Kayden Kross (born 1985) is an American pornographic film actress and director. She is a member of the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.
Early life Kross grew up in the foothills between Sacramento and Placerville in a strict, religious household. She has described herself as "the book nerd" during her time as a high school student. Kross and her younger sister were raised by a single mother, which greatly impacted her childhood as the family struggled to make ends meet; her father left the family when he had another child. Kross began stripping at Rick's Showgirls in Rancho Cordova, California when she was eighteen years old to earn extra money to rescue a pony from a slaughterhouse, which she kept for eight months. Kross was a psychology major at Sacramento State, where she also studied philosophy. An agent who came to the club offered Kross the opportunity to model in adult magazines.
Career Her movies with Vivid included Kayden's First Time, Hard Time, and Be Here Now. Unhappy with the company, she became a free agent one year later when she did not renew her contract. She signed an exclusive contract with Adam & Eve after one month of being a free agent.
She was named Penthouse Pet of the Month for September 2008. Kross' official website, ClubKayden.com, was launched on September 2, 2008. Kross has hosted a blog at UnKrossed.com and has written regular updates and opinion columns for MikeSouth.com, an adult industry gossip blog, among other sites.
Kross became exclusive to Digital Playground under a multi-year contract on January 1, 2010. Her first movie with the company, The Smiths, topped sales charts immediately and has continued to be a best seller. She was given the lead in their big budget feature, Body Heat, in her third month of the contract. She won two Best Actress Awards for the role.
Kross hosted the 2010 AVN Awards show, along with porn actress Kirsten Price and comedian Dave Attell. She was Penthouse magazine's "Cover Girl" for September 2008 and 2010.
Kross was named by CNBC as one of the 12 most popular pornographic film actresses in 2011.
In 2012, she hosted the Xbiz awards for the second time, and appeared in the ceremony alongside Wicked Pictures/Wicked.com contract star, Jessica Drake, and on the AVN red carpet with co-hosts Jesse Jane and guitarist Dave Navarro.
In 2019, she launched Deeper, one of the Vixen Media Group's primary websites in its portfolio.
Appearances in other media Kross has made appearances in FX's comedy series The League, the G4 reality series The Block, and Family Jewels.
In 2011, she was cast as Tara in Gregory Hatanaka's drama Blue Dream and briefly co-hosted a regular videocast, Kayden's Review, for Triggla TVDigital Playground's Kayden Kross joins Triggla TV (July 26, 2011) Retrieved on February 21, 2013. alongside the comedian Dane Hanson.Kayden's Review on Triggla TV. Retrieved on February 21, 2013. From 2012 to 2013, Kross portrayed a main character in the second season of Tucky Williams' lesbian-themed web series Girl/Girl Scene. Starting in January 2013, Kross hosted the weekly call-in show Krossfire on Playboy Radio.
In 2013, Kross also appeared in the featurette "Chicks 'N Guns" on the Breaking Bad 5th season DVD as a stripper. The scene takes place during the season 5 episode "Gliding Over All". Kross also appeared in two music videos from the band Nekrogoblikon, "No One Survives" (2012) and "We Need a Gimmick" (2015).
Writing Kross writes columns regularly for publications such as Complex magazine, XBIZ magazine, and a blog for Xcritic.com. She has also contributed to Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and her short story "Plank" appeared in the 2012 short story collection Forty Stories: New Writing from Harper Perennial, an e-book. As of August 2012, she was writing an autobiographical book about the porn industry.
Adult industry activism In 2008, Kross was among those testifying against a proposed tax in California on all producers and distributors of adult entertainment. In 2014, she testified against a bill in the California State Assembly that would require pornographic film performers to wear condoms on set.
Personal life In October 2008, Kross was charged with grand theft and violations of the California Civil Code, involving contracts for purchases of home equity mortgages. In July 2009, the grand-theft charge was dismissed, and the real-estate-fraud charge was reduced to a misdemeanor; Kross pleaded no contest to the resulting charges and was sentenced to one day in custody and three years of probation. She blamed her involvement in the situation on her naïveté and being scammed by the broker and mortgage lender.
