Over 30 and loving it: A look at adult film stars still performing at the age of 30-plus

By Troy Michael

In an industry where youth is queen, the girls seemingly get younger and younger each year. The average life span of a female adult performer is less then a year. With girls coming in at 18 and 19-years old doing circus-type sex acts in gonzo films they will be spit out of the business before they are legally able to buy a stiff drink instead of sucking a stiff cock.

Jenna Jameson, Tyler Faith, Janine, Nina Hartley, Kylie Ireland, Jill Kelly, Julia Ann, Taylor Wane, Juli Ashton, etc. What do these big named legitimate stars have in common? They are all 30-years-old or older and are still putting in scorching performances in front of the camera and looking gorgeous while doing so.

Like a fine wine, women just get better with age. So why does an industry have the reputation to put these girls out to pasture just because their birth date is prior to 1985? In “regular life” 30 is still very young, but in adult films it is considered to be a different taboo all together. There are more girls “over the hill” by adult industry standards then one would think.

In spite of the politics of porn, some of these justifiable porn stars embrace their age and aren’t afraid to get a little bit (or a lot) nasty on film. However, the stigmatisms are still hard to over come.

Being in the business longer then the younger girls, these veterans of the adult industry has the right to pick and choose who they work with. However, being older talent, they also have to fight to get jobs when most directors are looking for the younger talent. 

“I don't do work for outside companies anymore since forming three companies of my own,” 38-year-old Victoria Givens said. “But I would have to say that younger talent has an advantage to a point. It depends on the project we are doing that determines what age group we look for in talent.”

Actress and director Kylie Ireland (32-years-old) feels she can pick and choose projects, but also feels the pressure of age. “Sometimes it is harder, but really I think I could work as much as I wanted.  Really though, after 300-plus movies, I don’t want to work every day like these new young chickies,” Ireland said. “This business might mainly be about the new girls but it is not entirely about the new girl.  The advantage that an established star has over the other girls is her name and her selling power.  Fans tend to follow a performer her entire career.  You also can’t forget that porn has something for everyone – porn is sold to such a diverse market that there is always room for everyone.”

When you are a porn legend, like 47-year-old Nina Hartley things happen a bit different regardless of age “I'm a name in and of myself, so if you want ‘Nina,’ I'm it. However, I don't try to pick up the odd job, or work in the general market. I'd run up against ageism more if I tried to work more than I do, or to work for different companies than I do.”

One notable difference to help the established performers is the craze of “Mom’s I’d like to fuck” (MILF) genre that many companies embrace.

 “The industry is all about the "teen" movie and the young look. There's an audience for mature girls,” 37-year-old Janet Jacme said.

 38-year-old Kelly Madison has another view in the situation that is askew from everyone else. “I am amazed that companies still want to work with me. I started late in the business, age 33 to be exact, so the fact that I am working at all surprises me.

What is astounding is girls coming into the business, doing a handful of films and claiming they are an actual porn star. There is a huge difference between a star and a performer. Becoming a star takes a lot of hard work, a great reputation and most of all staying power.

 “Stars can be split into two categories - the girl who does a ton of movies and the contract girl,” Ireland said. “A girl with a huge body of work, who is responsible and does good solid scenes that is a girl who can claim ‘porn star.’ Contract girls – although many are fluffy and their scenes mediocre – have the advantage of a big company and the publicity machine with the company they are elevated to porn star status.”

“A porn star is one who dresses for the part at every occasion, and oozes sexuality like a kitten in heat,” the blond bombshell Taylor Wane explained. “Porn star is a woman who, even though they have sex on camera, holds her head up high, and has grace and star quality.  They will make an impact on the business in some way, so people remember their name.  Anyone can fuck, but not every one will become a star!”

