This feature article appears in the July 2025 issue of X3 magazine, dedicated to capturing the genuine personalities, passions, and stories of emerging and established stars. X3 is published by XBIZ Media.
Abella Danger is crying.
It’s the good kind of crying, though. The kind you do when you can’t believe your luck — and Abella Danger definitely considers herself lucky. Lucky to have been born both beautiful and brainy, but even more importantly, lucky to have had an amazing and positive experience during her decade-and-change in the adult industry.
Though she’s turning 30 this year, the sultry brunette still projects the same girl-next-door vibe she had when she first entered the business. It’s when she’s talking about how much her life has changed since the day she walked into Bang Bros, just 18 years old and full of nerves, that she starts to get emotional.
“I wish I could go back and tell that girl, ‘Dude, you’re going to fucking kill it,’” she says.
Wiping at the tears rolling down her face, Danger apologizes for getting so verklempt — not that anyone is judging her. Indeed, her willingness to share the complicated emotions that come with her story of conquering the industry only makes her come off as even more sweet and genuine.
Though always passionate and candid, in this case Danger’s emotional guard may be down a bit because as she speaks to X3, she is still recovering from a whirlwind week at the adult industry summer trade show XBIZ Miami. Though she caught a slight cold, she maintains that it was well worth it because she had so much fun serving as host of the XMA Creator Awards, honoring top adult streamers, clip creators and social media stars.
Fortunately, Danger has a little time to rest and get her strength back. She’s currently on summer break from the University of Miami, where she’s majoring in philosophy with a minor in classical studies. She describes herself as a front-row student.
“I’m not there to hide, I’m there to learn,” she says with pride.
She’s also preparing to retake the LSAT this August before she begins applying to law schools — including some Ivy League universities.
“I’ve taken the LSAT once and I got a pretty good score: 156,” she explains. “But I kind of need a higher score for the schools that I’m applying to. That’s why I’m spending this entire summer studying.”
Well, maybe not the entire summer. Danger is also training for an upcoming triathlon and has some travel plans in store, including her first trip to Iceland and a return to Paris. In between, she plans to hang out with friends on the beach — though her LSAT prep books won’t be far away, and should be full of sand by summer’s end. She’s resolutely keeping her eye on the prize: earning her bachelor’s degree and attending law school.
From Adult to Academia
A hometown girl, Danger has wanted to attend the University of Miami ever since she was a kid.
“Everyone in this city loves this school,” she affirms. “It’s like our little crown jewel. But it is so incredibly expensive! The tuition is insane. So as much as I always wanted to go to school here, I didn’t think I was going to be able to because I knew my parents would never be able to afford it.”
Thanks to her lucrative years in the adult industry, Danger has been able to pay her own way — though back when she entered the business, tuition money was the last thing on her mind.
“I went into the adult industry because I fucking love porn and I love having sex on camera,” she declares. “I don’t think you can find someone who had better reasons to get into porn than me, because they were very genuine and pure and hedonistic. I felt that porn was the best way to experience all that I ever wanted to experience sexually, in the safest possible way.”
Of course, when Danger started in adult, the industry looked very different from how it does now.
“It was really something that you did because you were a fucking nympho and you wanted to experience sex in every way, shape and form with the best people to have sex with,” she says. “I was starstruck when I got into the industry because I had watched so many of these people. Everyone was so happy to be there, even though we were getting paid absolutely nothing.”
Today, Danger notes, all that has changed.
“There’s never been a better time to be a porn star,” she marvels. “You can do close to nothing and still get paid a shit ton of money!”
Danger says she used to tell her agent that she would go to college and earn her diploma one day.
“I was not blind to the fact that life continues on past 25,” she recalls. “I always wanted to get an education. It just seemed like something that no one can take away from you.”
Danger is currently busy working on her thesis, an enormously time-consuming endeavor. She’s keeping the topic private for now — a girl’s got to have some secrets, after all — but hopes to graduate by spring 2026 and start attending law school that fall.
“That’s the goal,” she says. “I only have a few credits left before I can graduate.”
As for where she ends up attending law school, Danger will probably keep that decision under wraps. Not long ago, she experienced a pretty nerve-wracking incident involving a crazed fan who tried to shame her online.
