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Asa Akira
Akira in 2016
Born	(1985-01-03) January 3, 1985 (age 39) Manhattan, New York, USA
Height	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Spouse	Toni Ribas ​ ​(m. 2012; div. 2017)​
Website	asaakira.com

Asa Akira (born January 3, 1985) is an American pornographic film actress, writer and adult film director. Akira has appeared in 689 adult films as of June 2023. In 2013, she became the third Asian performer (after Asia Carrera and Stephanie Swift) to win the AVN Female Performer of the Year Award. Akira hosted the 1st and 2nd ceremonies for the Pornhub Awards. She was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame, XRCO Hall of Fame, Urban X Hall of Fame, and Brazzers Hall of Fame.

Early life

Asa Akira was born in Manhattan, New York to Japanese parents. She lived in SoHo, New York until age nine, when she moved to Tokyo, Japan. She lived there for four years before moving back to the United States in her teens. When moving back to New York, her family originally moved to Downtown Brooklyn before moving to Clinton Hill, New York.

Asa attended the United Nations International School in Kips Bay, New York before going to Washington Irving School in nearby Gramercy Park.

Asa is her real first name, which means "morning" in Japanese. Her professional surname was taken from the anime film Akira.

Career

Pornographic career

Akira began working as a dominatrix when she was 19 years old. She later worked as a stripper at the Hustler Club in New York. In 2006–2007 she was a regular on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show and was known as the "Show Whore". Her first boy-girl scene was with Travis Knight for Gina Lynn Productions, after having already done several girl-girl scenes, mainly with Lynn. She then signed a contract with Vouyer Media before becoming a freelancer six months later.

Akira received several award nominations for her role in David Aaron Clark's 2009 film, Pure, in which she plays a telephonist at a fetish dungeon who has an affair with the head-mistress' husband.

Akira co-hosted the 30th Annual AVN Awards alongside pornographic actress Jesse Jane and comedian April Macie. She won the AVN Female Performer of the Year Award that night. She was also the most awarded person during that ceremony.

In 2013, she made her directorial debut with Elegant Angel's Gangbanged 6.

On October 9, 2013, Akira announced that she signed an exclusive performing contract with Wicked Pictures. Her debut film as a contract performer for the company was Asa Is Wicked.

Mainstream appearances

Akira made a cameo appearance in the mainstream film Starlet.

In January 2014, Akira, Dana DeArmond, Chanel Preston, and Jessie Andrews were featured in a Cosmopolitan magazine article titled "4 Porn Stars on How They Stay Fit." The article was inspired by actress Gabrielle Union's comment made on Conan O'Brien's talk show about striving to follow the fitness routines of the porn stars she saw at her gym.

In 2014, Akira featured as a guest in episode 1 of season 3 of the Eric Andre Show.

In 2017, Akira appeared as herself in the first episode of the sixteenth season of Family Guy in a live-action casting couch cutaway scene with Peter Griffin. Akira later noted that, ironically, this was her first casting couch scene. The episode featured a recurring joke of people asking Peter "who was the girl on the couch" and Peter giving a deadpan reply that he is certain each inquirer already knows who she is. In the eighth episode of the twentieth season after Peter is fired from his job, he tries to clear his browser history, but it's too late as the company IT guy notes that Peter is "all in" on Akira.

Other media

In 2011, Complex ranked Akira fourth on their list of "The Top 100 Hottest Porn Stars Right Now" and at sixth on their list of "The Top 50 Hottest Asian Porn Stars of All Time". LA Weekly ranked her third on their list of "10 Innovative Porn Stars Who Could Be the Next Sasha Grey" in 2013. She was also placed on CNBC's yearly list "The Dirty Dozen", the site's annual ranking of the adult industry's most popular and successful stars in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

In 2013 Akira and artist David Choe started a podcast featuring 90-minute episodes called DVDASA. It is aimed at a young adult audience, with its goal being to help youth with their problems related to sexuality, career, relationships, etc.

In June 2014, Akira appeared on a YouTube video with vlogger Caspar Lee.

Akira wrote a memoir titled Insatiable: Porn—A Love Story which was released in May 2014 by Grove Press. In July 2015, she signed a contract with Cleis Press to publish her second book, titled Dirty Thirty: A Memoir, a collection of essays, which was released in the fall of 2016.

