’s appeared in multiple scenes over most of our sites, and worked with many of our producers in solo and partnered scenes, and she’s a true professional. She always looks her best, is always ready and drives the scene along. We’ve never had less than a stellar scene from Emma and we hope to continue working with her well into the future.”
Rose, who moved from Florida to Vegas in June 2020, already had begun building a fanbase on OnlyFans and ManyVids before she made an impact in the studio realm. A college grad with a degree in marketing and concentration in brand management—she finished in three years—Emma was still living in Florida and making a lot of money dancing when she stepped into porn’s big leagues.
And she did it thoughtfully, telling AVN there was some strategy to it.
“After my first few scenes, I was kind of like, OK, I love this. I’m not nervous,” Emma recalls. “And I’ve had a method to how I release things. So my very first year I was only bottoming in my scenes and then after that I started topping in my scenes. That’s probably around a year or year-and-a-half. And I got my contract with TransAngels after my very first year [in February 2021] and I was super ecstatic to be able to shoot all that.
“I had to shoot everything within like two months because I was getting my facial surgery and I would have been healing, so I did pretty much everything in that contract within a month and a half.”
That exclusivity deal with TransAngels, the studio brand launched in 2017 by Aylo—the parent company of Brazzers—marked a key moment in Rose’s meteoric rise.
“Emma really embodies what TransAngels is all about,” Michael from TransAngels says. “From very early on, it was clear that she had something special beyond just being beautiful on camera. She represents the ultimate fantasy—not only because of her looks, but because of the genuine girlfriend experience she brings to her performances and to her fans.
“There’s a warmth and connection in her scenes that people really respond to. She also loves what she does and I think that passion comes through in her work.”
Michael tells AVN the studio’s relationship with Rose “goes beyond what the camera sees.”
“Throughout the years, we’ve shared so many emotions together—from never-ending laughs on set to sharing tears over the phone,” he continues. “Her authenticity is a huge part in what makes her so strong, and the trust she has in us with her vulnerability is what has kept our relationship special.”
When Rose made her debut for Brazzers in 2021—in her first lesbian scene—opposite none other than Angela White, the three-time AVN Female Performer of the Year and AVN Hall of Famer, she says “I was shaking.”
“I think that was probably one of my most nervous shoots that I’ve been in,” Emma confesses. “But I wanted to do my [lesbian] debut with the best and she’s just been an icon and it was such a good scene.
“And then after that is when I fully went topping and bottoming, working with male talent, trans talent, female talent.”
Titled “In Bed With The Ex,” the setup for the ZZ encounter entails Emma trying to move on after breaking up with Angela, but the Australian superstar has other plans—like seducing Rose after she gets out of the shower.
“I was so excited to shoot with Emma for her Brazzers debut,” White tells AVN. “From the moment we met, we had immediate chemistry, and she brought such a fun, positive energy to set. She’s stunningly beautiful, incredibly sweet, and an absolute pleasure to work with.
“What stood out to me most was how well our chemistry translated on camera: everything felt authentic, playful, and effortless, which made the scene incredibly hot. It’s been exciting to watch her continued success.”
Rose reveals that she manifested her next career milestone, winning the AVN Trans Performer of the Year trophy in January 2023 at the 40th annual ceremony at Resorts World Las Vegas—just a few days after her three-year anniversary in porn—in addition to Best Trans Group Sex Scene. Two months after that, she tied with Ariel Demure for Hardcore Performer of the Year at the TEAs—achieving a repeat.
Then in January 2024, Rose repeated as the AVN Trans Performer of the Year while adding the statuette for Best Trans VR Scene with Dante Colle.
Just two months later, Adult Time made her a brand ambassador on the strength of almost 30 credits on the platform, including being a Transfixed Muse.
“What initially drew me to Emma was, of course, her incredible presence on screen,” Adult Time Chief Creative Officer Bree Mills tells AVN. “She is a phenomenal performer, model, actress, and one of the defining stars of her generation within the trans community. But what truly made me gravitate toward her as an ambassador was her impassioned speech at the AVN Awards a few years ago.”
