This feature appears in the July issue of AVN magazine.
LOS ANGELES—Hope Heaven realizes her path to the upper levels of adult entertainment was anything but typical.
For starters, it happened fast.
In a rare occurrence, the former cam girl from Hamburg, Germany signed an exclusive contract with Vixen Media Group before even shooting a professional scene.
But Julia Grandi knew there was something special about Heaven when she met her at the Venus Show in October 2023.
Heaven had been worked on and off as a cam model and creator for about two years before deciding to attend the annual adult expo in Berlin. It wasn’t long after that Grandi—the multiple AVN Award-winning producer/director for VMG—made her an offer to go pro.
“To get signed exclusively without even having one scene—she doesn’t even know how I act, how I am—it was very nice to see how much they appreciate me and how much they see a talent in me,” Heaven says. “So I really felt lucky. Also, I know that it’s not normal to get found in that way and to get exclusively in a contract. So I really see that and appreciate that.
“And the feeling was just amazing to go from a cam girl to a studio exclusive contract.”
Now Heaven arrives in the summer of 2026 with undeniable momentum as the headlining star of Pull, playing a supermodel with a checkered past in the five-part crossover feature from VMG inspired by true events from Grandi’s life.
Billed as a story of attraction, manipulation, and revenge, the psychological thriller rolled out across Vixen, Blacked and Tushy with Hope performing in three scenes—separate boy/girl encounters with Alberto Blanco and Troy Francisco; and a four-way with Melanie Marie, Shadow Dimitri and Freddie Gong.
Heaven tells AVN she was honored that Grandi chose her for the lead role.
“I felt very overwhelmed and lucky that she asked me because it’s such an important movie to her,” Hope says.
“I was very into it. …It was so much fun and I enjoyed this time so much and I think also the finished movie is so nice.”
Heaven says her character is “the complete opposite of me.”
“My character had a lot of panic attacks and was not insecure, but she was in the situation she got in because of other people,” Hope explains.
“I think two times there was a very intense panic attack that I needed to do... And after the most intense panic attack scene I just got to the bathroom and needed to cry because I had built up so much emotions that I just needed to cry everything out.
“But I think the scene was very authentic.”
Julia Grandi agrees.
“Hope as a performer is such a pleasure to work with—mainly because her focus and dedication to the project are unmatched,” says Grandi, who has won three consecutive AVN Awards for Best Directing Portfolio - International. “She is focused and determined, always on time, never complains, does everything with a smile.
“She delivered what I believe is a performance of her career, which makes this movie one of my best projects to shoot to date. The Pull movie is based on true-life experiences of mine and I am happy it was Hope who could make my vision become reality as a main character.”
VMG announced it had signed Heaven in March 2024, but she actually started her adult entertainment journey about five years ago.
Hope tells AVN she finished school during COVID and then “I wanted to see the world.”
“I want to see every country in the world. And you need money for traveling and I didn’t have money,” she recalls.
“So I was looking for a job that I can do… like working remote. I had many job offers for call centers and whatever, but somehow it did not really satisfy me because you just change your time for money.
“And then I saw a YouTube video about a girl selling pictures of herself, like her feet pictures and boobs and whatever.
“And I was like, fuck, I should do that because she was like telling her numbers what she earns. I was like, okay, that’s enough to travel. So I tried it.”
But that phase didn’t last long because “I’m not into feet,” Hope says.
“So I started with the wrong thing for me—and you could see it. The people still loved me, but it was just not my thing. But then I got into it more and I started streaming.”
Heaven even wore a mask during her early days as a streamer—and she only did typing in the chat—“because I was so afraid and shy to speak.”
Six months later, she took a break from streaming because accommodating all the requests from users for certain acts they wanted her to do had begun affecting her mental health.
“I just had the feeling I need to do everything what they want,” Hope explains. “So I broke myself in a way, and then I took a half a year off. And after, I came back to another site—a way better site—and since then I’m happy.”
The site that became her new streaming home was Stripchat, where she still goes live to this day when she’s not interacting with admirers on OnlyFans.
Fans can find Heaven day-to-day on OF, which she calls her “main hustle,” while Stripchat is her “side hustle.”
“I got into it and now I love it,” she adds.
Heaven lived in Canary Islands, Spain for a couple months during the COVID lockdown and was staying in Greece when she began dabbling in adult.
“Everything started at a friend’s place. And then soon after, I decided to travel full time,” Hope recalls. “So I said goodbye to Germany and I left everything behind. I had my small suitcase, not even a big one.
“I don’t know why. I just had like a handbag with my life. I didn’t have anything else, just this one little suitcase. And then I think for two years I traveled around Europe a lot.
“And at some point I was like, I’m tired of traveling, so I got to Spain and there I rented a house for I think two years and lived [in Valencia].”
She continues, “So my history of moving is a little crazy. I went from Valencia, then to Austria, and then I went back to Valencia. Then I moved to Malta, and from Malta I traveled around again and then I moved back to Valencia. Yeah, so right now I am homeless.”
Speaking to AVN from Vienna, Austria in June, Heaven reveals her first sex scene—with Martin Spell in December 2023, almost didn’t happen. Hope flew to the exotic Caribbean location for the shoot, but she changed her mind when she got there. Even though it was a difficult decision, she returned home without doing the scene.
A few days later, Heaven reconsidered, called Julia Grandi again and then flew back to the Carribean and did the scene.
“And yeah, it was amazing,” Hope says. “I don’t know why I was afraid of doing this, maybe because it’s such a big step in a way for a cam girl to do. But then I did it, and since then I continue to work with them.”
Heaven tells AVN that Grandi was sensitive and receptive to her initial apprehension.
“Julia was really understandable and told me that’s totally fine,” Hope says. “She did not force me to do it. She did not force me to do anything or was mad at me. She just was human and yeah, I liked that a lot.
“And when I told her that I want to come back, she was like, ‘Alright, let’s do it. We can fit you. I know you have talent. I want to have you. So come on, let’s do it.’”
Hope says Grandi even tightened the set in an effort to make her feel more comfortable.
“So instead of 10 people, it was just like four or five,” Heaven says. “So that was really nice. So I can concentrate on myself. And she didn’t rush me. She explained everything what I need to do, when I need to do something. Also, the guy Martin Spell was very nice and understandable and helped me a lot with everything.”
Even though Heaven is no longer under exclusive contract—it was a one-year deal—and only has done about eight scenes, she still primarily works with VMG.
But she tells AVN she’d love to someday become a Penthouse Pet of the Month.
As she considers her future, she also would like to do a runway show as a model.
“And I just want as many first experiences as possible,” Hope says.
Photography courtesy of Vixen Media Group