Fortunately, she has yet to have a negative experience on the UMiami campus, where she feels incredibly safe and supported.
“Honestly, everyone has been nothing but kind and amazing to me,” she gushes. “I just feel honored that I was accepted into this institution.”
Danger’s fellow students have been respectful in class, though she does get recognized on campus and asked to pose for selfies. Naturally, she doesn’t mind the attention.
“How could I feel ashamed for being the person responsible for paying for this university?” she says. “There’s no reason why people in the adult industry should ever be put in a box. I’m genuinely proud to be Abella Danger. I carry no shame whatsoever, and that’s why I continue to work with Brazzers. If you go on my Instagram, one day you’ll see me talking about being in school, and the next day you’ll see me at a Brazzers event.
“I am a multifaceted individual!” she laughs.
One of those facets is being a “fraternity sweetheart” on campus.
“I’m Pi Kappa Alpha sweetheart for the second year in a row, which means I’m basically like the fraternity’s exemplary woman,” she says proudly. “When you walk into the frat house, they have photos of all the brothers — and then, in the center, there’s a photo of the sweetheart. I’m told they got so many kids rushing their frat because I was their sweetheart! I love them so much. They’re really such gentlemen.”
Love and Philosophy
Alas, “fraternity sweetheart” is about as close to Danger as the gentlemen of Pi Kappa Alpha — or any other frat — can hope to get. As it turns out, her heart is pledged to another.
“He’s a lawyer,” she reveals. “I always wanted to go back to school because I wanted to be a lawyer, but he really accelerated that because he makes me feel like I’m smart and he believes in me.”
The pair met at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone was minding their bubble and afraid to touch each other. A mutual friend in Atlanta arranged an online introduction, and Danger wound up driving 10 hours north to meet up in person.
Looking back, she says the trip was well worth it. Five years later, they’re living together in Miami with her two dogs, Donatella and Versace.
Danger admits that she’s thought about getting married and having a family with her long-term beau, but she’s not in any rush. For now, she’s focused on getting into law school.
“I want to learn as much as possible and transform and transcend through that knowledge,” she says.
With that credo, it may come as no surprise that Danger is majoring in philosophy. While some might view this as impractical — when was the last time you saw a job posting seeking a philosopher? — to her it’s the perfect educational background for someone who wants to be a lawyer. She calls philosophy “the art of argumentation.”
“A lot of people will start out studying political science, but I didn’t care about what major would be the best for law school,” she says. “I became an English major because I love literature and had an incredible English professor. But then I took a class in critical thinking and ethics, and on the very first day of class, the professor was saying how ethics is such an important branch of law, and that if you’re considering going to law school, this is an area that you should really take seriously.
“Over the course of that semester, I fell in love with philosophy in such a profound way,” she remembers. “The professor was very direct, like: ‘Philosophy is one of those things where you’re either going to get it, or you’re not. The first test will be an indicator of that, so if you don’t do well, you should probably just drop this class and move on.’ I did very well.”
These days, Danger has come to consider herself “quite the philosopher.” Her professor even asked her to become a tutor. She told him she was honored — but also felt compelled to warn him that she used to be a porn star. The professor was more curious than flustered, and ultimately more interested in Danger’s philosophical acumen than in her background as an adult performer.
Danger counts Aristotle as her favorite ancient philosopher and Michael Sandel as her favorite modern philosopher.
“He’s a Harvard professor who wrote the book ‘Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?’” she explains. “My friend got him to sign the book as a birthday gift for me, and I was freaking out.”
Danger considers herself most aligned with Utilitarian thinking, due to its approach to questions of morality.
“Kantian ethics are too reliant on motives for me, and don’t give enough attention to consequences,” she reflects. “I’m more of a Utilitarian because to me, consequences do matter and carry a lot of weight, and the morality of an action is determined by the consequences yielded by that action, not by the motivation. For a Kantian, morality is determined by the motivation rather than the consequences. But motivations aren’t real. They aren’t tangible. Consequences are real.
“I can go on!” she humbly brags.
‘All I did was just do what I love.’
