Manuel Ferrara


Manuel Jeannin, known professionally as Manuel Ferrara, is a French adult entertainer and director.
One of the leading actors in the porn industry, 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.

Early life

Ferrara was born in Le Raincy, France, and raised in nearby Gagny. 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. Manuel studied to become a P.E. teacher.

Career

Ferrara shot his first hardcore scene in 1997 during his studies, after answering an ad in a French pornographic magazine. 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.
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. In 2002, he appeared in blockbuster hit Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp. In 2003, he started directing gonzo pornography for Platinum X Pictures, a subsidiary of Red Light District Video. In 2004, he began directing for Red Light.
After working for Red Light District for the two years, Ferrara began directing for Evil Angel in May 2006. His first Evil Angel film was Evilution, starring Naomi, Melissa Lauren and featuring the comeback of Nici Sterling. 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.
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".
On 22 January 2012, he became the first actor in history to win AVN's Male Performer of the Year four times. He won AVN's Male Performer of the Year for a fifth time on 18 January 2014.
Ferrara performed in about 2,200 videos in his pornographic career.
In 2012, Ferrara appeared alongside pornographic actress Zoe Voss in an explicit sex scene for the mainstream film Starlet.

Personal life

Ferrara was married to pornographic actress Dana Vespoli in January 2005. The couple divorced seven years later. They have three sons together. Ferrara has a daughter with his partner, American pornographic actress and director Kayden Kross.

Awards and nominations

YearCategoryNominated workCo-nomineesResult
2004Male Foreign Performer of the Yearrowspan="40" Won
2004Best Group Sex Scene, VideoBack 2 EvilAshley Long, Julie Night and Nacho Vidal-
2005Male Performer of the Year-
2005Best Couples Sex Scene, VideoStuntgirlVenus-
2006Male Performer of the Year-
2006Best Anal Sex Scene CumshittersKatsumi-
2007Best Sex Scene Coupling EmperorJanine-
2007Best Sex Scene Coupling Slave Dolls 2Tiffany Mynx-
2007Best Supporting Actor She Bangs-
2007Best Three-Way Sex SceneFuck SlavesSandra Romain and Sasha Grey-
2008Best Couples Sex Scene, VideoEvil Anal 2Jenna Haze-
2008Best POV ReleaseFucked on Sight 2rowspan="2" -
2008Best POV SeriesFucked on Sight--
2009Best Anal Sex SceneBig Wet Asses 13Sunny Lane-
2009Best Three-Way Sex SceneThe Jenny Hendrix Anal ExperienceDelilah Strong, Jenny Hendrix and Michael Stefano-
2009Best Gonzo SeriesSlutty and Sluttierrowspan="2" -
2009Best Anal-Themed SeriesEvil Anal--
2010Male Performer of the Yearrowspan="2" -
2010Best Anal-Themed SeriesEvil Anal--
2011Best Couples Sex SceneKristina Rose Is SlutwomanKristina Rose-
2011Best Anal Sex SceneAsa Akira Is InsatiableAsa Akira-
2011Best Anal-Themed SeriesEvil Analrowspan="2" -
2011Best Gonzo SeriesSlutty & Sluttier--
2012Best Boy/Girl SceneThe Bombshells 3Lexi Belle-
2012Male Performer of the Year-
2012Hottest Sex Scene Babysitters 2BiBi Jones, Jesse Jane, Kayden Kross, Riley Steele and Stoya-
2012Best Anal SeriesEvil Analrowspan="3" -
2012Best Big Butt SeriesPhat Bottom Girls--
2012Best Gonzo Series---
2013Best Anal Sex SceneOil Overload 7Brooklyn Lee-
2013AVN Hall of Fame inducteerowspan="3" -
2013Best Continuing SeriesSlutty & Sluttier--
2013Best Vignette ReleaseSlutty & Sluttier 16--
2014Best Three-Way Sex SceneRemy 2Remy LaCroix and Riley Reid-
2014Male Performer of the Yearrowspan="4" -
2014Best All-Sex ReleaseSlutty & Sluttier 18--
2014Best Anal SeriesEvil Anal--
2014Best Continuing SeriesSlutty & Sluttier--
2015Best Anal Sex SceneInternal Damnation 8Adriana Chechik-
2019 Male Performer of the Year-
2019 Best Boy/Girl Sex SceneFemale of the SpeciesEvelyn Claire
2021Best Boy/Girl Sex ScenePretty Little Sluts 3Kenna James
2021Best Foreign-Shot Anal Sex SceneManuel's Euro Tour: ParisMalena
2021Best Foreign-Shot Boy/Girl Sex SceneManuel's Euro Tour: ParisLiya SilverWon
2021Best Gonzo/Wall-to-Wall Movie or AnthologyRaw 38
2021Best Gonzo/Wall-to-Wall Series or SiteDirty Talk
2021Best Ingénue Movie or AnthologyPretty Little Sluts 3
2021Best POV Sex SceneDirty Talk 8Jane Wilde
2021Best POV Sex SceneManuel's Fucking POV 13Gianna Dior
2021Director of the Year
2021Male Performer of the Year

YearCategoryNominated workCo-nominees
2003New Studrowspan="2" rowspan="2"
2004Male Performer of the Year--
2004Sex Scene Babes in Pornland 14: Bubble Butt BabesJewel De'Nyle
2004Best Threeway Sex SceneMason's Dirty TricksJulie Night and Steve Holmes
2005Male Performer of the Yearrowspan="6" rowspan="7"
2006Male Performer of the Year--
2011Male Performer of the Year--
2011XRCO Hall of Fame inductee--
2012Male Performer of the Year--
2013Male Performer of the Year--
2013Best Gonzo SeriesRaw-

YearCategoryNominated workCo-nominees
2006Best Actor rowspan="2" rowspan="4"
2013Best Male Performer --
2013Best Ongoing Series RAW-
2014Best Director – Non-Feature -

YearCategoryNominated workCo-nominees
2009Best American Gonzo DirectorSlutty and Sluttierrowspan="2"
2009Best French Male Performer-

YearCategoryNominated workCo-nominees
2004Male Performer of the Yearrowspan="2" rowspan="2"
2006Male Performer of the Year--