Manuel Ferrara

Manuel Jeannin (French pronunciation: [manɥɛl ʒanɛ̃]; born 1 November 1975), known professionally as Manuel Ferrara, is a French adult entertainer and director.^[1] One of the leading actors in the porn industry,^[9] Ferrara has won over 64 adult industry awards including six AVN Awards as Male Performer of the Year—the record for the accolade, and was inducted into the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.^[10]

Manuel Ferrara
Ferrara at the XBIZ Awards show in 2019
Born	Manuel Jeannin (1975-11-01) November 1, 1975 (age 49) Le Raincy, France[1]
Other names	Manuel Ferrea, Manuel Fererra, Manuel Farrara, Emanuel Ferrara, Manu, Manu Ferrara, Manu Ferraro, Manu Ferrera, Manu Gaussian, Manual Ferrara, Manuel, Manuel Ferrera[2]
Occupations	Adult entertainer director
Years active	1997–present[2]
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Spouse	Dana Vespoli ​ ​ (m. 2005; div. 2012)​ [3][4][5][6]
Partner	Kayden Kross (2012–present)[7]
Children	4[8][7]
Website	manuelferrara.com

Early life

Ferrara was born in Le Raincy, France, and raised in nearby Gagny.^[1] He was born to a French father and a Spanish mother. His father was an electrician and his mother was a cleaning lady who had immigrated to France. His father died when Ferrara was 17.^[11] Manuel studied to become a P.E. teacher.^[1]

Career

Ferrara shot his first hardcore scene in 1997 during his studies, after answering an ad in a French pornographic magazine.^[12] He then started a career as a professional porn actor, appearing in various French and European productions. He chose the stage name Manuel Ferrara because of his passing resemblance to boxer-turned-actor Stéphane Ferrara.^[11]

Ferrara became a protégé of Rocco Siffredi, who recommended him for a role in John Stagliano's Fashionistas in which he made his American debut.^[13][11] In 2002, he appeared in blockbuster hit Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp.^[14] In 2003, he started directing gonzo pornography for Platinum X Pictures, a subsidiary of Red Light District Video.^[15] In 2004, he began directing for Red Light.^[16]

After working for Red Light District for the two years, Ferrara began directing for Evil Angel in May 2006.^[17] His first Evil Angel film was Evilution, starring Naomi, Melissa Lauren and featuring the comeback of Nici Sterling.^[13] Since then, he has directed several porn series, including Fucked on Sight, Slutty & Sluttier, Raw, Evil Anal, Battle of the Sluts, Anal Expedition, Teen Cum Squad, Bangin' Black Boxes, Ass Attack, I'm Your Slut, Mindfuck and New Whores on the Block.^[13][18]

On 23 December 2010, Ferrara appeared alongside Riley Steele in an episode of Manswers titled "Airplane Plane Hanger-On" to discuss their careers for the segment "How Can You Become A Porktastic Porn Star".^[19]

On 22 January 2012, he became the first actor in history to win AVN's Male Performer of the Year four times.^[10][20] He won AVN's Male Performer of the Year for a fifth time on 18 January 2014.^[21]

Ferrara performed in about 2,200 videos in his pornographic career.^[2]

In 2012, Ferrara appeared alongside pornographic actress Zoe Voss in an explicit sex scene for the mainstream film Starlet.^[22]

Personal life

Ferrara was married to pornographic actress Dana Vespoli in January 2005.^[3] The couple divorced seven years later.^[4][5][6] They have three sons together.^[8] Ferrara has a daughter with his partner, American pornographic actress and director Kayden Kross.^[23]

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations received by Manuel Ferrara

Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations AVN Awards 40 41 XRCO Awards 11 11 XBIZ Awards 5 5 NightMoves Awards 4 4 Hot d'Or Awards 2 2 Adam Film World Guide Awards 2 2
Total number of wins and nominations
Totals	64	65

