Jillian Janson, the Teenage Porn Dream

Her senior year Jillian Janson landed an afterschool job shooting porn. A year later Janson remains one of the few “teen” models in the adult industry who is actually a teenager. 

Despite growing up in a humble household in a conservative town near Minneapolis, Janson’s sense of sexuality developed at an accelerated pace. At 13 she started having sex regularly and soon started swapping nude photos with strangers online. Along with her overt sexuality, Janson also cultivated a sense of responsibility quicker than her peers. Instead of having the luxury to join sports teams or afterschool clubs, at 14 she started working a steady stream of jobs to help support her single mother. When she turned 18 in May of 2013, Janson became a webcam model. This career choice drew criticism from her classmates, but it also caught the attention of an adult agent. Janson dropped out of school on a Monday and by that Friday she was on a plane to California to become a porn star. 

After a year in the industry, Janson’s career is still going strong. She recently wrapped Lesbian Family Affairs #2 for Filly Films, she’s the box-cover girl for Elegant Angel’s Cuties #7, and she shot her first interracial anal for Blacked.com. I caught up with Janson while she was hanging out at her apartment in Minnesota with her cat Chloé. I wanted to see how a year in the industry had shaped her perspective on sex, porn, and life.

Alfie: You’ve shot a lot of anal recently. As soon as you open that door, is that all studios want to book you for?

Jillian Janson: Exactly. A lot of people think I’m going a little too fast in that sense, but of course the fans love it. You have to be cautious in terms of the progression of what you shoot. You have to save some surprises for fans to help extend the longevity of your career. I don’t plan on quitting porn anytime soon. I’m in it for the long haul. I’m planning on going to school for business and eventually being my own producer. But I’m also not in this just for the money. I’m in it because I love sex.

Alfie: The banner picture for your Twitter account features different photos of your ass. Do you think you’re becoming known as an ass girl? What do you wish you were known for? 

Jillian Janson: I want to be known for my personality, though I love my butt. Originally I didn’t really like my butt. I thought it was just big and out there. I was insecure with my body a year ago. Now I love my butt. Of course I enjoy when people like my facial features. 

Alfie: When you stay in LA to shoot content, do you hangout with any female friends outside the industry?

Jillian Janson: In high school most of my friends were boys. When I moved to LA, that’s when I started hanging out with girls. Industry girls aren’t judgmental compared to the girls I grew up with in Minnesota. They are more open.

Alfie: You describe yourself as a party girl. What does a 19-year-old do to party?

Jillian Janson: It’s not about drugs and alcohol. It’s more about playing good music and having a good time. I like to dance, so that’s what I do when I party.

Alfie: Stripping used to be a stepping-stone to porn. Now most new starlets start out as webcam models. When you turned 18, what appealed to you about webcamming as opposed to stripping? Were you hesitant about performing on stage for a live audience?

Jillian Janson: I actually prefer to perform and dance for a live audience, which is something I want to pursue with feature dancing. Webcamming is actually a little more awkward for me. I feel like I’m just playing with myself even though I’m trying to entertain an audience on the other side of the screen. I prefer to see my fans’ faces and their reactions.

Alfie: You worked at McDonalds at 14 to help support your single mother. Did you have a lot of non-porn jobs?

Jillian Janson: I wasn’t a typical teenager who had afterschool activities, like clubs and sports, which was both unfortunate and fortunate. Starting my sophomore year I worked everyday after school. I was a telemarketer for a while, which basically paid off my car. Before I got into adult, I was a waitress.

Alfie: Looking back, what would you have done differently in terms of how you broke into porn?

Jillian Janson: When I got in the business I wasn’t really happy with my body or who I was, but I loved sex and I knew people would love me for who I was. I’ve since lost a bunch of weight. Now I’m finally happy with who I am.

Alfie: You started watching lesbian porn at 15. Why did that type of erotica appeal to you?

Jillian Janson: Now I’m known for being dirty, but that side didn’t come out until I got into the business. I guess I preferred clean sex to the sloppy, messy stuff. I liked my porn softer, more feminine, which is why I always went straight to the lesbian category. I could relate to it. I didn’t like to see guys choking women with their cocks and those kinds of things. At that age I didn’t understand that. Now I do and I love it.

Alfie: On the set of Lesbian Family Affairs 2, you were excited to work with Tanya Tate. You told her, “I’ve never had a proper MILF eat my pussy. Well I had one but she didn’t know what she was doing”—

Jillian Janson: Yeah, I never really had a lesbian experience until I got into the business. I was shy. I was afraid of what people would think if I tried. I’ve realized from working with women that girls tend to know what’s going on down there. And MILFs have even more experience, so I was really excited to work with Tanya. She definitely performed up to my expectations.

Alfie: Is there a big difference between working with girls your age and women a decade older?

