Kudos To >> http://www.refinery29.com/most-popular-porn-stars-pornhub-videos?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss
Pornhub’s 2016 Year In Review revealed the most popular genres and search terms behind the world’s sexual desires. And since more than 4.5 billion hours of porn were watched in 2016, that means that over 4.5 billion hours of hard work were put in by the professionals who make it. Porn performers are responsible for bringing many people’s deepest desires to life, thanks to the varied, unique spaces they take in the industry.
We took a look at the 20 most popular porn performers as listed in Pornhub’s Year in Review. Each performer’s claim to fame is widely different. For some, their popularity hinges on a specific video or character, while others have made a name for themselves either by domineering a certain genre or appearing all over. They’re good at what they do, and so time and time again users searched for them and their work.
In addition to their popularity, we found out how each performer got their start and who they are when it comes to their career, passions, and relationships. Ahead is everything you need to know about the most popular porn performers of 2016.
Lisa Ann
Lisa Ann secured the top spot on Pornhub’s list of most searched porn performers, thanks in part to her most iconic role: Sarah Palin. Hustler Video’s Who’s Nailin’ Paylin? Was released on election day 2008. Lisa Ann (as Sarah Palin) has sex with parodies of Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Bill O’Reilly. The role made her a pop culture phenomenon that she’s still recognized for to this day.
In addition to her on-screen work, Ann was also one of the only female talent agents to open her own agency back in 2006, although she shuttered it after four years to focus on her solo efforts. In 2014, she retired from the adult film industry and transitioned to her new role as a fantasy football guru. Now, you can find her hosting the Lisa Ann Does Fantasy show Monday nights on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
Mia Khalifa
Mia Khalifa ’s rise to fame was as fast as it was short-lived. The 23-year-old was the first prominent Lebanese porn star, moving to America at the age of 10 and getting a B.A. in history from the University of Texas at El Paso. Her popularity on Pornhub, where she was ranked the most popular porn actress in 2015, caused a stir back in her hometown, in part because she proudly displays her Lebanese tattoos (the opening lines of the Lebanese national anthem on one arm, the Lebanese Forces Cross on the other) while on camera.
“They’re embarrassed I’m ‘claiming’ them,” the performer told Newsweek. “As if I had a choice. I was born there.”
Now, Khalifa has moved away from porn and contributes to Fansided.com. The self-proclaimed “DC Sports Girl” is a social media personality whose current goal is to promote the Maryland and D.C. sports scene.
Photo: AFP/Getty Images.
Kim Kardashian
Unfortunately, Kim Kardashian’s name continues to be searched in the porn realm, even though her sex tape with ex-boyfriend and singer Willie “Ray J” Norwood was leaked without her consent in 2007, which was a complete violation of both of their privacy. Kardashian sued the distribution company, Vivid Entertainment, before eventually settling.
“You know, I think that’s how I was definitely introduced to the world,” she later told People. “It was a negative way, so I felt like I really had to work 10 times harder to get people to see the real me.”
Photo: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Getty Images.
Riley Reid
After starting as a stripper during her time off in college, Riley Reid entered the adult film industry as an extra for In The VIP for Reality Kings in Miami. In 2011, she shot her first sex scene for Bang Bros in their College Rules section. She quickly made a name for herself, moving to LA and pursuing the industry full time.
“I have this very weird energy about myself,” she said in an interview. “I have this high sexual drive, and it brings it out of other people, too.”
In 2016, she brought home a record-breaking number of awards from the Adult Video News awards, including Performer of the Year. She was also the newest 2016 Fleshlight Girl, having her very own sex toy modeled off her genitalia.
Photo: Renard Garr/WireImage.
Sunny Leone
Sunny Leone began her career in 2001, starting as an erotic model. She officially transitioned to hardcore pornography in 2005. She was the first Vivid Girl of Indian descent and began working with Vivid Entertainment. In 2008, she announced the launch of her very own studio, SunLust Pictures, along with her partner Daniel Weber.
“We are releasing Vivid type quality films, so everyone who is watching will get something that is high quality but created by myself and my partner,” she explained. “I plan to direct, create, write and produce all the movies we make.”
In 2013 she announced her retirement from adult films, instead choosing to focus on mainstream acting.
Photo: Waseem Gashroo/Hindustan Times/Getty Images.
Brandi Love
Brandi Love is best known for her work in MILF- and Hot Wife-branded videos, but she actually got her start in the wine business. While designing her website, she met two adult webmasters who asked if she’d be interested in learning more about the adult entertainment industry.
“We literally decided to abandon ship on where we were going with the wine labeling,” she said in an interview. “We went 100% on the adult side and the rest is history!”
She and her husband, Chris Potoski, also created Parents In Adult, an organization that provided resources for parents in the adult entertainment industry, from chatrooms to lawyers. Love also authored the 2008 book Getting Wild Sex from Your Conservative Woman.
Photo: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images.
Asa Akira
Asa Akira’s Twitter bio begins with “I have an award-winning asshole,” and that’s just the beginning. She’s also the author of two books, co-host of KFC Radio, works for Barstool Sports, and has her own line of candles (“Daddy Issues” and “Strip Club Locker Room” are some of the scents). The 30-year-old got her start as a dominatrix when she was 19, moved onto stripping, and then shot her first sex scene with Gina Lynn’s production company.
In 2013, she signed a contract with Wicked Pictures to appear exclusively in their movies, and in 2015, she became host of The Sex Factor, a TV show where eight men and eight women compete for one million dollars and a three-year porn contract.
Photo: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images.
