Gianna Dior

Believe it or not, one of Gianna Dior's early jobs was as receptionist at an eye doctor's office. If she could have steered her gaze toward an eye chart that spelled out the path of her future, it would have read P O R N S T A R.

Though erroneous reports often cite her birthplace as Alabama, Gianna was actually born in California. Dior was largely raised in rural Alabama, though, and also worked in a sushi restaurant prior to her porn career. At the suggestion of a Tinder match (and porn agent) who was impressed by her beauty, she decided to try adult performing, first with Miami-based studios such as MOFOS. To take her career to the next level, she went to porn super-agent Mark Spiegler. Before long, she was starring in movies for Porn Valley studios like Evil Angel and Jules Jordan Video. (Dior told Penthouse that while she likes being in California for the work opportunities it presents, she would prefer to live in the Pacific Northwest. "I crave the rain and gloom. I think I belong in Seattle," she said.) By November 2018, Dior had found her way into Adult Empire's top 100 most popular pornstars, and AE cited her as a newbie to watch in its 2019 year-in-porn preview.

"I was sitting on her agent Mark Spiegler's couch. He tossed me his phone to show me a new girl who was driving across the country to start her professional career in Los Angeles. From that first photo, I knew Gianna had the look to be a superstar," said Chris Gentile in 2020.

To much fanfare, she was named the 2019 Penthouse Pet of the Year in June 2019. "Thank you so much for this incredible honor and thank you so much to all my fans who voted for me!" Gianna tweeted in response to the honor. It represented her true affirmation as a porn superstar. To Dior, the porn industry is a place where she can be her true self. "It feels liberating. I can't be slut-shamed here, because [being sexual] is what we're supposed to do. I can just be myself and not be afraid of people judging me. That's why I love it," she said in an April 2019 interview with David Naz.

Dior was honored at AVN 2020 with the Best New Starlet prize, beating out other such hopefuls as Autumn Falls and Gabbie Carter. She scored an even bigger victory in 2022, netting the AVN Female Performer of the Year award.