Jillian Janson: Of course. I like girls because they are more wild and adventurous, but I like women because they are more sophisticated and mature and experienced at knowing what a woman wants.

Alfie: As a 19-year-old, do you ever get tired of being cast as a naïve teen?

Jillian Janson: Starting in this business, I didn’t know people were going for that young look. I wanted to get all dressed up and be glamorous. My career is leaning more towards that now, which I’m happy about, but I am happy about how many people love my younger look too. In the beginning I didn’t believe people when they said they liked how young I looked. I didn’t realize how many people cherish that look. I guess it’s rare. 

Alfie: What are your favorite companies to work for?

Jillian Janson: I love them all. Of course, the companies that shoot me multiple times, I love even more. Naughty America has shot me multiple times. Jules Jordan has been shooting me lately in some pretty big stuff—some orgies and gangbangs. I work with Mike Adriano of Evil Angel a lot. I’m surprised by how many people I’ve worked for in just a year. When I first started I was a fresh face. Everyone wanted to book me. Then it kind of stopped because I had some things going on in my personal life. My head just wasn’t in it. Now I’m back just exactly where I want to be in the business. I want to work for so many companies.

Alfie: What is the quickest way for a fellow performer to annoy you on set?

Jillian Janson: Bad attitudes. It’s all about your attitude on set. If you have something going on in your personal life, or you come to set with anger or an attitude, it shows me you aren’t going to have a good time. My mood shifts. I won’t be into that person or the scene. It boils down to the chemistry.  

Alfie: You’ve said in a previous interview that you don’t want to date a guy outside the industry—

Jillian Janson: Well, I’ve since dated a guy in the business. Now, I would completely reverse that and say I’d rather date someone outside the business. They just have to be open-minded and share my personality. It’s hard to find a guy who is okay with dating a porn performer. For most guys I imagine the jealousy is too much. 

Alfie: What didn’t work about dating a fellow performer?

Jillian Janson: A lot of things. He was a little older. I’m more thinking about where my life is going and what I haven’t tried, and what I haven’t tried is dating women.

Alife: Why women? 

Jillian Janson: We have so much in common. I’m into the beauty of girls, their hair, their bodies, their eyes. I’m attracted to female beauty and their personality.

Alfie: As an adult star, do you ever get on dating apps like Tinder?

Jillian Janson: I’ve never been on Tinder. I used to do a lot of apps like that. I was on this dating service where I’d talk dirty with guys and we’d exchange photos. I don’t do it now, but that’s how my dirty mind works. That’s probably why I got in the business.

Alfie: So your hyperactive sex drive isn’t an act for porn? You actually enjoy talking dirty with random people?

Jillian Janson: Oh yeah. I used to do it all the time. I think I was like 16. I would hit up people on their site. If they were attractive and I liked their profile I would start talking to them and we’d swap photos. I actual gained some friends out of it.

Alfie: You were 16? That sounds like a sex crime waiting to happen.

Jillian Janson: I’m not saying the guys were over 18. I mean maybe they were my age.

Alfie: Do you think the rise of social media, and the notion of sharing your private moments publically has made women of your generation more comfortable doing porn, or simply sharing explicit images?

Jillian Janson: Yeah, I think so. I think the Internet has helped people get out of their shell and realize that other people are into the same things and that other people feel the same things about stuff like nudity. I’ve always been okay with nudity. Porn is the best job for me because I have nothing to hide. A lot of people feel like their bodies are their biggest insecurities. I used to feel like that. Now I have nothing to hide. When you are naked you have nothing to hide.

Alfie: When you are sexting a guy, do you take photos specifically for him, or do you just have an archive of nudes on your phone?

Jillian Janson: I think I’m psychic and can predict that there will be someone who texts me and asks for a nude because I just take them anyway. Once I start taking pictures of my face, like selfies—which I’m known for—I start thinking dirty. I’ll pull my shirt down and take a picture, then go from there. For some reason, maybe I’m just lazy, I won’t do anything with those photos. I just keep them in my phone. When someone asks me for a photo, I’ll send it or upload it to Twitter.

Alfie: Do you have any upcoming projects? Are you launching a website soon?

Jillian Janson: I’d love to say I’m launching a website but I haven’t yet because I don’t know where to start. That’s definitely one of my biggest goals, to get a website going. I’ll be at AVNs this year. Last year I went to just check it out. This year I’ll be signing for arrangementfinders.com.

Alfie: You’ve been in the industry a year this month. What do you plan on doing differently, or what do you hope to accomplish in the near future, other than a website?

Jillian Janson: I have a lot of ideas for what I want to do with my modeling and photography. I want to take it in a more artistic direction. I want to reshape how fans see the female body.

Follow Jillian Janson on Twitter at @xojillianjanson and on Instagram at @xojillianjanson

Read more by Alfie and contact him via shawnalff.com