Sophie Dee On Return to Performing, Acting, Brand Building

This feature is the cover story of the September 2019 issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the full digital edition. LOS ANGELES—Sophie Dee rescues kittens in her spare time. “Not on purpose—they just kind of find me,” Dee jokes. “I have like a farm at home. I have so many animals. … So I have six cats and two dogs and a foster kitten right now.” Dee also takes care of freshwater fish when she is not in work mode—which is a rare occasion for one of adult entertainment’s most humble and hard-working businesswomen. While the most famous porn star ever to hail from the country of Wales is not someone prone to bragging, Dee’s years of quiet dedication have begun paying off—at press time in July she was preparing to move into a new house that she had built from scratch. The spacious pad in Las Vegas is her third home. “I’m excited for the new house because it’s like 4000 square feet, so I’m excited just to see where all the animals go,” Dee says. “I’m going to move to the Vegas house because it’s so much bigger… and rent out the ones here [in LA]. “I’m not sure how Vegas will be, but I couldn’t get a house out here for that size—4000 square feet is huge and that’s just the house itself.” Dee may be moving to Sin City but that won’t change the way she is connecting with her fans through platforms such as OnlyFans and FanCentro—not to mention doing select sex scenes and continuing with her lucrative feature dancing career. The striking beauty returned to porn performing after a five-year hiatus in mid-2019, doing her first scene back for Greg Lansky’s AVN Award-winning Vixen site. Then on June 1st, Dee accepted the coveted crown of Vixen Angel—an honor bestowed on one bankable performer each month by Lansky & Co.—at an exclusive party at a top-floor penthouse suite in downtown LA. In many ways, the festive evening marked Dee’s official return to the front lines of porn. “It was just amazing—so cool,” Dee tells AVN. “Being with Greg’s company is like being with the family. It’s not just, ‘Oh, I shot a scene.’ All the girls congratulated me; it was so awesome. “They made an effort to come up to me and say, ‘Congratulations Sophie!’ It was just so nice. You don’t normally get that in the industry.” Dee received the title—which comes with a Tiffany’s brilliant-cut, diamond “V” necklace, custom Christian Louboutin heels, Vixen lingerie and an editorial-style photoshoot—at the stroke of midnight. “They kept my little part short because I don’t like public speaking,” Dee says shyly. “They put the necklace on me and gave me the shoes. It was awesome.” The French maestro Lansky—the three-time AVN Director of the Year and creative mastermind behind Vixen Media Group—tells AVN Vixen Angel was a natural progression for Queen Dee. “Sophie and I had been talking for quite some time about how we could work together on a project,” Lansky explains. “Of course, she's a beautiful woman and an incredibly talented performer, but for me, she truly embodies the spirit of our brand and how we seek to represent women. She's her own woman, she's an entrepreneur, she's strong and striking. I wanted everyone to see that—that you can be empowered and sexy and an incredible force of nature.” Lansky continues, “Sophie is an amazing businesswoman first and foremost, but at the same time her fans are her fans because of who she is as a person. It's an incredible experience to work with someone like Sophie—a true professional and real star. And people love her. “She has five million followers on Instagram. She's authentic—and that really moves people. Making her our newest Vixen Angel was a no-brainer. We're just here to make her star shine even brighter. And we've been blown away by her work. It's been terrifically successful.” Dee’s first sex scene since 2014—a boy/girl romp with seasoned stud Alex Jones titled “Insatiable”— went live on Vixen on May 24. Dee gets down with Mr. Jones in a spectacular mansion overlooking Beverly Hills. “The view was so pretty,” Dee recalls. “The house was crazy. It was so big and beautiful. It was like something out of Beauty and the Beast. And Alex is beautiful, so that helps make the scene awesome. … I didn’t hand-pick him. They picked him for me and I went on Instagram and was like, ‘Oh my god, he’s like a real model.’ He’s super sweet.” Dee says the occasion took two days to capture. “One of the days was the sex. And then the other day was me running up and down the stairs, walking around the house, taking photos,” she says. “And then we had our Vixen photoshoot on the beach. So… it was actually a three-day shoot.” Her official Vixen Angel photoshoot—lensed by an international photographer—unfolded on a secluded beach in Malibu. “We wanted it to look like a James Bond film because she’s at the level of a Bond Girl,” Lansky explains. “For these shoots, we want everything to be the absolute best and iconic. The concept was Sophie as a goddess in the sea. “I was inspired by the famous scene in Dr. No when James Bond watches Ursula Andress, who’s the Bond Girl, Honey Ryder, walk out of the ocean in a white bikini. Everyone remembers that scene. We want everyone to remember the scenes we create. We’re interested in taking everything to a higher level—to make high art.” Meanwhile, Dee says working with veteran French shot-caller and longtime Lansky collaborator, Laurent Sky, is always a memorable experience. “I like him. I’ve shot for him over the years,” she says. “It was kind of nice to work with familiar faces, too. … It was cool—Laurent had me doing a lot of walking up and down the stairs. I definitely got my steps in that day. It was just, ‘Walk back and forth, back and forth.’ Oh my god, my feet were so swollen at the end of the shoot. But it was worth it.” Dee at press time was finalizing details to perform for Lansky’s trendsetting interracial site, Blacked, noting that their contract guy Jason Luv had caught her eye. “He just looks so cool with all his tattoos,” she says. Lansky adds, “We also have more projects we're working on that will break the model of anything people have seen before, but we're keeping those under wraps right now. I’m looking forward to our ongoing relationship with Sophie and my studio.” Even though Dee took an extended hiatus from performing, she didn’t venture far from the adult world. In fact, Dee took her feature dancing career to new heights, traversing the country and packing clubs while building an enormous following on social media platforms such as Instagram, where she had 5.1M followers at press time, and Twitter, where she had 809K in mid-July. She parlayed that notoriety into a couple of steady side businesses—she earns tens of thousands every month on OnlyFans and FanCentro, where she sells her premium Snapchat feed. In May, she even got naked again with fellow star Angela White—the reigning, two-time AVN Female Performer of the Year—in a special treat for their Snapchat subscribers. “The chemistry was so good,” Dee says. “It was a girl/girl but then we shot with [2018 AVN Male Performer of the Year Markus Dupree], too. It started off as girl/girl. We have great chemistry together, so it was awesome. I want to do it again. I think it would be really epic if it was on [Greg Lansky’s] Tushy.” In her typical understated tone, Dee says her fans “loved it.” “Everyone thinks we have a similar kind of look, so they were so excited to see us back together,” Dee adds. The incomparable Australian porn icon White tells AVN, “I adore Sophie Dee.” “She is one of the sweetest and most genuine women I’ve met in this business,” White says. “Sophie’s return to XXX is a massive boon for Vixen Media Group and anyone lucky enough to create content with her. Sophie is looking even more stunning than when I first shot with her back in 2012. “Sophie and I recently shot a BGG for Snapchat and the chemistry was palpable. She radiates an intense sexual energy that draws in co-stars and fans alike. Whatever Sophie has in store, it cannot be overstated how wonderful it is to have Sophie actively performing again.” Dee reveals she will only be suiting up for Lansky’s studios in 2019 despite a handful of other high-profile offers on the table. “You know, a long time ago, people wanted to see really cookie-cutter type performers,” Lansky reasons. “Sophie is more like a Welsh Kim Kardashian. She has this powerful presence in front of the camera—you can't take your eyes off her. But the most incredible thing is that she's also a really down-to-earth person. “You won't meet many other superstars in this business who are as kind, sweet, and humble. In this industry, you're always looking for star quality, and Sophie has that in spades. “She's not afraid of her sexuality—and that's why so many of her fans are women and couples who watch her together.” Dee not only draws the masses to their computer screens when something new debuts—she’s also known to bring the party to local gentlemen’s clubs when her name graces the marquee. One man who knows that all too well is Dave Michaels, the owner of A-List Features who represents Dee for all her club bookings. “A-List Features has had the pleasure of booking Sophie for over eight years now,” Michaels tells AVN. “She is a consummate professional, has huge drawing power and is a blast to be around at the clubs. She has been one of the most consistently successful feature bookings to offer clubs for many years. In 2017, she won Adult Feature Entertainer of the Year at the Exotic Dancer Awards in Las Vegas. Those beautiful eyes, amazing tatas and cute voice are a winning combination!” Dee says during some of the more grueling stretches in recent years she has managed to do three feature engagements per month—and this past June she did four in a row. “I definitely need to slow down on the dancing a little bit. It’s so tiring,” she jokes. “I’m 35 now, so spending the weekends drinking and dancing and staying up late I’m like, ‘Oh my god.’” When Dee visits her native Wales, she says things tend to get “crazy” when she’s out in public. “We can’t really go to the local pub or anything like that because rugby guys would be like, ‘That’s Sophie.’ I try to [keep a low profile],” she admits. “But sometimes I want to go and play Bingo with my parents. “Bingo is so cool back home. It’s really big. My parents go like three times a week. It’s really exciting.” She continues, “It’s so exciting when you know you’re waiting for that one number. It’s like adrenaline, like oh my god. My stepmom always watches my cards; she thinks I’m not going to see them in time. So she always watches. I see her peeking at my number and she knows when I’m going to get one because I get really red and excited.” Her signature toy line continues to expand almost four years after it launched through Doc Johnson. Dee made the line available on SophieDeeStore.com, adding that her Stroker is the best-seller of the collection. “And we’re actually going to come out with a new pussy toy, too,” Dee says. “My Platinum Pussy. So we have a Pocket Ass, Stroker and Platinum Pussy.” Lee’s portfolio of business endeavors got bigger in late 2017, when she launched MySexyAuctions.com, a convenient platform where fellow models can sell their personalized merchandise. Dee never announced the launch, allowing the word to spread organically. “I didn’t tell people,” she says. “I didn’t want everybody to know it was mine—not in the beginning. Now I like it. It’s pretty cool.” She says she didn’t want to broadcast she was behind the site “just in case the models didn’t really want to join.” There were no such issues, though, as MySexyAuctions has become a popular outlet for porn stars to supplement their incomes. “People love it,” Dee says. “We have so many girls on it. … Now that it’s up and we have a lot of girls I don’t mind people knowing it’s mine. But I’m just happy to give them a platform to use.” Dee says anyone can sign up. “It’s open to everybody. You just create your profile. Typically, I tell people to at least put five auctions up a week,” she adds. “It’s pretty lucrative. I mean panties will normally go for like 100 bucks.” Dee continues, “Lisa Ann loves it. She raves about the site, which is so awesome. Angela White sold something and it went for about 400 bucks. Tanya Tate sells on there—so many girls.” Lana Rhoades, the Chicago native who won the 2018 AVN Award for Best Anal Sex Scene, tells AVN, “Sophie’s site is awesome.” “I’ve sold worn panties and lingerie sets for over $300 a piece,” Rhoades says. “It’s a great concept and opportunity for people with a following to make extra money selling their used and signed items to fans who like to collect such items. … Sophie is an amazing and nice woman.” Fellow British star Tanya Tate, who is from Liverpool, agrees. “I have only recently started using MySexyAuctions.com as an alternative and easier way to sell my personal items but I have to say, I love it!” Tate tells AVN. “Before, I had accepted bids via email from fans. MySexyAuctions has made it far easier for not just my longtime fans, but new ones as well, to find and bid on all my naughty goodies.” Tate continues, “The great thing about MSA is I can offer a lot of erotically-themed items. It really is an eBay for adults. “I have sold several pairs of my knickers/panties, lingerie sets, pantyhose, worn shoes, items seen as worn by me in XXX movies or freshly removed from my candid private videos. All include a signed 6x4 selfie wearing their wins and a certificate of authenticity signed by me. “I also have people bidding on mystery boxes, which are filled with a collection of unique objects. Anything from one-off special items, to worn clothing to signed goodies or even my Tanya Tate Fleshlight. “I have even included my kiss mark from both my lips and my nipple. I love taking off my knickers at the end of a fun-filled day and putting them in a ziplock baggie, knowing they will be getting mailed to someone who will really appreciate them.” During Dee’s break from hardcore performing, she also beefed up her mainstream acting resume. She says her favorite role came in an episode of Kingdom during the show’s third and final season. In Season 3, Episode 9 of the series that aired on DirecTV’s Audience Network on July 26, 2017, Dee plays Ambrosia, who is the assistant to actor Bryan Callen’s recurring character, Garo Kassabian, a fight promoter. Repped by a mainstream film agent for the past three years, Dee also appeared in Message From a King in 2016 and this year’s horror flick Deadly Reunion, among several other modest parts. “I love it. It’s different; it’s really exciting, especially doing Kingdom,” Dee says. “I had my own assistant, my own trailer. It’s just really cool being around that kind of atmosphere. … I’ve been doing so much mainstream stuff—a lot of horror movies. … And it’s all SAG stuff, so it’s been really good. … It got kind of difficult because I’ve been feature dancing. So it got difficult for me to do auditions. Or I’d be available for the audition and not for the shoot because of my schedule or vice versa. “They don’t take kindly to that. They really want you to be available for everything. But dancing is really good. I can’t just give it up.” Dee says her giant Instagram following is at least partially “because I really take time.” “I pay photographers. I pay for really good photos and I keep my page clean. I don’t post food photos anymore. I used to just post everything. Like four pictures a day. Now I limit it. I won’t post more than two photos in a day,” Dee says. Now with almost 650 porn credits since she got into adult in 2004, Dee says she never thinks about her success or what it took to get to where she is today. “I don’t really give myself much credit,” she says. “I thought when I showed up to the Vixen party, it would be like, ‘Oh, are you new?’ I thought I would get that. It surprised me how many people actually came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I love your work.’ “I’m like, ‘How have you seen it? You’re so young. … Like how do you know who I am?’ It was really cool. I was really excited.” Photography by Keith Ryan