Speaking of actions and consequences, Danger says she felt “incredibly humbled” when Pornhub announced that she was the most-viewed performer on the world’s biggest porn site.
“All I did was just do what I love,” she marvels. “I worked hard because I loved the work I was doing. I just feel so lucky. The years I spent in the industry were amazing, and I’m still involved in the industry in every capacity I can be, because I love everything that it has given me. I had the best career, and it feels forever frozen in time.”
Danger smiles at the thought of fans watching her scenes over and over again, even though it’s five years after she shot her last one.
“There’s something to be said for that,” she admits, though she also gives props to the many porn legends who came before her, some of whom are still actively shooting today. She mentions Luna Starr, Keiran Lee and fellow Miami legend J Mac, as well as new performers like Gal Ritchie.
“I was surrounded by some fucking epic women,” says Danger.
Even in the face of such stiff competition, Danger managed to rack up a slew of award trophies and a long list of award nominations. She took home one of her final industry honors for her erotic scene work with Small Hands in “Her & Him,” directed by Bella Thorne, whom Danger grew up watching on the Disney Channel.
Danger later starred in the music video for Thorne’s song “In You,” which also featured Three 6 Mafia rapper/producer Juicy J. Before leaving the adult industry, Danger worked with Thorne yet again, this time to recreate the iconic pool scene from the 1998 erotic thriller “Wild Things” alongside mainstream actress Denise Richards for their respective OnlyFans accounts.
Working with Thorne accounted for two of the more surreal experiences in Danger’s career, and led her to admire how multifaceted and versatile Thorne became after her Disney career ended.
Some of Thorne’s entrepreneurial spirit may have rubbed off on Danger, who has diversified her own revenue streams in turn. Most recently, in November 2024, she launched her own whiskey brand: Amabo. She says she is on the verge of striking a nationwide distribution deal for the brand.
Even post-porn, doing what she loves remains important to Danger. When her nose isn’t buried in books, she likes to build elaborate Lego sets for fun. She’s currently working on a small-scale version of the Eiffel Tower — appropriate, since she’s traveling to Paris this summer.
“I try to go to Paris every year because I love it so much,” she enthuses. “I feel like Julia Child when I’m there.”
The chef reference is no accident. One of Danger’s long-term goals is to own a fusion restaurant in Miami.
“I’m such a restaurant girl, so to have my own place in that industry would be amazing,” she says.
Danger also counts herself a big fan of the Miami Heat — though after a rough season that saw longtime star Jimmy Butler traded to the Golden State Warriors, she knows the team needs to make some improvements.
“I’m not ready to talk about basketball yet,” she laments. “It’s too soon.”
She also describes herself as a big movie fan, even going so far as to call herself a “cinephile.” She developed a love of older classics after taking a cinema appreciation class in college.
“My No. 1 is ‘Cool Hand Luke,’” she reveals. “But I also love ‘Cinema Paradiso,’ which is Italian. I’m obsessed with that film.”
With law school on the horizon, Danger adds that as far as movie attorneys go, she’s partial to Keanu Reeves in “The Devil’s Advocate.”
Escaping into movies can seem especially alluring at a time when the real world feels increasingly scary. Danger is outspoken about her feelings on current U.S. politics, and says she hopes the next few years go by as fast as possible.
“It has never been more terrifying to not only be a sex worker, but just to be a woman and live with the possibility that your rights may be taken away from you,” she says. “Watching women die because their fetuses have more autonomy than they do is just beyond.”
Speaking of bodily autonomy, Danger notes that while she continues to maintain an account on OnlyFans, she doesn’t shoot porn for it.
“I am out,” she states unequivocally, though she doesn’t rule out the possibility of eventually returning to the business at some point down the line. After all, she never got to star in any MILF scenes.
Looking back, Danger tells X3 that she doesn’t have any regrets — though she cops to feeling a little disappointed that she never won “Performer of the Year” at any major award shows.
“When you’re in the industry, of course you want to win all of the awards that you believe you deserve, so it was heartbreaking at the time,” she admits. “But I love who I am and I don’t really care about any of that stuff anymore.
“I became the most-viewed performer online,” she adds. “I know that my fans love me!”
To view the full pictorial in X3 magazine, click here.
