Page 89 - AVN March 2020

“I was one of the first plus-size performers to do hardcore
and to be a porn star.”
It starts with The Smile.
It’s become Karla Lane’s calling card.
“I always joke that it was a big butt and a smile that got me to do things because people
wouldn’t see me as just a plus-size performer,” Lane says. “They would see me as, ‘She’s a
cute girl. I’ll put her in and see how that works.’”
So far, so good.
Lane in January joined the Class of 2020 in the AVN Hall of Fame, adding another accolade
to a 15-year career in which she is credited with raising awareness for body positivity and
inspiring greater inclusion across all genres of adult entertainment.
“I’m so honored,” Lane tells AVN. “It’s exciting. … Honestly, all the hard work and all the
stuff that I thought maybe didn’t make an impact is making a bigger impact as a whole.”
The bubbly L.A. native sees progress being made—an increasing number of established
studios now are casting plus-size models—but she downplays any role she may have had in it.
“I was one of the first plus-size performers to do hardcore and to be a porn star—not just
fetishized,” Lane says. “So if that helps the average person feel more comfortable and sexy
in their own body because they see me do it—and they see all the other plus-size performers
because there’s so many now and when I started there was like six of us—it’s nice to think that
has played a role in what people think is sexy and what we now call porn.”
Angela White thinks so. The three-time AVN Female Performer of the Year says Lane leads
by example. “Karla is an amazing performer,” White tells AVN. “Her exuberant personality, her
gorgeous curves and heart-warming smile, as well as her immense skill and professionalism
are matched by her commitment to the well-being of and support for all performers.”
White teamed with Bree Mills, chief creative officer for Adult Time, in February 2018 to
create a powerful episode of Pure Taboo called “The Weight of Infidelity.” The episode was one
of the first major porn productions to ever cast a plus-size model in a leading role.
“I look back on the decision to shoot ‘Weight of Infidelity’ as being one of the most important
creative decisions I have ever made,” said Mills, who wrote and directed Teenage Lesbian, the
2020 AVN Movie of the Year.
Indeed, the success of “Weight of Infidelity” laid the groundwork for Mills to launch “Shape
of Beauty,” an Adult Time series that kicked off in December 2018. Mills says, “It really gave
us the confidence to develop ‘Shape of Beauty’ as a series, one that was show-run by Frank
Stacey, who is one of Adult Time’s creative directors and a very devoted fan of the genre.”
Lane grew up in the City of Angels, living within a 10-mile radius her entire life. She attended
a private high school that since has been turned into a 24-hour laundromat. “I graduated high
school when I was 15,” she reveals. “Because I was advanced and I didn’t want my mom