Reya Sunshine (born May 19, 1990), is an American pornographic actress, producer, and director based in Miami, Florida. She was born and raised in Northern California, and has pursued a course through the adult entertainment industry by webcamming, feature dancing, modeling for virtual reality apps and sex toys, and independently producing video content.
Reya Sunshine | |
|---|---|
 Reya Sunshine at Exxxotica DC, December 2021 | |
| Born | May 19, 1990 |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Occupation | Pornographic actress |
| Years active | 2016 - Present |
Education
editSunshine received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.[1] She graduated magna cum laude and specialized in humanistic psychology. While attending the university, she also studied dance and yoga.[2]
Career
editPole dancing
editAfter graduating from the university, Sunshine worked briefly as a yoga instructor. She also started taking pole dancing classes around that time, and then obtained a job as an exotic dancer at Sporty's Bikini Bar in Sunnyvale, California, where she worked for three-and-a-half years.[3]
Webcam modeling/media personality
editSunshine began working as a webcam model on January 1, 2016 on the myfreecams website. She has expressed that synergizing her efforts of webcamming, exotic dancing, social media, and producing video clips greatly expanded her following.[2] In 2018, she produced a video for her YouTube channel entitled "Are You Cut Out for Camming?"[4] that became one of ten primary sources used for the study "Live Play, Live Sex: The Parallel Labors of Video Game Live Streaming and Webcam Modeling," that was published in the Sexualities academic journal in December 2022.[5]
In 2016, she began working as a guest anchor on Naked News, and in 2018 won their "Guest Anchor Madness" fan voting competition.[6]
Feature dancing
editIn late 2016, Sunshine left Northern California and began working as a feature dancer. She booked her first feature show in Los Angeles, and eventually settled in Miami. From there, she launched several feature tours.[7] During Super Bowl 2020 weekend, Sunshine also headlined Thursday and Friday night performances at Tootsie's Cabaret in Miami.[8]
Virtual reality/sex toys
editSunshine has also worked in virtual reality performing, and is a VR model for the Gold Club SF VR application, which is based on a strip club experience that was launched in 2017. She has stated that she assesses adult entertainment is likely to be a significant driver for the virtual reality industry in the future.[9]
At the AVN convention in 2018, Sunshine appeared with a sex doll manufactured in her likeness by Crafty Fantasy. Mike Catherwood, then-host of the "Control Freak" mini-documentary series that was attending the convention to film an episode entitled "The Future of Porn," focused on Sunshine's doll in a segment exploring the appeal of sex dolls. Catherwood noted that the doll's design, which was based on Sunshine's personality, appeared to connect particularly well with the convention's participants.[10]
In September 2022, the Amsterdam-based sex tech company Kiiroo announced it had released a molded stroker sleeve based on Sunshine.[11]
Video content production
editSunshine has independently produced over 200 video clips, which she distributed via clip websites. She released several clips on the first day she started webcamming, and in her early days of producing content, she typically filmed it with iPhones or webcams. She eventually transitioned to professional-grade video, lighting, and sound equipment, and has characterized her current productions as similar in quality to those released by large porn production companies.[12] She has stated she has employed a strategy of gradually expanding the types of content she has produced, starting with solo, then girl-girl, and then moving to boy-girl videos.[13] She produced and directed her first boy-girl video co-starring Sean Lawless in December 2020, and it received the 2021 Vid of the Year Award from ManyVids.[14] In 2021, she was also named Clip Artist of the Year by XBiz.[15]
Although primarily an independent producer, Sunshine has occasionally performed in works produced by others. In 2019, she starred in the first episode of the soft-core porn parody series LadyKiller TV with Nikki Benz, which was entitled "Camp Blood Sex" and based on Friday the 13th.[16]
Awards show hosting
