AEE 2017: Jillian Janson

by Rich Moreland, February 2017

This is the third of three posts on my interviews with Star Factory clients during the 2017 Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.

I value all my industry contacts, but talking with Jillian Janson was an unexpected pleasure.

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Before interviewing someone I’ve never met, I like to chip away any possible awkwardness with a brief “hello.” In the case of Jillian Janson, I stopped by the Evil Angel booth where she was signing.

In the past, my luck with Evil Angel girls has not always been the best, but this sweetie was the exception thanks to the great people at Star Factory.

After few minutes of small talk, we were looking forward to our time in the press room the next day.

Photo courtesy of Star Factory and AVN

Doing Everything Right Away

Jillian Janson is blonde and perky with adorable eyes. She entered porn at eighteen in 2013.

Describing herself now as “twenty-one going on thirty,” Jillian has seen a lot of the business but admits she doesn’t know everything yet.

I mention some girls get shot out early and Jillian must have buffered her career wisely to still be around after three years.

“The fans are all about the new girl because they see too much of girls who work every day,” she says. Veterans know this and are aware of the pitfalls that can eat up untested ambitions.

A new girl comes in with instant stardom created by “doing everything right away—anal, boy/girl, girl/girl, all day every day,” Jillian says, “then they wonder why six months later, two years later, they [finally] win an award but they’re never working because they are worn out.”

She has learned to pace her career.

“That’s why I been in and out the last three years. I’m just relaxing, having a good time, paying my bills.”

But Jillian remains in the mix.

“I’m still getting recognized for [awards like] female performer, best oral, best anal. It makes me want to work even harder, to just be out there more and show everybody who I am.”

Jillian knows how to brand her name. She’s added feature dancing to her resume and recently launched her website therealjillianjanson.com (see link below).

“I still have a few things in mind to work on, but I’m so excited to get that [the site] going, it’s going to be girl/girl because I haven’t been able to experiment with girls much,” she says with a smile.

Increments

Proclaiming her to be a porn veteran, something that surprises her, I ask Jillian what three pieces of advice she would offer a new girl.

Her attitude shifts a bit with the question. She’s suddenly very focused and less light-hearted.

“You don’t want to necessarily do everything right away. You want to do things in increments. You’re brand new and you don’t know what you want to do so take it in steps.”

In her personal history, Jillian began with photo shoots, did boy/girl, “then a week later, what was I doing? I was on the bed with my first girl who happened to be French-Asian, so I got to experience another culture as well,” she declares.

“So many new things to wrap my mind around, but I have a feeling that I’ve balanced everything pretty well. I take enough time off, kind of make everyone miss me,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.

What’s Jillian’s next tip for an new eager starlet?

“Be yourself, be charming, be unique, be caring,” and most important, “be positive, be nice, if you’re not going to say anything nice, don’t say it at all,” Jillian insists.

But be prepared for the downside of the business.

“You’re going to get knocked down, so get yourself back up again.”

Jillian is determined with her words now, measuring them carefully.

Some industry people will “help you out and be there for you,” she says, but they’re the few, so “be there for yourself.”

And, of course, there’s the third lesson every fresh face who is instantly awash in dollars must learn, Jillian declares.

“Be patient. Be smart with your money. You don’t want to blow it on everything you want right away because the little things don’t add up to the big things that you want.

“I spent a bunch of money on clothes, three thousand dollars on a massage chair, never home for it. It’s just sitting in a storage unit. So that’s money wasted when it could have gone into a new car or a new house or getting a business together.”

Hit-and-Run

Finally, I ask about Jillian about her background.

Her parents were not married, in fact they never dated, she says.

“I call myself a ‘hit-and-run.’ It’s like you go to a party, you drink, you have sex with somebody, and you don’t see them for four years. That’s how my mom pretty much had me,” Jillian’s smile softens her serious undertone.

“‘Hit-and-run’ or ‘one night stand’ is what you call ’em!”

Her laugh is punctured with a touch of resignation.

Jillian, who is not unfamiliar with the LA party scene, does understand the circumstances of how these things happen, however.

Photo courtesy of AVN

“You have to have some fun,” this blonde stunner says. “The industry is so fun, the parties, the events, everything that goes on here. It’s an entertaining experience.”

Jillian Janson began her career as a web cam model in August 2013 when she turned eighteen. She was still in high school in Minnesota, working to help support her mother. Once her school mates found out about her other more grown-up persona, hassles developed and Jillian left for California after an agent contacted her.

This Midwestern lass considers herself to be an independent spirit. Talking with her hints at concerns over approval and validation, not at all unexpected in performers who start very young.

One has to admire Jillian’s depth of self-understanding when she offers her “twenty-one going on thirty” declaration.

I sincerely believe she is more courageous than she realizes.

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