Catching Up With Tera Winters

LOS ANGELES—Tera Winters likes to keep it simple with her approach to adult performing. “I learned really quickly to do what I want to do in the industry and make it fun because it’s supposed to be fun,” Winters says. “If you really think about porn, it sounds like such a fun job—so make it fun. If it’s work, then it’s no longer that.” Winters’ positive attitude is serving her well during her return to Porn Valley. This year she came back to full-time performing after an extended hiatus in which she took care of a medical condition that derailed her career just when it was about to reach the next level over four years ago. Upon returning, Winters wanted a fresh start, so she changed her stage name—she was Kimber Veils during her first tour around Porn Valley. “What happened was when I got sick I was super sad because I started getting a bunch of work at the time,” Winters recalls. “My career started to boom and then it abruptly stopped because of it. “I lost a year of my life dealing with my eye because I thought my career was over. I was like my face is ruined. “I was sad and right after that I decided to nix the name. So I deleted every social media, everything. … We’re going to see how this career goes as Tera Winters.” So far, so good for the gorgeous former exotic dancer from Arizona. Winters again decided to sign with OC Modeling, the same agency that was booking her when she had to step away the first time. Some of her credits this year include Wankz VR, LoveHerFeet, CherryPimps, BJRaw, Nookies and New Sensations. Tera tells AVN she’s been doing porn off and on since she was 19—or for about the past 10 years. When her career was beginning to take off in 2019, she had to turn down a bunch of scenes because she was diagnosed with Graves’ eye disease, also known as thyroid eye disease (TED)—an autoimmune disorder that can cause protruding eyes due to swelling and other symptoms. “You know that guy off of Harry Potter with the wonky eye? Well I looked like his daughter,” Winters says. “It was really bad. So I ended up having to turn down a bunch of scenes because I thought my career was over. I had really bad, bulgy eyes. “And I realized what it was and I ended up needing to get surgery to fix it. So I had to disappear from the porn industry for a while. Then everything kind of went south when 2020 hit. I was just like, you know what? I got my face fixed and I am going to travel.” So Tera made her way to 22 different states—everywhere except the northeast—around when the country slowed to a halt during the pandemic. “So I’m starting new four years later. I was like screw it, I’m going to go all in and change my name because I look different now. I used to have long black hair and now I have short blonde hair,” she says. “I’m also like 20 pounds heavier than I was—I tried to put it in the right places though.” Winters tells AVN she worked as a traveling stripper for five years, living in hotels for three of them. “And I liked the adventure of it all,” she says. Tera also realized she liked getting naked and began to experiment more. “And then someone asked me for a video,” Winters recalls. “And I was like, well I don’t know, and then I ended up doing for my very first time, an actual masturbation video. “And I was like this is fun, it’s really exciting. I want to do that. "So here I am, doing porno.” Winters says her favorite gentlemen’s clubs were Centerfolds in Phoenix and Silver Dollar in Eugene, Oregon. "I loved those two. I always found myself going right back to those clubs,” she says. “I always stayed a day and then if I liked it I would come back. Other than that I was constantly traveling.” Tera also had a blast at The Office in Lincoln, Nebraska. “The people that go to strip clubs there are awesome,” she adds. “They’re super down to earth and friendly and they just want to see tits and have a beer. I loved that place.” Winters tells AVN her tattoos include a few that she did herself, some that were done by her friends and a couple by her little sister, who now is a professional tattoo artist but at the time was literally just starting out. “I don’t have the best tattoos but I love them all, and I honestly without a doubt would not change any of them,” Tera says. “Because I have a terrible memory but I remember exactly what I was doing when I got all these tattoos. “My tattoos are not the best but I absolutely love them.”Meanwhile, Tera loves to draw, admitting that “I’m actually a decent artist.” “I like to draw wolves, dragons and naked girls for some reason. Because I like to draw tits and I like to draw hair and makeup,” she says. “I like drawing a lot, it’s one of the things that keeps me calm.” She uses a Bic pen and paper. “I used to draw with a pencil, but I got so good at it, at learning how to shade with a pencil, that I wanted to challenge myself, so I started drawing with a pen,” Tera continues. “That’s my favorite way to draw, is with a pen.” Tera also has done clay work and enjoys doing her own nails. Winters explains that now that she’s older she is more open to trying new things on camera. “Because there’s a lot of things I haven’t done that I’ve wanted to do for a long time and now I get the opportunity to do it,” she says. “I’m looking forward to seeing if I can make this name more popular.” Photography by @kogafoto