Nikita Von James

She grew up in Smolensk, a Russian city with a long military history and not much else to recommend it to the outside world. Before any of this, she was a dancer — she has said she trained for many years, and that background shows up not just in how she carries herself but in the fact that she spent time doing something physically disciplined before she ever thought about cameras. When she finally did enter the industry, she started with girl/girl scenes only, which she has spoken about without any apparent ambivalence: she liked it, it was fun, and that enjoyment is what pulled her further in. She uses several names professionally — Von James, Jaymes, Loren, James — and it's not entirely clear which arrived first or why the variants multiplied, though the practice is common among performers who cross different markets. What is less common is coming to this work from Russia in your early thirties with a dance background and a matter-of-fact account of your own motives. She hasn't given many interviews, and what she has said tends to be brief and unguarded in equal measure.