Madison Ivy
Madison Ivy got into the business when she was 18 after adult film performer Shy Love “took her under her wing.” Since then, she’s worked for companies like Hustler, Pure Play Media, Brazzers, Elegant Angel, and Bang Productions. She interacts with her fans most frequently on Snapchat (MadisonIvySnaps) as well as Instagram.
Ivy grew up in a religious household and struggled not just with the taboo of porn, but also her sexuality. The actress is openly attracted to women and is in a relationship with fellow porn actress Heather Starlet. The two have been together since 2013, and currently live together.
Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic.
Alexis Texas
“I was a college student in Texas, where I grew up and a company called Shane’s World contacted me about a scene,” Alexis Texas says of her start in the industry. “I didn’t even know it was porn at first. I thought it was a TV dating show.”
The actress then moved to LA to pursue porn full-time and has gained a significant fan following that she calls Team Texass. In 2015, she signed her first directing contract with Elegant Angel, and she has her own radio show called Alexis Texas: Booty Talk on Vivid Radio.
Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images.
Dillion Harper
While working multiple jobs, Dillion Harper decided to start webcamming on the side to help make rent. On the advice of commenters, she starting thinking about porn, and after doing research, it was decided.
“I really just felt a gut feeling and something telling me I should do this,” she said in an interview.
She sent her photos out to AMA Adult Modeling in Fort Lauderdale, and after they expressed interest, she headed to south Florida and dove right in. The 25-year-old is active with her fans on Twitter, and produces exclusive content for her website.
Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic.
Mia Malkova
This California native made the leap to porn on the encouragement of her best friend and fellow performer Natasha Malkova.
“I really had no idea what it was going to be like,” she confessed in an interview. “It’s a lot more professional than I thought it would be, though.”
“After my first scene went well, I thought this is something I can do,” she continued.
In 2014, she married fellow performer Danny Mountain.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
August Ames
August Ames burst onto the scene in 2014, later winning the AVN Cutest Newcomer in 2015. Her reason for getting into the industry? “I was honestly bored,” she said in an interview. “I’m a very impulsive person, and I decided to try out the industry, just to see what it’s like, in Canada.”
Now, she’s based in LA, working in the industry full time and staying in touch with her fans on Instagram and Twitter.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
Nicole Aniston
“I had never watched porn before the industry,” Nicole Aniston told Fleshbot.com. “I was a very inexperienced person sexually.”
However, that didn’t stop her from amassing over 340,000 Twitter followers and becoming a Fleshlight Girl. According to the brand, Aniston ditched her nine-to-five in 2010 to pursue the adult film industry. Now, she has her own website where she posts exclusive content, and was named the Penthouse Pet of the Year in 2015.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
Sasha Grey
Sasha Grey moved to LA with the intent of becoming an adult film actress, and just after she turned 18, she appeared in the film Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge. Her standout performance in the 12-person orgy made waves, and she was booked that summer.
After her success in the porn industry, she began branching out into more mainstream acting. She starred in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience, and the New York Times writes that Grey’s “career in pornography has been distinguished both by the extremity of what she is willing to do and an unusual degree of intellectual seriousness about doing it.”
Photo: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images.
Sara Jay
“I have been in the adult business since I was 18 when I started dancing in the Midwest,” Sarah Jay writes on her website. After moving to Las Vegas at 23 years old, she participated in her first hardcore scene through connections with photographers.
Since then, the performer has appeared in over 300 DVDs and hundreds of different websites. She is also the CEO of Wyde Syde Productions, and regularly performs live shows on her website.
Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic.
Dani Daniels
Dani Daniels came up with her stage name as an act of revenge against her ex-boyfriend, which sets the tone for the playful way she approaches her work. Her first scene was with three other women for Reality Kings, and she says it took a year of being in the industry for her to develop her confidence.
In addition to performing, Daniels has directed for studios like Brazzers and partnered with Doc Johnson for a line of sex toys. Outside of the industry, Daniels is an artist of pointillism portraits.
Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic.
Christy Mack
“I started modeling at 18, then moved into fetish films at 19,” Christy Mack explained in an interview with Barelist. This opened the door for opportunities in the adult film industry, where she made a name for herself with her unique and bold tattoos. She opened up about the designs and what they mean to her in a profile for InkedMag.
Mack’s official website offers exclusive content, while her side website offers her very own Emojis, MackMoji.
Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic.
Piper Perri
Piper Perri joined the industry in 2015, first living in New Orleans before making the switch to LA. She decided to pursue pornography after a woman who worked for an agency messaged her on OKCupid. She sent pictures and was contacted before deciding on a whim to go down to Miami. “I just had a ‘fuck it’ in me,” she said. She stays in touch with her fans on Twitter.
Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic.
Ava Addams
Ava Addams began her career as a Playboy Playmate before becoming a fetish model and then a performer. “It was definitely gradual for me,” she told Mens Mag Daily. “I did Playboy. I did fetish. I do solo and girl/girl. And then a year later, I did boy/girl so I kind of eased my way into hardcore.”
When she’s not working on her films, Addams is maintaining her website and interacting with her fans through camming.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
Rachel Starr
Rachel Starr is a one-woman brand. When she’s not performing in adult videos, like her DVD Rachel Starr Is Bad Ass, she’s live-streaming, talking and texting one-on-one with her fans using a public phone number. The star is also selling access to her Snapchat for one year ($99) or forever ($199) where she’ll be posting more content.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
23 Sexts To Send To Your Partner Now
When You Kink-Shame Donald Trump, You’re Missing The Point
Sent To Us By Storme
From The Category Adult Romance