AVN Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Co-nominees	Result	Ref(s)
2004	Male Foreign Performer of the Year	—	—	Won	[24]
	Best Group Sex Scene, Video	Back 2 Evil	Ashley Long, Julie Night and Nacho Vidal
2005	Male Performer of the Year	—	—		[25]
	Best Couples Sex Scene, Video	Stuntgirl	Venus
2006	Male Performer of the Year	—	—		[26]
	Best Anal Sex Scene (Video)	Cumshitters	Katsumi
2007	Best Sex Scene Coupling (Film)	Emperor	Janine		[27]
	Best Sex Scene Coupling (Video)	Slave Dolls 2	Tiffany Mynx
	Best Supporting Actor (Video)	She Bangs	—
	Best Three-Way Sex Scene	Fuck Slaves	Sandra Romain and Sasha Grey
2008	Best Couples Sex Scene, Video	Evil Anal 2	Jenna Haze		[28]
	Best POV Release	Fucked on Sight 2	—
	Best POV Series	Fucked on Sight
2009	Best Anal Sex Scene	Big Wet Asses 13	Sunny Lane		[29]
	Best Three-Way Sex Scene	The Jenny Hendrix Anal Experience	Delilah Strong, Jenny Hendrix and Michael Stefano
	Best Gonzo Series	Slutty and Sluttier	—
	Best Anal-Themed Series	Evil Anal
2010	Male Performer of the Year	—	—		[30]
	Best Anal-Themed Series	Evil Anal
2011	Best Couples Sex Scene	Kristina Rose Is Slutwoman	Kristina Rose		[31]
	Best Anal Sex Scene	Asa Akira Is Insatiable	Asa Akira
	Best Anal-Themed Series	Evil Anal	—
	Best Gonzo Series	Slutty & Sluttier
2012	Best Boy/Girl Scene	The Bombshells 3	Lexi Belle		[20]
	Male Performer of the Year	—	—
	Hottest Sex Scene (Fan Award)	Babysitters 2	BiBi Jones, Jesse Jane, Kayden Kross, Riley Steele and Stoya
	Best Anal Series	Evil Anal	—
	Best Big Butt Series	Phat Bottom Girls
	Best Gonzo Series
2013	Best Anal Sex Scene	Oil Overload 7	Brooklyn Lee		[32]
	AVN Hall of Fame inductee	—	—		[10]
	Best Continuing Series	Slutty & Sluttier			[32]
	Best Vignette Release	Slutty & Sluttier 16
2014	Best Three-Way Sex Scene	Remy 2	Remy LaCroix and Riley Reid		[21]
	Male Performer of the Year	—	—
	Best All-Sex Release	Slutty & Sluttier 18
	Best Anal Series	Evil Anal
	Best Continuing Series	Slutty & Sluttier
2015	Best Anal Sex Scene	Internal Damnation 8	Adriana Chechik		[33]
2019	Male Performer of the Year	—	—		[34][35]
	Best Boy/Girl Sex Scene	Female of the Species	Evelyn Claire	Nominated	[36]
2021		Pretty Little Sluts 3	Kenna James	Nominated	[37]
	Best Foreign-Shot Anal Sex Scene	Manuel's Euro Tour: Paris	Malena	Nominated
	Best Foreign-Shot Boy/Girl Sex Scene		Liya Silver	Won
	Best Gonzo/Wall-to-Wall Movie or Anthology	Raw 38	—	Nominated
	Best Gonzo/Wall-to-Wall Series or Site	Dirty Talk	—	Nominated
	Best Ingénue Movie or Anthology	Pretty Little Sluts 3	—	Nominated
	Best POV Sex Scene	Dirty Talk 8	Jane Wilde	Nominated
		Manuel's Fucking POV 13	Gianna Dior	Nominated
	Director of the Year	—	—	Nominated
	Male Performer of the Year	—	—	Nominated

XBIZ Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Co-nominees	Ref(s)
2009	Male Performer of the Year	—	—	[38]
2012	Gonzo Series of the Year	Phat Bottom Girls		[39]
2014	Best Scene – Feature Movie	Code of Honor	Jesse Jane, Kayden Kross, Riley Steele, Selena Rose and Stoya	[40]
2015	Director of the Year – Non-Feature Release	Misha Cross Wide Open	Kayden Kross	[41]
2017	Best Sex Scene – Gonzo Release	Black Anal Asses	—	[42]

XRCO Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Co-nominees	Ref(s)
2003	New Stud	—	—	[43]
2004	Male Performer of the Year			[44]
	Sex Scene (Couple)	Babes in Pornland 14: Bubble Butt Babes	Jewel De'Nyle
	Best Threeway Sex Scene	Mason's Dirty Tricks	Julie Night and Steve Holmes
2005	Male Performer of the Year	—	—	[45]
2006				[46][47]
2011				[48]
	XRCO Hall of Fame inductee
2012	Male Performer of the Year			[49]
2013				[50]
	Best Gonzo Series	Raw

NightMoves Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Co-nominees	Ref(s)
2006	Best Actor (Editor's Choice)	—	—	[51]
2013	Best Male Performer (Fan's Choice)			[52]
	Best Ongoing Series (Fan's Choice)	RAW
2014	Best Director – Non-Feature (Fan's Choice)	—		[53]

Hot d'Or Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Co-nominees	Ref(s)
2009	Best American Gonzo Director	Slutty and Sluttier	—	[54][55]
	Best French Male Performer	—

Adam Film World Guide Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Co-nominees	Ref(s)
2004	Male Performer of the Year	—	—	[56]
2006				[57]