Nina Hartley added, “It's subjective, of course, but the term "porn star" doesn't mean much these days. It's shorthand for "porn performer," in my view. I think a "star" is someone who's been around for at least five years and has done a lot of good work and is known by the consuming public. Of course, it's hard these days, with twelve hundred performers vying for attention, along with 12,000 titles per year trying to get noticed. It's much harder these days for a woman to stand out enough to be considered a "star."  

Like the aforementioned classic wine, these permissible stars get better with age, which includes their sexual skills. Hey, let’s face it, when you have 300 to 650 scenes to your credit, you are going to learn a few sexual tricks to make the experience that much better.

 “As a girl gets older she learns more about her body and what turns her on; it is also common that around the age of 30, a woman can start looking at sex different, craving it more and becoming more experimental,” Ireland said.

 “Generally, we probably have more experience, but some of these younger girls, I'm telling you, they blow my mind,” Jacme said”

 “Some people can learn techniques and tricks with age. However, true sexuality comes from within. You're born with it,” Taylor Wane said.

With time comes appreciation, especially in a business where longevity is hard to come by. The adult film industry can be a cold cruel world that spits out talent faster then a performer spits out cum in blow bang film.

 “I feel that to be wanted in this industry at my age and to feel sexy and attractive is so fulfilling. A young girl could never relate to how I feel,” Madison said.

Givens added, “I do appreciate everything I have. I have no idea what anyone else appreciates. I do think the older you get, the wiser you get, and the more you realize the importance of investments, insurance, etc.”

The adult film industry changes daily, that is just plain fact. If you want staying power you have to keep on your toes (or knees.) It takes more then just putting in solid sex scenes in today’s business. From going mainstream, to marketing, to being close to your fans is vital. You have to keep on top of this whirlwind world of porn.

Nina Hartley, a veteran of more then two decades, has seen everything from all sides, “The explosion of the available product, the penetration into all aspects of the market, the internet, the expansion of the talent pool;  the ever-more-specific niche product;  the emergence of the MILF category; the increase of independent female viewers who have become fans in their own right; the explosion of “circus trick” sexual acts, all these things and many more have all developed since the 1980s when I started”

“I can't say I enjoy the decline of the industry making features and producing more gonzo,” Wane said. “On one hand that is bad because now the industry is becoming over saturated, and on the other hand its good because talent have been able to become their own companies and be there own bosses.”

 Ireland adds a more cynical view on the changes of porn. “New girls to the business have no idea how it used to be.  They walk into AEE with their bodyguards and are taken to their big fancy booths where they are paid to sign.  They go to the big flashy awards show with major label bands playing and they have no idea how far the biz has come – no idea that when AVN magazine started it was nothing but a small fan mag with a staple in the middle.  That the awards show used to have the Stingers as the band and Serenity dancing as the entertainment (in fact right now any new girls reading this are going “who?”).  They don’t know that AEE was actually a part of CES, the part they kept hidden way down the hallway in the back of the convention center and that there were signs posted in the bathrooms warning CES attendees that they were sharing restrooms with members of the adult community.  Girls nowadays have agents and publicists – something rarely heard of ten years ago. Most of these girls don’t remember a world before the internet and never had fan clubs you had to actually mail stuff to…times have changed.”

Taylor Wane sums it up best. “I think the business has changed in many ways over the years. We realize that we need to fill all sexual fantasies and sexual interests. Not every person is aroused by the same thing, so it is outrageous to even suggest or think that every man is only turned on by teenagers. Our industry now fills the void that was not catered to before in mainstream productions. The market place caters to a much larger, diverse audition that once perceived. We imagined that only rain coat guys were watching porn before, but now we know that all ages, races and sexes are watching adult entertainment.  I think that couples over 30 might generally feel more comfortable watching talent that are in their age group, as long as they are still hot and sexually driven, rather than watch teenage girls that could be their daughters.  Women over 30 have bloomed, and it shows embodying all the fruits of womanhood, they are generally more sexually experienced and ready to completely let go of all their inhibitions. It would be a shame to think that we do not enjoy these sexy mama's.”