Cherie DeVille on Swing Dancing, Adult Career & Advocacy

This is the cover story of the June issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the digital edition. Cherie DeVille calls it “slutty cupcake.” Sometimes she rocks the look on special occasions. “It’s like bright and happy but also horror meshed together,” DeVille jokes. The former professional swing dancer not only triumphed during the all-digital 2021 AVN Awards ceremony, claiming her third MILF Performer of the Year trophy in the past four years, she also was a big winner with her fashion aesthetic.Wearing a low-cut black dress with a red flower in her hair, the stylish star beamed with excitement upon hearing her name announced.“I love swing dancing,” DeVille says. “I love Lindy Hop. I love 1940s and 50s women's clothing and have a huge personal collection. So you're not allowed to dress like that very often for adult films because it would be like a period piece, it would be a whole thing.“But when I have my druthers and I can put on what I want, I often go in that direction. It just feels so feminine, kind of like cheeky, gumball fun.”Speaking of which, DeVille kept her virtual acceptance speech short and sweet while sitting with her significant other in her living room—with an extra-large gumball machine behind her.“Best old lady!” DeVille cracked, speaking to the worldwide audience on Zoom during the live broadcast on January 23. “I didn’t even have to stumble up on stage and risk breaking a hip!”“That’s always my thing,” she says. “Because with all the award shows, everybody bitches. ‘Why can't I be onstage?’ Everybody wants to be onstage. So my funny thing is, ‘Well, you can't let the old ladies up—it’s dangerous. There could be a slip and fall…”All kidding aside, what DeVille has achieved in the past 10-plus years since her porn debut has not only led to accolades, it also has sent her soaring into the upper echelon of adult stardom with a global fanbase and a body of work that someday will cement her place in the AVN Hall of Fame.“Even when I won it the first time, I couldn't believe it,” DeVille confesses. “Because to me, in that MILF category, I think more than any other AVN Awards category, you have some seriously strong players. And you see a lot of the same names year after year being nominated for that award.“And they're not just random ladies, these are A-list ladies at the top of their game, many of whom like myself have been performing for many, many years. So to be in that group, honestly, I know it's cliche, but it’s like winning an award in and of itself. And to be chosen, I just don't know. It blows me away. I’m thankful. Excited. Honored.”Considering that at the beginning of her career she juggled two jobs, flying to L.A. to shoot and working as a full-time physical therapist, the climb has been nothing short of remarkable for The Internet’s Stepmom.“I was on a little Zoom interview for Filthy Femdom the other day and the host was saying that after watching one of my scenes, she decided to move from being a dominatrix in a dungeon to being a dominatrix on film,” DeVille says.“And just hearing stories like that from people, I'm like, ‘Wait, I influenced you? Like oh my god.’ It's really surreal and amazing.” *** Born in Durham, N.C., and raised in Washington D.C. and Cape Cod, Mass., DeVille worked as a lifeguard on the Cape while in her teens and early 20s. An American girl with French Canadian roots, Cherie also was a camp counselor at a day camp for three-and-a-half to six-year-olds. She earned her bachelor’s degree in a five-year physical therapy program and excelled as a traveling physical therapist—and as a clinical instructor—before she ever stepped onto an adult set. Her 13-week PT assignments took her to places such as St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida, Virginia Beach, Va., and Nashville, where she lived for five years. “I lived there at the same time that I was performing for a multitude of years, maybe at least the first three years of my career,” DeVille recalls. “And even in Nashville, I was actually half the year in Nashville, and the summers I spent on the shore in New Jersey. “So I would just travel back and forth from wherever I was for a week, sometimes two weeks a month to Los Angeles until I was like, ‘This is ridiculous.’ … It was overwhelming. And I missed my dogs when I would travel. So it was time to just commit to this career and be in L.A. where almost everything is happening and really do it.” DeVille filmed her first scene with retired performer Holly Michaels for Seduced by Mommy 3 (Filly Films), which was released in 2012. She did only girl/girl for more than two years before signing a short-term contract with Brazzers for her foray into boy/girl performing. “The first [boy/girl] I ever filmed was with Keiran Lee,” says DeVille, whose third MILF Performer of the Year victory followed back-to-back honors in 2018-19. “Although I think they launched one of the Johnny Sins ones first.” She says the reason she didn’t perform with guys from the get-go was because “I had a lot of misconceptions about the porn industry in general coming in.” “And having watched porn I felt like maybe some of this male talent is so aggressive and their dicks are so big and it just felt really intimidating from afar—from Nashville,” she explains. “But after I'd been coming to L.A. for a while, even though I was only shooting girl/girl you'd end up seeing male talent around—friends of friends, extras on set, things like that. And I was like, ‘They’re pretty cool, you know?’ “I think as soon as I first started actually meeting some of the guys my comfort level increased and then I was like, ‘OK, this is cool. Let's do this.’” *** Brazzers bad boy Johnny Sins, who has won the Fan-Voted AVN Award for Favorite Male Porn Star five consecutive times from 2017-21, tells AVN it was an honor to co-star in DeVille’s first scene with a guy to ever be released. In the hookup titled “Dr. Spankencock’s Sexperiments” that went live on May 23, 2013, Sins wakes up in a grungy lab to find that he’s being held captive by the scantily clad DeVille, whose wicked experiment entails her giving him a new, heftier endowment. “I had the pleasure of shooting Cherie’s first scene in the business,” Sins, who has performed with DeVille four times for Brazzers, tells AVN. “It wasn’t an easy scene by any means… I was strapped to a metal table, so Cherie really had to do all the work. She definitely didn’t disappoint! “She was a pleasure to be with on set and we all knew she was going to go far in this business. Fun fact: Cherie even made me cum twice in that scene—once in the middle from her cowgirl and again at the end for the usual pop!” DeVille not only made her boy/girl debut on Brazzers, she has gone on to perform in more than 40 other scenes en route to becoming one of the mega-site's biggest fan favorites. “It’s no secret that Cherie is a consummate professional and continues to be one of the most sought-after talent on Brazzers,” Ryan Hogan, product director for Brazzers, tells AVN. “Fans know when they see a Cherie DeVille scene, it’s going to be something special. “We know when we’re working with Cherie, she is ready to raise the bar and give the best possible performance every time. I’m sure her fans are happy to know we will continue to work very closely with Cherie. She’s that distinct type of talent that instantly elevates any scene she’s a part of.” The adult gaming platform Nutaku.net in April premiered the RPG Brazzers: The Game featuring the digital likenesses of several top performers, including none other than DeVille. ***Director and glamour photographer Holly Randall recognized DeVille’s talent early on, shooting her for the first time in 2012 in a fetish-themed photoset with multiple AVN Award-winning star Dani Daniels called “Forbidden Pearls.” She since has photographed DeVille no less than six more times in exclusive sets for HollyRandall.com. "Cherie is one of my absolutely favorite people because on top of being kind, smart, and funny, she's a really genuine person,” Randall tells AVN. “She’s someone you could easily ‘take home to mom,’ but in her scenes the filthy things that come out of her mouth are truly awe-inspiring. “She's incredibly professional and enthusiastic about her job. Cherie is an absolute delight to work with, and I'm lucky to also be able to call her a friend.” Dani Daniels agrees. She and DeVille have been inseparable since meeting early in DeVille’s career. “Cherie is my best friend, has been for 10-plus years. We clicked from the day we met,” Daniels tells AVN. “She lights up a room. … She has a beautiful soul that you just want to soak up and enjoy. “She’s full of smiles and she genuinely loves what she does, you can see it in both her positive attitude on set and her incredible work ethic. Anyone that is lucky enough to have the opportunity to have Cherie in her life or spend time with her on set should savor every minute of it. “I’m so proud of all she has accomplished over the years but not at all surprised. She strives for success and excellence. I love her so much!” So does Sandra McMcCarthy, co-owner of OC Modeling, the agency that has represented DeVille for bookings from the start. McCarthy tells AVN that DeVille still is the same person as when she first signed. “We’re so proud of her,” McCarthy says. “We were her first agent and I remember her first meeting with me. I asked her why she was interested in doing porn—she was girl/girl only—and she said, ‘I love girls and it’s just a hobby. I have another job but want to fuck girls.’ “Cherie has remained humble and friendly as she has grown in this industry. I have mad respect for her and what a brand she has made for herself. She’s what is called ‘a real porn star.’” McCarthy remembers how DeVille at the beginning would fly into L.A. and stay at the OCM model house, where she became acquainted with Daniels. “They have become best friends since that first meet and still are,” McCarthy says. “We’ve shared so many good times together but one of the funniest was about eight years ago. Dani and Cherie made a deal with my driver ‘Russian' to ‘wax his ass’ for a small fee—and he accepted.  “It was 11 p.m., in my office—Dani Daniels, Cherie, me, Anthony [De Coninck], Darwin the dog. First off, Dani bought the wrong wax, so it never got hard to pull off and when she heated it in the microwave and poured it down his butthole, let’s say there was a lot of screaming. “We laughed so hard that tears were rolling down our faces. And the rest of the waxing was terrifying. Russian survived—a few bloody spots and patchy hair—and we still giggle about this today. We’re all still friends. “I love Cherie! A true professional, a beautiful person, a good soul.” *** DeVille’s body of work in 2020 included almost 90 credits—seven of which were for Girlfriends Films, another iconic studio where she has become a fixture during the past decade. She appeared in two more volumes of Women Seeking Women (171 & 174), the longest running and most awarded all-girl series in porn history; as well as She’s My Daddy; and Cougar Queen for Girlfriends Films. Her prolific run with the studio is not lost on Moose, the president of Girlfriends Films, who