Kross and her French partner Manuel Ferrara have one daughter, born in January 2014. In 2013, Ferrara asked her to no longer perform with other men. Ferrara continues to shoot scenes with other women, occasionally scenes that are directed by Kross. They acknowledged the seeming double standard of their arrangement but agreed that his work would stay professional and that Kross maintains "veto" power over who performs with Manuel. He also stated that if she wished for him to stop performing altogether, he would.
Awards As a performer Year Award Category Film2007AdultconTop 20 Adult Actresses2008NightMoves AwardBest Girl/Girl Release (Fan's Choice)Bree & Kayden2009Hot d'OrBest American Starletrowspan=4 2010Erotixxx AwardBest U.S. ActressNightMoves AwardBest Female Performer (Fan's Choice)Venus AwardBest Actress InternationalVenus 2010 Award Winners. venus-berlin.com 2011AVN AwardBest All-Girl Group Sex SceneBody HeatWildest Sex Scene (Fan Award)XBIZ AwardActing Performance of the Year (Female)2012AVN AwardHottest Sex Scene (Fan Award)"AVN Announces the 2012 AVN Award Winners" . AVN. Retrieved April 15, 2012.Babysitters 22013Sex AwardFavorite Sex Toy for MenThe Kayden Kross FleshlightXBIZ AwardBest Scene – All-GirlMothers & Daughters2014Best Scene – Feature MovieCode of Honor2015Best Scene – All-GirlMisha Cross Wide Open2019AVN AwardHall of Fame2022XCritic AwardBest G/G SceneInfluence 2XRCO AwardHall of Fame
As a director Year Award Category Film2015XBIZ AwardDirector of the Year – Non-Feature ReleaseMisha Cross Wide Open2016NightMoves AwardBest All Sex Release (Fan's Choice)Kayden Kross' Casting Couch 32018AVN AwardBest Director – Non-FeatureSacrosanct2019Director of the Yearrowspan=7 XBIZ AwardDirector of the Year – FeatureUrban X AwardDirector of the YearNightMoves AwardBest Feature Director (Editor's Choice)XRCO AwardBest Director – FeaturesFleshbot AwardDirector of the Year2020AVN AwardDirector of the YearBest Director – Dramatic ProductionDriveXBIZ AwardDirector of the Year – Body of Workrowspan=5 NightMoves AwardBest Feature Director (Fan's Choice)XRCO AwardBest Director – FeaturesBest Director – Web2021AVN AwardDirector of the YearBest Directing – DramaMuseBest Screenplay – DramaXCritic AwardBest Director FeatureXBIZ AwardDirector of the Yearrowspan=7 Fleshbot AwardDirector of the YearNightMoves AwardBest Feature Director (Fan's Choice)XRCO AwardBest Director – FeaturesBest Director – Non-FeaturesBest Director – Web2022XBIZ AwardDirector of the YearAVN AwardBest Directing – Narrative ProductionPsychosexualFleshbot AwardDirector of the Yearrowspan=3 XRCO AwardBest Director – FeaturesNightMoves AwardBest Feature DirectorDoppio Senso Night AwardBest International Feature Moviehttps://doppiosensonight.com/international-awards/Drift2023AVN AwardOutstanding Director – Individual WorkBest Directing – Narrative Productionrowspan=7 XRCO AwardBest Director – WebNightMoves AwardBest Non-Feature Director2024AVN AwardBest Directing Portfolio – NarrativeNightMoves AwardBest Non-Feature Director2025AVN AwardBest Directing Portfolio – NarrativeAdult Empire AwardDirector of the Year
Mainstream filmography YearTitleRole2012Breaking Bad (bonus DVD feature "Chicks 'n' Guns")Kristall2013Blue DreamTara2014The Hungover GamesChastity the Topless Blonde2015Samurai Cop 2: Deadly VengeanceMilena/Jennifer2016Enter the SamuraiHerself2019VerotikaMorella
References
Further reading
External links
Personal blog site