# Briana Banks

Briana Banks (born 21 May 1978) is a German pornographic actress and model. She was the Penthouse Pet of the Month for June 2001. She is a member of the AVN Hall of Fame and XRCO Hall of Fame.

## Early life

Banks was born in Munich, Germany to a German father and an American mother. They moved to Britain when she was four, then to the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley when she was seven.

## Career

Banks modeled as a teenager, appearing on a cover of Teen magazine. She entered the industry under the name "Mirage", but began calling herself "Briana Banks" in 1999, after having the first of two breast enlargement operations. Having had aspirations of being a supermodel, she chose the professional surname "Banks" after model Tyra Banks. Her first appearance using the new name was in the film Decadent Whores 9.
In June 2001, Banks was Penthouse magazine's Pet of the Month.
On October 13, 2006, Banks reportedly filed a federal lawsuit seeking more than US$75,000 in damages against Doc Johnson Enterprises, charging that they had created unauthorized products from molds of her genitals.
Starting in 2006, Banks went on hiatus from performing in videos and returned in 2008. That same year she was also nominated for five AVN Awards at the 25th annual Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.
In 2009, she was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Banks starred in the porn parody version of the Fox animated series American Dad!, American Dad XXX: An Exquisite Films Parody. Banks portrayed the character of Francine Smith and was featured on the video's box cover. The video was released in September 2011.
On December 28, 2015 Briana Banks announced that she was making a comeback in 2016 after a 5-year hiatus. The same year she was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame.

### Appearances

Banks was featured in the thirteen episode cable television series Vivid Valley produced by World of Wonder that was broadcast in Europe in 2005 and later had a successful run on Playboy TV. The series featured stories about the real lives of then Vivid Girls Jenna Jameson, Savanna Samson, Mercedez, Tawny Roberts, Banks, and others.

### Other ventures

In 2002 Banks was one of the first porn actresses to have an action figure made in her likeness, by Los Angeles-based Cyber F/X and Sota Toys.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Ceremony | Result | Category | Work |
| 2001 | AVN Award | Nominated | Most Outrageous Sex Scene (with Mark Cummings) | Perverted Stories 28 |
| 2001 | Hot d'Or Award | Won | Best New American Starlet | — |
| 2001 | NightMoves Award | Won | Best New Starlet (Fan's Choice) | — |
| 2001 | XRCO Award | Nominated | Starlet of the Year | — |
| 2001 | XRCO Award | Nominated | Orgasmic Oralist | — |
| 2002 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Group Sex Scene - Film (with Lola, Aurora Snow & Joey Ray) | Taboo 2001 |
| 2002 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Group Sex Scene - Video (with Justine Romee & Joel Lawrence) | Tails of Perversity 8 |
| 2002 | XRCO Award | Nominated | Best Girl-Girl Sex Scene (with Jenna Jameson) | My Plaything Jenna Jameson |
| 2003 | AVN Award | Nominated | Female Performer of the Year | — |
| 2003 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Group Sex Scene - Film (with Chandler, Michele Raven, Cheyne Collins, Dale DaBone & Pat Myne) | Vision |
| 2003 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best All-Girl Sex Scene - Video (with Jenna Jameson) | Briana Loves Jenna |
| 2003 | XRCO Award | Nominated | Best Girl-Girl Scene (with Jenna Jameson) | Briana Loves Jenna |
| 2003 | AFWG Award | Won | Best All-Girl Sex Scene - Video (with Jenna Jameson) | Briana Loves Jenna |
| 2004 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Supporting Actress - Video | Tricks |
| 2005 | Exotic Dancer Award | Won | Adult Movie Feature | — |
| 2006 | AVN Award | Nominated | Crossover Star of the Year | — |
| 2007 | AVN Award | Nominated | Contract Star of the Year | Vivid Entertainment |
| 2008 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Actress – Film | Layout |
| 2008 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best All-Girl Sex Scene - Film (with Penny Flame) | Layout |
| 2008 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Anal Sex Scene - Film (with Kurt Lockwood) | Layout |
| 2008 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Group Sex Scene - Film (with Hillary Scott, Evan Stone & Brooke Haven) | Layout |
| 2008 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best All-Girl Sex Scene - Video | Where the Boys Aren't 18 |
| 2009 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene (with Lanny Barby, Lexie Marie, Nina Mercedez, Monique Alexander, Savanna Samson, Stefani Morgan, Tawny Roberts, Tera Patrick, Lacey & Lyndsey Love) | Where the Boys Aren't 19: Arabian Nights |
| 2009 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Anal Sex Scene (with Manuel Ferrara) | Perfect Match |
| 2009 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Group Sex Scene (with Mick Blue, Michael Stefano & John Strong) | Perfect Match |
| 2009 | AVN Award | Won | Hall of Fame | — |
| 2010 | AVN Award | Nominated | Best Double Penetration Sex Scene (with Ben English & Otto Bauer) | Flashback |
| 2016 | XRCO Award | Won | Hall of Fame | — |
| 2017 | XRCO Award | Won | Best Cumback | — |