points to Cherie’s versatility. “Cherie DeVille has anchored many films for Girlfriends over the years and the most striking thing about her is acting ability,” Moose tells AVN. “She can go from soccer mom to debutante to business woman, and make it all look totally believable and effortless. “It’s not easy to read a classic campy GFF script and pull off an older/younger-extortion/seduction scene, but somehow she does it flawlessly every time. And it’s not only her acting ability. Cherie is a genuine person, a pleasure to work with for the directors and talent alike. We are very lucky to have welcomed her to the Girlfriends Films set on so many occasions.” Director Miles Long tells AVN that DeVille has been one of his go-to girls for longer than he can remember. He even captured Cherie in a rare double-penetration scene with Charles Dera and John Strong in 2019 for BangBros.“There’s no question with the amazing personality she has, coupled with the amazing performances she gives, she will continue to be a fan favorite, company favorite, director favorite and a force to be reckoned with in this industry for a long time to come,” says Long, who also has hosted nightclub events in Las Vegas with the personable star. *** Kyle Mason knows all about DeVille’s passion. He shared an instant classic scene with DeVille in 2018 for Brazzers that was directed by Brett Brando. Titled “Strictly Hardcore," the outrageous pairing saw the performers command the floor with tango and swing dancing, while also doing the horizontal mamba before finishing with a facial. Cherie plays a dancing diva who can’t keep a partner because they can’t handle her sass. Mason is the last hope before the big competition, but even after their first practice she calls his technique “garbage."“Dancing is like making love,” Cherie tells Kyle. “You have to make me believe it.” Mason tells AVN it had come up on various sets that he had an extensive background in ballroom dancing before that scene. “And frequently directors indicated that they wanted to craft a scene around it but nothing came around until Brando made it happen first,” says Mason, who launched his porn career in 2016. “We probably put it all together in around two hours. We spent a lot of pointed effort working out the details and styling to try to create a very elegant and clean tango, but when it came to the swing it was really just kind of ‘play time.’” Mason started partner dancing as a hobby in 2005 and then began to teach and compete professionally around 2010. “Performing the dances with Cherie made for a really entertaining day on set, especially the swing,” Kyle continues. “With both of us having a good grasp of swing, we were able really let it fly on that one and just really have a ton of fun with it. “We didn’t really need to prepare because we were both very used to social dance mixer types of environments.” The seasoned Brazzers shot-caller Brando tells AVN he’s always looking for scenarios that depart from the typical. When he found out about Mason getting back into his old hobby of ballroom, he saw the potential for an entertaining scenario. “I am always looking for out of the ordinary things to shoot and I said ‘I would love to shoot a scene around that, do you know anybody who also can ballroom dance?’ And before I could even finish my sentence he said, ‘Cherie DeVille,’" Brando says. “And of course that’s a no-brainer for me. In my opinion she is one of the top three performers in the industry. So I said, ‘OK let’s do this.’ And literally two months later I had them both on set and gave them 45 minutes to practice their dance and the rest is history. “They have amazing chemistry and it was a lot of fun to shoot.” ***As DeVille has grown in stature—she had racked up 2.6 million followers on Instagram and almost 534,000 on Twitter at press time—she has expanded her repertoire into advocacy for the industry. Since September that advocacy has come in the form of op-ed pieces for The Daily Beast. When DeVille started writing columns about serious subjects such as mental health last fall, she admitted being concerned about how fans would react. After all she had spent the past decade building her brand, often showing her less serious side on camera. “I haven't noticed that scary backlash that I had envisioned,” DeVille says. “But I decided in my head that at some point I needed to be more than the blow-up doll Cherie DeVille that I had created. And look, I'm in this industry. I am a pornographer. I do have a few other skills. Not to diminish it, but I do have other skills outside of my sexual skills that could help our industry. “And it's really about fucking time that I started using them to bolster all of us as a unit, and not just my own bank account with my sexual content.” In addition to her insightful commentaries about current issues, DeVille reveals she has another project in the works related to her desire to be a positive influence in the porn community. She says the endeavor was inspired by her December column for The Daily Beast titled “12 Steps to Become the Next Big Porn Star.” “Something's coming,” Cherie teases. “You’ll see soon… I just want to help some of the younger performers avoid some of the pitfalls… Not that, ‘Oh, it's a dangerous industry.’ But just everything from basic brand management to how to incorporate, to ways to manage your taxes—all of the things that school or the business doesn't prepare you for that you can really fall into. “I’m just really interested in now transitioning a little bit to education and helping the industry that I love so much as a whole.” Photography by Keith Ryan