In 2015, Akira replaced Belle Knox as the host of The Sex Factor, an upcoming reality show where eight men and eight women compete for a $1 million prize and a three-year porn contract.

On April 6, 2015, The Hundreds started releasing episodes for a series titled Hobbies with Asa Akira, which features Akira trying out different activities such as tattooing, boxing, taxidermy, and ice sculpting.

Akira joined Barstool Sports in 2017, where she was briefly a co-host on KFC Radio.

Personal life

Akira states that she is sexually attracted to both men and "girls that look like boys". She dislikes being called bisexual, saying that she leans towards heterosexuality, but is still uncertain. She was once engaged to former pornographic actor Rocco Reed. She was also married to pornographic actor and director Toni Ribas, and she stated that aside from their on-screen work, their relationship was monogamous; their marriage lasted from December 2012 until 2017 and ended up in divorce.

She and her partner welcomed their first child in 2019. Akira identifies as a feminist.

Awards

Publications

• Akira, Asa (2014). Insatiable: Porn—A Love Story. Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-2259-9.
• Akira, Asa (2016). Dirty Thirty: A Memoir. Cleis Press. ISBN 978-1-62778-164-0.
• Akira, Asa, ed. (2017). Asarotica. Cleis Press. ISBN 978-1-62778-226-5.

References

1. @asaakira (January 3, 2016). "Thirty one years old / In two years I'll have sucked dick / For two whole decades" (Tweet). Retrieved May 11, 2022 – via Twitter.
2. ^ Jared Rutter (June 24, 2008). "Vouyer Media Ships Asa Akira Release". AVN.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
3. "Girls – CraveOnline". CraveOnline. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
4. "Pornhub Awards: A Diary from the Red Carpet to the Brazzers After Party". Cultured Magazine. October 18, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
5. .https://nypost.com/2014/04/26/how-a-manhattan-prep-school-kid-became-a-millionaire-porn-star/
6. Akira, Asa (2015). Dirty Thirty: A Memoir. Cleis Press. ISBN 978-1-62778-165-7.
7. "From prep-school kid to millionaire porn star". April 26, 2014.
8. "From prep-school kid to millionaire porn star". April 26, 2014.
9. Paulie K. (October 3, 2013). "Catching the Fever of Asa Akira". Xtreme. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
10. Adam Wilcox (May 9, 2012). "XXX Wasteland Exclusive Interview: Asa Akira". XXX Wasteland. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
11. Dan Miller (March 16, 2012). "XBIZ TV: 'Insatiable' Asa Akira Goes From Dominatrix to Performer of the Year". XBIZ. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
12. Paulie K. (July 14, 2010). "Asa Akira Strips Down". Xtreme. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
13. Jared Rutter (September 29, 2009). "Prime Evil Unveils David Aaron Clark's Pure". AVN. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
14. "Asa Akira Proud To Be Nominated Porn Industry's 'Performer Of The Year' (NSFW)". The Huffington Post. January 19, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
15. Steve Javors (February 27, 2013). "Interview: AVN Female Performer of the Year Asa Akira". AVN. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
16. Robin Leach (January 20, 2013). "2013 AVN Awards photos: What happens in Vegas only happens in Vegas". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
17. Peter Warren (May 1, 2013). "Asa Akira Turns Director With Elegant Angel's 'Gangbanged'". AVN. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
18. Peter Warren (October 10, 2013). "Asa Akira Announces Wicked Contract at The Sex Awards". AVN. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
19. Mark Kernes (October 26, 2013). "Now That Wicked's Got Asa, How Apropos That 'Asa Is Wicked'!". AVN. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
20. Jon DaBove (April 4, 2014). "Asa Akira: MMD Interviews The Biggest Porn Star In The World". Mens Mag Daily. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
21. Cheryl Wischhover (January 30, 2014). "4 Porn Stars on How They Stay Fit". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
22. "Cosmo turns to porn stars for fitness tips". Adult Video News. Vol. 30, no. 3. March 2014. p. 26.
23. Paul Cantor (July 11, 2011). "The Top 100 Hottest Porn Stars (Right Now)". Complex. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
24. Gabriel Alvarez (September 19, 2011). "The Top 50 Hottest Asian Porn Stars of All Time". Complex. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
25. Jennifer Swann (December 11, 2013). "10 Innovative Porn Stars Who Could Be the Next Sasha Grey". LA Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
26. Chris Morris (January 18, 2012). "The Dirty Dozen 2012: Porn's Most Popular Stars". CNBC. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
27. Chris Morris (January 14, 2013). "The Dirty Dozen 2013 – Porn's Most Popular Stars". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
28. Chris Morris (January 13, 2014). "The Dirty Dozen 2014". CNBC. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
29. Lizzie Crocker (January 29, 2013). "Facebook Artist David Choe Launches New Gig With Porn Star Asa Akira". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
30. "- YouTube". YouTube.
31. Dan Miller (January 17, 2014). "Asa Akira's Memoir 'Insatiable: Porn—A Love Story' Coming in May". XBIZ. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
32. ^ Sharan Street (July 17, 2015). "Asa Akira Talks About New Book Deal, New Movie". AVN. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
33. Euse, Erika (September 12, 2016). "'Anal Queen' Asa Akira Is Having a Porn-Life Crisis". Vice. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
34. Cameron Wolf (April 6, 2015). "Watch Asa Akira Learn How to Tattoo". Complex. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
35. "Asa Akira Used TO Work At Barstool Sports". YouTube. January 26, 2021.
36. ^ Asa Akira. "I Like Girls That Look Like Boys". XCritic. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
37. Nelson Ayala (September 20, 2012). "Asa Akira Has Got Rocco Reed Pegged in 'Strap On Desires'". XBIZ. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
38. "30th Times a Charm", AVN Magazine, Vol. 29/No. 3, Issue 363, March 2013, p.49.
39. Tracy Clark-Flory (May 3, 2014). ""I'm in love with being on display": Adult film star Asa Akira on her insatiable love of porn". Salon. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
40. Bielski, Zosia (May 23, 2014). "'I'm an exhibitionist, I'm hypersexual': Porn star Asa Akira on why she loves her job". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Woolbridge Company. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
41. ^ "Asa Akira – Biography". IMDb. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
42. Asa Akira (September 3, 2014). "Asa Akira: Just Because I Do Porn Doesn't Mean I'm Not A Feminist". Playboy. Archived from the original on July 18, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.