Mills continues, “I was struck by her call to action for our industry, as well as the leadership, conviction, and hope behind her words. The impact of that speech was immediate. I remember reaching out shortly afterward to ask how I could help amplify her message, and whether Adult Time could be a creative partner in helping her share her voice with a wider audience.
“We went on to have a wonderful run together. We collaborated on projects and featured her as one of our brand ambassadors. It was an incredibly rewarding relationship. While we eventually wrapped the ambassadorship when Emma took her hiatus from studio production, it happened on the happiest of terms, and we’ve continued to work together since her return.”
By August 2024, Rose landed a three-chapter mini-series for Transfixed titled Emma Rose: Discovering Myself that documented her journey of exploring sexuality and the fluidity of gender. In Part 1, she paired up with Casey Calvert; Part 2 sees her in a threesome with Calvert and Steve Rickz; and Emma hooks up with Foxy Alex in Part 3.
Rose says her versatile performing style can be summed up that “I just love to love.”
“And I want that to translate on camera because sometimes it doesn’t especially if you’re lost in the moment or like there’s a lot of nuanced movement, especially in Adult Time scenes with Transfixed,” Emma says. “It’s very sensual and slow. I love that.”
Veteran producer/director Siouxsie Q, along with her directing partner Michael Vegas, has seen Rose’s performing prowess up close for Transfixed productions such as “Glimpse of the Past,” “The Costume Party,” and “Shower Romance.”
Siouxsie tells AVN, “Emma is a true pleasure to have on set no matter what role she takes on. A remarkably generous scene partner in every capacity, Emma is always doing everything she can to make the day move forward smoothly and ensure that her co-stars and crew members are supported and appreciated.”
Q continues, “During my most recent feature for Wicked Pictures, Emma came to set to shadow our production team and learn more about the filmmaking process. Her contributions to the film were remarkable; she jumped in and added value throughout the process and I’m so grateful to have had her involved.”
Rose in 2022 starred in the first trans scene ever produced by France-based legacy studio, Dorcel, performing with Victoria Voxxx in “Emma 4 You” under the direction of Ricky Greenwood.
“It was a great scene, a sensual scene,” Greenwood recalls.
A year later, Emma became the first trans model to land a principal role in a Dorcel feature, playing a charismatic DJ in More. In the movie, released in September 2023, she performed with Casey Calvert and Kira Noir.
“That was also a very beautiful scene, very organic, very natural,” adds Greenwood, who has won six AVN Awards for directing since 2022, including two straight for Outstanding Directing - Individual Work. “I remember someone from Dorcel was there watching and was just really impressed by the scene. ... It was a special moment.”
Ricky first directed Rose in September 2020 for Mile High Media’s TransSensual imprint, when she took on Chris Damned in My Best Friend’s TS Sister.
“She never gave me a bad scene,” Greenwood continues. “And Emma is always fun to have on set. I have a few girls I’ve worked with since the beginning of their careers and it’s always fun seeing them grow and become the big stars that they are.”
Rose tells AVN she moved out on her own at 17, but she remains on good terms with her parents.
“I’m very, very close with my dad, he’s my best friend,” Emma says.
“The same month that I graduated high school, I started college that summer and graduated in three years. … And I transitioned at the very last semester of my senior year in college… It was really hard to get a job after that because I wanted to do sales, which is a very face-forward job. And I was dancing throughout college to pay for it.
“And so after that I worked in an office; I worked as an intern. It just wasn’t working out. I was making so much money dancing that I just went back to dancing. But I still have a marketing degree.”
She created an account on OnlyFans in 2019 “just to see what it was.”
“And like my biggest thing was I don’t want to ruin my life with porn because I had that stigma in my brain,” Rose recalls. “And then finally after like six months I was like, sure, I’ll try it.”
That decision changed everything for Rose, who now is adding to what already is an established legacy as one of the most accomplished trans stars in the history of adult.
With her success has come a steady stream of opportunities to tell her story and represent the industry she holds dear—and she makes the most of them.
One of Rose’s most notable recent media spotlights came in the October 2025 issue of the glossy Erotic Sky Magazine, a quarterly publication led by CEO Lyric Sky—who is not only the publisher but also a popular adult star—and COO/Creative Director Salacious Perceptions, aka Cary Merriex.
