France

Number of porn stars: 319
Active: 83 (26%)
Population: 65,5M
Ratio: 4,8
Pornography legalized in: 1975

French porn stars are mainly girls from the region of Paris that has a ratio of 9.8 pornstars/million inhabitants, but also from Provence and South-Western France. In the East, only the Alsace region presents a relatively high ratio (1.9). The second most porn-star dense region is however Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, with a ratio at 9.5. This is notably explained by the vivid porn production taking place in Marseille, with numerous smaller companies promoting upcoming porn stars. Clara Morgane and Jessyca Wilson were born in Marseille, for instance. It's interesting to notice that the degree of pornstars coming from the largest city, Paris, isn't as high as in many other countries. More rural regions, such as Bourgogne, Auvergne or Poitou-Charentes, also have quite high ratios. However, represented differently, in this cartogram form, the domination of the Île-de-France region (surrounding Paris) appears more clearly. In this type of representation, the size of each region is proportional to the total number of porn stars it has produced. The colour code represents the ratio of porn stars/population, the darker the higher.

 

 In general, blonde and redhead pornstars are overrepresented compared to the population as well as Asian actresses, whereas brunettes, Arabs and Blacks are underrepresented.

This pie chart illustrates the ethnic diversity of French porn stars. Around 90% of them are white (excluding Latinas), with a predominant majority of brunettes (58%). All major minorities in the French society are represented, but they've evolved in very different manners over the last few years, as shown on the figure below:

French porn stars concentrate on high-class productions, often labeled as "vintage" porn (#3), like those produced by Marc Dorcel. French pornstars, and notably those who have emigrated to the USA also get decent rankings in both extreme porn (#8) and anal (#8).

Marc Dorcel has been the dominant producer for the last fifteen years. Many now famous porn stars have once worked for the parisian company: Liza Del Sierra, Melissa Lauren, Anna Polina... However, Marc Dorcel is increasingly losing ground to Nîmes-based Jacquie & Michel, a company founded in 1999 and who until recently only produced amateur porn. They now also produce professional, non-gonzo porn under the brand Jacquie & Michel Elite and they're now considered the most important brand in the French porn business. Other big actors include Colmax, based near Paris, in suburban city Asnières, MadXFrance (from Marseille), Java Consulting (Paris, mainly amateur) and Iris Castin. French porn production mainly takes place in and around Paris and in the South (Marseille, Cap d'Agde, Nîmes). Colmax is the most historic of these companies, being founded in 1993. It restarted an independent production line in 2014. X-Casting was also originally a French production centre, under the leadership of French director Pierre Woodman. The company now shoots porn videos mainly in Budapest and Prague, while still having offices in Paris and Los Angeles. 

The pornstars who perform in French porn are mainly French (40%), yet 31% also come from Eastern European countries, 14% from other West European countries (mainly the UK and Spain), 10% from the USA and 5% from a variety of other countries (mainly Brazil). The vast majority of French pornstars started their careers in France before moving to the USA and, as Jacquie & Michel's recent success has shown it, there is also a thriving amateur porn community in France. 

 

France's place in the global division of porn labour is somewhere in the middle. With at least 3 big companies capable of producing high-level porn in a viable way, there's still some dynamic to the industry in France, leading for the biggest French companies to attract some USA stars, such as Mia Malkova (who has starred in both Marc Dorcel and Colmax films). Yet, most of the French productions remain gonzo and floats somewhere between amateur and professional status, which also explains the large number of East European actresses and the recent influx of Spanish pornstars. 

France's main neighboring partner in the porn industry is the UK, whose pornstars perform in 6% of the French-produced released titles. Stella Cox and Lucy Heart are among the British pornstars who have tried their luck on the other side of the Channel at several occasions.

Here are some of the most famous French pornstars:

Jessie Volt was born in 1990 in Bordeaux. She started her career in 2010, with minor roles in releases such as Mommy X-Perience 2 by Evil Angel, in which she did a lesbian scene with Racquel Devine. She has since specialized in rather hardcore material, often featuring anal sex, double penetrations and group sex, such as Hard Anal Love by Evil Angel in 2012 and Orgy: The XXX Championship 2 for Marc Dorcel in 2012. She had her first name release in 2012 with Jessie Volt is my Sextoy, produced by Evil Angel. She's done numerous interracial scenes and plays on her teeny looks, perky tits and bouncy ass. She's worked mainly for American companies, and in particular for Evil Angel, but has also performed in a few titles produced by French Marc Dorcel.

Anissa Kate is French porn's greatest success story since Katsuni's golden years around 2010, with a total of 5 international awards on her record. She won the AVN Female Performer of the Year Award twice in a row, in 2014 and 2015. She won the AVN Award for Best Sex Scene by Foreign Production in 2014 for The Ingenuous, alongside Anna Polina and others. This French chick, born in Lyon in 1987, has made it to fame thanks to her massive natural tits (37D), her cheeky attitude and her Arabic looks, that she owns to her Algerian origins. Her ethnicity, quite rare in French porn, made her stand out from most of the other French porn stars and . She started her career in 2011 French Ultimate Girls 3, produced by Frenchprod, an Arizona-based company who specializes in French actresses. This was the first of many performances in the USA. She does mainly anal scenes, and often ends up getting jizz all over her big knockers, like in Big Tit Fanatic 2, released in 2012 by Elegant Angel. She's worked for a large variety of companies, including Brazzers, Elegant Angel, Evil Angel and Marc Dorcel. 

Ava Adams is France's most proeminent MILF actress. She was born tho French parents in Gibraltar in 1979 and has being shooting professional porn since 2009 and her debut on the American scene with Women Seeking Women 54, by Girlfriends Films. She does mainly lesbian and anal scenes, always playing the role of a hot mature housewife. Her incredibly heavy natural tits (34DDD) are one of her main assets, along side her curvy, yielding ass. She had her first name-basze release in 2014 with Ava Addams by PurePlay Media. She's never worked for any French companies and started her career directly in the USA.