Further reading

• "Elegant Angel Director Asa Akira on 'Loveline' with Dr. Drew Tonight". Adult Video News. February 24, 2014.
• Akira, Asa; Heffner, Alexander (October 21, 2016). "Sexuality as Free Expression". The Open Mind (video with transcript). New York: WNET.

External links

• Official website
• Asa Akira at IMDb
• Asa Akira at the Internet Adult Film Database
• Asa Akira at the Adult Film Database
• Asa Akira on the Muck Rack journalist listing site

v t e XRCO Award for Female Performer of the Year
Ginger Lynn (1984) Tori Welles (1990) Ashlyn Gere (1993) Debi Diamond (1994) Leena La Bianca (1995) Juli Ashton (1996) Jill Kelly (1998) Stacy Valentine (1999) Inari Vachs (2000) Jewel De'Nyle 2001 2002 Belladonna (2003) Ashley Blue (2004) Lauren Phoenix (2005) Nicki Hunter (2006) Hillary Scott (2007) Sasha Grey (2008) Jenna Haze (2009) Tori Black 2010 2011 Asa Akira 2012 2013 Remy LaCroix (2014) Anikka Albrite (2015) Adriana Chechik 2016 2017 Angela White 2018 2019 2020 Emily Willis (2021) Gianna Dior (2022) Jane Wilde (2023) Vanna Bardot (2024)

• 1985 births
• 21st-century American actresses
• American dominatrices
• American female adult models
• American female erotic dancers
• American erotic dancers
• American feminists
• 21st-century American memoirists
• American pornographic film actresses
• American pornographic film directors
• Living people
• Women pornographic film directors
• American women memoirists
• American pornographic film actors of Japanese descent
• American film directors of Japanese descent
• American models of Japanese descent
• American writers of Japanese descent
• Barstool Sports people
• Pornographic film actors from New York (state)
• Models from New York City
• American actresses of Japanese descent