Kenna James

Kenna James's demeanor is down-to-earth and sweet, almost wholesome in its sincerity. Despite this girl-next-door quality, James has shown she is a pure pro at all matters hardcore. While she first captured fans' hearts as a girl/girl performer, she has been equally dazzling in her later boy/girl shoots. In an interview with Adult DVD Talk's Captain Jack, Kenna described herself as bisexual, an orientation in her personal life that has likely helped her excel in both types of content.

James was born Evansville, Indiana, where she grew up as a shy and awkward child. "I was the kid in school that never had any friends," she told Adult Empire in 2018. "My best friends were my teachers." She delved into "nerdy" interests such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and video games (she cites Borderlands 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Skyrim as some of her recent faves). Like many stars, James started as a stripper, transitioned to being a cam performer, and then was discovered by an adult-industry agent. As soon as she stepped onto a porn set, she knew she had found her calling, noting that she said to herself immediately, "This is what I want to do!"

After cutting her teeth with girl/girl performances, Kenna wowed the porn world with her first boy/girl scene. It was shot with James Deen - a star Kenna admitted she'd had a crush on since her pre-porn days - and captured something that was "real, passionate, [and] true," according to James. "It is still one of my favorites to this day," James told AE. (Fans can watch the scene for themselves in X-Art's Her Sexual Fantasy.) In addition to Deen, Kenna counts Small Hands, Dani Daniels, and Mia Malkova as some of her favorite co-stars.

Penthouse upped Kenna's profile to an even greater degree when they named her the 2016 Pet of the Year. "I had no idea that they were even considering me!" James told Adult Empire, further noting that she considers it to be the biggest honor of her career.

While James loves most aspects of her career, there is one element that can sometimes try her patience. "For me, just for being on set for long hours gets to be really tedious and really tiring," she told Adult Empire 2018. "Everything else is pretty easy! I naturally just enjoy sex, so the sex is great. I love doing the dialogue. I love doing any bit of acting that I get, so I always look forward to that."

In 2020, Holly Randall asked Kenna what her goals are, now that she has several years of experience behind her. "All I really want is to never struggle, to never have my family struggle, and be happy," James said.