First things first: Hi, I am Ella Hughes. I am a 24-year-old foreign national; I live in the United Kingdom and have done so all my life. To me, I am quite possibly the furthest thing from “foreign” I can think of, as the epitome of British, with pale skin, ginger hair, an allergy to sunlight and Vitamin D deficiency! But to everybody in the U.S., I’m the Foreign Female Performer of the Year from the 2019 XBIZ Awards, who went on to win International Crossover Star (and Best Actress) at the XBIZ Europa Awards last year.
But let’s backtrack a bit, to when I first started my career in 2015. I didn’t really know where I wanted to be, where I wanted to go or what I wanted to achieve. Now, five years is a fair amount of time for a performer to be in the adult industry, especially for a female, which I did not know back then. I never planned to be active for a particular duration and I was mainly interested in going with the flow, while enjoying the time I had.
My first shoot was for Fake Taxi and I will admit I didn’t have a clue just how popular they were in Europe! I thought I could commit to a first scene and that it would be fairly quiet, that no one would really know. I figured I could see how I felt afterwards and think about progressing from there. How wrong I was! From that very first scene, I went from 2,000 Twitter followers to 20,000 in less than a month. Not only that, but it was a good job, I loved every moment of the shoot and couldn’t wait to film more!
From then on, I caught the bug. I wanted to be a part of as many of the U.K. productions as I could. So, I did my research. I found out which companies are most popular, what productions film in my country and — most importantly — researched other performers. I wanted to know who everyone was and I wanted them to know me: I made it my mission to find out exactly what it meant to be a successful adult performer in this digital age.
I can’t pin all my discoveries down to myself, as I’ve been very blessed to meet so many lovely, down to earth performers who have shared their knowledge with me over the years. That led to me finding out that if I wanted to truly be a success, I needed to visit the porn capital of America: Los Angeles. Before I even thought about establishing myself abroad, I first had to make a name for myself back home, working for big brand companies, being a part of big-budget movies and working alongside the biggest names in the European industry.
After three years, I finally decided it was time to make the move to L.A., so I contacted an immigration attorney, finalized a deal with a U.S.-based talent agency and completed the arduous task of filing a working visa that would see me able to work in America for the next three years. Visas are not the easiest of things to gain and I had to jump through so many hoops to finally get one.
Knowing your career hangs in the balance of having that legal sticker in your passport is an incredibly stressful and emotional experience, where you don’t know if there will be a good or bad outcome. I was lucky, all in all, in that it took around one year and three months for me to gain my working visa, a very long process that was one hundred percent worth it!
Visa in possession, I next had to do the painful task of saying goodbye to my family and to my partner as I took off for a three-month working trip. Looking back, I am so lucky to have an understanding and loving partner like mine, because if I was in her position, I don’t think I could say goodbye and not see my love for that long. I adore her and am in complete awe of her for accepting everything I do and want to do in the future.
Goodbyes done and a long haul of an 11-hour flight, I landed in Los Angeles. I was very honored that my first scenes across the pond were for some of the biggest brands known in the industry, like Brazzers, Vixen, Tushy and Mofos to name just a few, not to mention becoming Cherry Pimps’ Cherry of the Month. My time in the porn capital was an incredible experience and one I will never forget. I didn’t expect to be popular, get many bookings and meet even half the amazing people I did. Something even more incredible happened to me, though; I met some lifelong friends during my time in L.A. — we keep in touch and talk almost every single day and I am so grateful to have them.
Speaking of once in a lifetime events, when I received an email inviting me to Texas to become a Fleshlight Girl, I was over the moon! I could not believe it. Only one girl from the U.K. has had a Fleshlight before me, so I feel very flattered to represent my country in being immortalized in the form of a personalized silicone vagina. Since its release in December 2019, I still cannot quite believe it and I don’t think I will ever stop being excited about it.
My time in the States soon came to an end and I headed back home to London with so many memories to cherish, so much more knowledge and even more love for the adult industry! To top off a whirlwind year, I won something I never thought I would ever win — my XBIZ Foreign Female Performer of the Year trophy (and a couple XBIZ Europas nine months later). Wow is all I could and can still say, other than thank you for bestowing me with such an honor.
From this small town girl from Middle England, I want to thank everyone who I’ve met and who has booked me. You’ve all made me who I am and I would not change it for the world.