Salacious Perceptions, the official photographer for ESM, captured Rose in L.A. in August 2025 for Volume 11—which also features cover empresses Nina Nova and Imani Seductions.
Thanks to the generosity of Erotic Sky—whose tagline is “a modern take on sensual erotic fetish”—dozens of Salacious Perceptions’ images from that day are also showcased in this month’s AVN cover story.
Rose’s terrific sense of humor shines through in her breezy Q&A that accompanies the ESM photos; Emma says she can make her feet touch her head, that people tend to think she’s “up to no good,” and that she’s not a fan of pickleball, among other revelations.
“This was the first time we featured Emma,” Cary tells AVN. “We’ve known and followed Emma for a long time. What she puts into her brand, how she handles herself, and the way she puts herself out there were why we wanted to feature her.”
An eight-year industry veteran from Jacksonville, Fla. who formerly worked as an orthodontist assistant, Cary says that she and Lyric operate Erotic Sky with the core mission of female empowerment. The pair takes great pride in spotlighting women who represent those values.
“We do everything for the magazine except physically print it,” adds Cary, who has a background in graphic design and also films videos for Erotic Sky, while Lyric Sky shoots BTS.
“Another thing about Emma that really resonated with me is when I heard about where Emma is from—it’s a very conservative place—and in my heart, I knew that she could never really truly be herself there.
“She gets to be herself now.”
Speaking of media, it’s no surprise Rose has become a favorite on the national podcast circuit. Just ask her publicist Lainie Speiser, who tells AVN that Emma has entered the public consciousness with her magnetic personality and talent for storytelling.
“She’s had some crazy viral stories that have cascaded her into mainstream,” says Speiser, who has managed Rose’s extensive publicity efforts for the past three years. “Guys just go nuts for her. She’s a crowd favorite wherever I bring her, whatever she does.
“I’m hoping she comes back to New York soon, it’s been well over a year. She’s been traveling a lot and doing stuff, but whenever she comes to town, it’s always a home run. There isn’t anything I can’t book her on, everybody wants her.
“It’s very rare to have a client always with a smile on her face. She loves what she does.
“She’s very close with her family, very grounded. She’s very much a girl next door, pretty, very open with people.
“No one ever talks about her without smiling. She makes my job very easy for pitching.”
Rose tells AVN that she’s excited to get a little more nasty in certain scenes as she moves forward.
“More of kind of like an Evil Angel style or Hard X style, where it’s just sloppy,” says Emma, who shined in several scenes for Hall of Fame director Joey Silvera and Evil Angel early in her career.
“I want my lashes falling off, I want spit—like I haven’t done a lot of those scenes—and I really want to explore that new side of me. That just like animalistic, carnal, horny energy that I haven’t really been able to portray on camera with other studios.”
She also wants to continue honing her craft behind the camera.
“I really want to start my own studio or shoot for a studio or both,” Emma continues.
“But I definitely want to be behind the camera shooting amazing art. And later on—Lainie is a big inspiration for me—I want to go into PR. I feel like I have a good vibe for it. I have good energy.
“I love to talk to people.”
Bree Mills tells AVN that Rose's reach extends further than she realizes.
“I genuinely believe that when people look back at this era of the industry, Emma will be remembered as more than just a pioneer within the trans performer community,” Mills reasons. “She will be remembered as a pioneer within the performer community as a whole.
“Through her talent, personality, and presence, she helped create an era of greater acceptance, curiosity, and excitement. I'm not exaggerating when I say that whenever I was casting for Transfixed and asked performers who they most wanted to work with, Emma was almost always at the top of the list. She truly became many performers' dream scene partner.”
Bree adds, “What makes that so significant is that her influence extends far beyond representation alone. Emma has become a source of inspiration for performers across the industry, regardless of whether they are cis or trans. She reached a level where other performers don't just admire her work—they aspire to work with her, learn from her, and follow in her footsteps.
“To me, that's the mark of someone who has made a truly lasting impact. When you become a mentor, a role model, and an aspirational figure for the next generation, you've achieved something much bigger than personal success.”
Photography by Salacious Perceptions/Erotic Sky Magazine