editSunshine co-hosted the XBiz Cam Awards with SureCakes on May 27, 2021, for a virtual audience.[17] She also hosted the 40th AVN Awards with Abella Danger and stand-up comedian Matt Rife, which was held at the Resorts World casino resort in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 7, 2023, and marked the show's return to a live audience for the first time since 2020.[18][19] After the selection of Danger and Sunshine as hosts, AVN Media Network CEO Tony Rios stated “We think Abella Danger and Reya Sunshine represent the best of the best in the adult industry today and we couldn't be more excited to have them usher in the next era of the AVN Awards Show in Las Vegas."[20]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Fan Award: Favorite Cam Girl[21] | Nominated |
| Fan Award: Most Spectacular Boobs[21] | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Fan Award: Favorite Cam Girl[21] | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Best Scene, Clip Site; Rocking the Stage (2018)[22] | Nominated |
| Clip Artist of the Year - Female[22] | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Clip Artist of the Year - Female[23] | Won |
| 2022 | Clip Artist of the Year - Female[24] | Nominated |
| 2023 | Clip Artist of the Year - Female[25] | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Vid of the Year[14] | Won |
References
edit- ^ AVN, Dan Miller. "Live Cam Market Comes Out in Force at AVN Expo AVN". AVN. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ^ a b "Camstar April 2021". magazine-files.avn.com. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ AVN, Dan Miller. "MFC's Reya Sunshine Featured in April Issue of CAMStar AVN". AVN. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ ARE YOU CUT OUT FOR CAMMING?, retrieved January 5, 2023
- ^ Ruberg, Bo (June 5, 2022). "Live play, live sex: The parallel labors of video game live streaming and webcam modeling". Sexualities. 25 (8): 1021–1039. doi:10.1177/13634607221103204. ISSN 1363-4607. S2CID 249443623.
- ^ AVN, Dan Miller. "Reya Sunshine Wins Naked News' 'Guest Anchor Madness' AVN". AVN. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ "Camstar April 2021". magazine-files.avn.com. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ "Stripper Bowl: South Florida's adult clubs are going big (and tiny) for Super Bowl weekend". Sun Sentinel. January 28, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ "Gold Club SF VR ushers in realistic virtual reality for strip clubs". VentureBeat. March 12, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
- ^ Control Freak: AVN 2018 - The Future of Porn, retrieved April 12, 2023
- ^ AVN, Peter Warren. "Kiiroo Debuts Reya Sunshine Feel Star AVN". AVN. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
- ^ XBIZ (December 28, 2020). "Reya Sunshine Celebrates Release of 1st B/G Scene". XBIZ. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
- ^ XBIZ (March 15, 2021). "Q&A: Reya Sunshine Lights the Skies of Clip World". XBIZ. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ a b ManyVids.com. "Hottest vids from your favorite content creators | ManyVids". ManyVids.com. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ XBIZ (January 14, 2021). "2021 XBIZ Awards Winners Announced". XBIZ. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ Darus, Alex (September 30, 2019). "Five Finger Death Punch ex-drummer directs, stars in Pornhub horror show". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ XBIZ (May 7, 2021). "Video: Reya Sunshine, SureCakes to Host 2021 XBIZ Cam Awards". XBIZ. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ AVN, Dan Miller. "Abella Danger & Reya Sunshine Talk 2023 AVN Awards AVN". AVN. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ Baugh, Claudine (January 9, 2023). "Shenseea Goes Risqué For AVN Awards Performance". www.dancehallmag.com.
- ^ AVN, Dan Miller. "Abella Danger & Reya Sunshine to Co-Host 2023 AVN Awards Show AVN". AVN. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Internet Adult Film Database". www.iafd.com. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ a b XBIZ (November 15, 2018). "XBIZ Announces Finalist Nominees for 2019 XBIZ Awards". XBIZ. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ XBIZ (January 14, 2021). "2021 XBIZ Awards Winners Announced". XBIZ. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ XBIZ (November 18, 2021). "2022 XBIZ Awards Nominees Announced". XBIZ. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ XBIZ (November 16, 2022). "2023 XBIZ Awards Nominees Announced". XBIZ. Retrieved February 19, 2023.