Manuel Jeannin (; born 1 November 1975), known professionally as Manuel Ferrara, is a French adult entertainer and director. One of the leading actors in the porn industry, Ferrara has won over 64 adult industry awards including six

AVN Award The AVN Awards are List of movie awards, film awards sponsored and presented by the American trade magazine ''AVN (magazine), AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') annually to honor achievements in the global Sex industry, adult entertainment industry. ...

s as Male Performer of the Year—the record for the accolade, and was inducted into the AVN and

XRCO The X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) is a group of writers and editors from the American adult entertainment industry who each year present awards in recognition of achievement within the industry. After the controversy and criticism of the ...

Halls of Fame.

Early life

Ferrara was born in

Le Raincy Le Raincy () is a prestigious communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Le Raincy is a subprefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis departments of France, department and ...

, France, and raised in nearby

Gagny Gagny () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Geography Gagny is located 10 km to the east of Paris. Until the law of 10 July 1964, the commune was part of the department of Sein ...

. He was born to a French father and a Spanish mother. His father was an electrician and his mother was a cleaning lady who had immigrated to France. His father died when Ferrara was 17. Manuel studied to become a P.E. teacher.

Career

Ferrara shot his first hardcore scene in 1997 during his studies, after answering an ad in a French pornographic magazine. He then started a career as a professional porn actor, appearing in various French and European productions. He chose the stage name Manuel Ferrara because of his passing resemblance to boxer-turned-actor

Stéphane Ferrara Stéphane Ferrara (born 25 December 1956) is a French actor and boxer. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1982. Selected filmography References External links * 1956 births Living people French male film actors French male ...

. Ferrara became a protégé of

Rocco Siffredi Rocco Antonio Tano (born 4 May 1964), known professionally as Rocco Siffredi, is an Italian Pornographic film actor, pornographic actor, director, and producer. Known as the "Italian Stallion", Siffredi has starred in more than 1,300 pornograph ...

, who recommended him for a role in

John Stagliano John Stagliano (born November 29, 1951), also known as Buttman, is an American entrepreneur, former pornographic film actor, producer and director who founded and owns the Evil Angel pornographic film studio. Early life and career Stagliano gr ...

's ''

Fashionistas Fashionistas may refer to: * ''Fashionistas'' (film), a 2002 American pornographic film * ''Fashionistas'', a 2004-2008 live show produced by John Stagliano at the Harmon Theater (aka Krave Nightclub) at the Mandalay Bay casino, Las Vegas Strip, ...

'' in which he made his American debut. In 2002, he appeared in blockbuster hit '' Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp''. In 2003, he started directing

gonzo pornography Gonzo pornography is a style of pornographic film that attempts to place the viewer directly into the scene. Jamie Gillis is considered to have started the gonzo pornography genre with his ''On the Prowl'' series of films. The name is a refere ...

for Platinum X Pictures, a subsidiary of

Red Light District Video Red Light District Video (RLD) is an American independent pornographic film studio headquartered in Chatsworth, California. History The company was founded in 2001 by industry veteran Dion Giarrusso and his half-brother David Joseph, who co-owned ...

. In 2004, he began directing for Red Light. After working for Red Light District for the two years, Ferrara began directing for Evil Angel in May 2006. His first Evil Angel film was ''Evilution'', starring Naomi, Melissa Lauren and featuring the comeback of Nici Sterling. Since then, he has directed several porn series, including ''Fucked on Sight'', ''Slutty & Sluttier'', ''Raw'', ''Evil Anal'', ''Battle of the Sluts'', ''Anal Expedition'', ''Teen Cum Squad'', ''Bangin' Black Boxes'', ''Ass Attack'', ''I'm Your Slut'', ''Mindfuck'' and ''New Whores on the Block''. On 23 December 2010, Ferrara appeared alongside

Riley Steele Riley Steele is an American pornographic actress. A former barista, she started her pornographic career in 2008. She has won several industry awards, including NightMoves Award and XBIZ Award. Throughout her career, she posed for various public ...

in an episode of '' Manswers'' titled "Airplane Plane Hanger-On" to discuss their careers for the segment "How Can You Become A Porktastic Porn Star". On 22 January 2012, he became the first actor in history to win AVN's Male Performer of the Year four times. He won AVN's Male Performer of the Year for a fifth time on 18 January 2014. Ferrara performed in about 2,200 videos in his pornographic career. In 2012, Ferrara appeared alongside pornographic actress Zoe Voss in an explicit sex scene for the mainstream film '' Starlet''.

Personal life

Ferrara was married to pornographic actress

Dana Vespoli Dana Vespoli is an American pornographic film actor, pornographic actress and film director. Early life Vespoli graduated from Mills College at Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative literature. During college, sh ...

in January 2005. The couple divorced seven years later. They have three sons together. Ferrara has a daughter with his partner, American pornographic actress and director

Kayden Kross Kayden Kross (born 1985) is an American pornographic actress and director. She is a member of the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. Early life Kross grew up in the foothills between Sacramento and Placerville in a strict, religious household. She h ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrara, Manuel 1975 births French expatriate male actors in the United States French male pornographic film actors French pornographic film directors Living people People from Gagny French people of Spanish descent French Twitch (service) streamers Best Supporting Actor AVN Award winners Male Performer of the Year AVN Award winners Male Foreign Performer of the Year AVN Award winners