Anna Claire Clouds – Performers of the Year Interview

Anna Claire Clouds is a favorite here at Elegant Angel. With her sweet, professional attitude and raw, real sexual performances, it’s easy to see why the 28 year old stunner was nominated this year for Female Performer of the Year. After appearing in Performers of the Year 2023 with April Olsen, Anna Claire Clouds sat down for an interview to discuss her new scene, porn star role models, and maintaining her work-life balance.

You were nominated for Female Performer of the Year this year! How did you feel when you saw your name on the list of nominees?

My first reaction was, of course, gratitude. At that time, I think I’d only been in the industry for two and a half years, so it happened pretty early for me. I just felt gratitude and shock. I looked at all the other names on the list and I felt extremely proud of myself for being accompanied by so many other incredible performers and amazing individuals that I not only know, but look up to their performance style and their work ethic. Being in a category with so many incredible woman was a really big moment for me. It was very cool.

Who are like some of the porn stars that you look up to and maybe have as role models?

Kira Noir, absolutely. Just an incredible performer; she’s definitely one of the top performers that I’ve seen. She’s got a lot of perseverance, and just continues to put out really good scenes and is happy and nice. And Vanna Bardot has been doing this since she was 19, and is just absolutely killing every scene that she’s done. I know both of them really well, and I can say that I’m friends with them, but I really look up to what they’ve done with their careers.

The competition every year is really, really tough. What do you think, made your performances stand out this year and earned you your nomination?

I think a big thing that people don’t think about is having a good time when you’re actually on set, so that you can continue to work with these individuals. I get rebooked with the same people all the time, because we’re friends and we’re happy to be there. And directors, crew, I know what’s going on in their lives; I ask them about their kids. Creating these relationships where, when you go to work, it doesn’t feel like work, helped me a lot with actually getting the scenes required for that type of recognition.

And then beyond that, I think just having real sex is really important. Sure, we have to open up to the camera; there are a few things that we have to do to make it easier for the viewer to see, but it doesn’t stop me from having real sex. So I think that my actual performance, and the amount of scenes that I had, are really the reason why I was a part of such an incredible group.

Getting nominated for these awards is a really significant milestone in anybody’s career. What are some of the challenges that you’ve overcome to kind of get to this point in your career?

When I did my first agency photos, they didn’t turn out good, and I didn’t use that photographer again. He said to another girl that was there, God, what a pretty girl, and she’s so nice. Too bad she has those tattoos. She’s never gonna get booked. And the photos turned out shit, so I got different photos and they were wonderful and amazing.

And after that, I worked with my agency really hard to create a brand that showed that I am a woman with tattoos, but I’m also a woman beyond the unfortunate stereotypes that tattooed women are associated with. That was something that put me into an undesirable category that I had to push my way out of. My agents at OC Modeling were a huge part of the reason I was able to navigate that so well. I had to be very selective with my scenes to ensure that I wasn’t doing too little dialogue or too much hardcore, and really show everything that I had to offer, besides the fact that I’m a tattooed woman.

What’s your favorite tattoo that you have?

I like the moon on my back. I’ve got the phases of the moon down my spine, and I think that’ll always be my favorite.

What’s your moon sign?

I have to say the whole thing. I’m an Aquarius sun, Virgo moon, and a Leo rising.

And what are your goals for the next phase of your career?

Man, I’ve got a lot of goals. I want to be able to check everything off my sexual bucket list, and I think porn is one the safest and best ways for me to possibly do it with people that know what they’re doing. And then I want to continue to keep this progress that I’ve had going for as long as I can, and continue working on projects with companies that are proud of those projects, and proud to have me in them, and that I’m proud to be a part of.

Your scene in Performers of the Year 2023  is very hotly anticipated. Can you tell us a little about your experience working with with April Olsen, Sid Knox, and Isiah Maxwell?

Isiah is just a stand up performer, without a doubt. He is passionate and kind and knows exactly how to position a woman to make her look beautiful. He’s a great, established male performer. Working with him on this was just the best thing that could have happened. And April Olson is a friend of mine. We were AVN trophy girls, and we’ve done several scenes together. I’ve had sex with both of them a lot, so they were the best scene partners for me; they brought an energy that I could play off of. It was a really wonderful experience to be able to work with two incredible performers like that.

And then Sid, Sid, I just love Sid. He’ll shoot something and then he’ll say, Oh, this is good. I gotta get a couple more of these, hold on. And I’ll get a few more shots of it, because he really is inspired by what he’s doing. A lot of directors can get a little bit jaded with the work that they’re doing, but Sid really does put his all into the scenes that he works on. I watched the scene itself and the angles that he got were so dynamic and created a lot of space. He’s just really good at shooting porn. So working with with three people that are great at and inspired by what they’re doing worked out really well for me.

Are there any special moment from that day on set that stand out to you?

When we all realized that we were doing this together. Really, I think that there was a moment when April and I looked at each other and said, Look at us! We’re here! Look at what we’re doing! This is really cool. April and I are two very normal girls in a very public light. We were having that grounded, down to earth feeling, but also realizing that we were in this really amazing position where we could showcase our talents and be put on this pedestal of Performers of the Year. I remember us just sitting there having that moment of realization together.

What can viewers look forward to seeing in the scene?

Oh, man, we just ran through the gamut of everything. We gave our best performance possible for the scene. Everyone was involved the entire time. It’s just real, raw, passionate sex between three people who know how to have sex with each other and know what each other likes. We’ve been performing together for years. It was like, Oh, we’ve done this before, but we’re gonna do this times 10.

I love that you keep saying “raw and real.”

Yeah, I just want to have it be real. That’s what I want. We didn’t even cut the scene.

What were your goals and motivations when you entered the industry?

When I entered the industry, I wanted to do everything that I wanted to do in a safe environment. But I wanted to reach a goal like this exact thing. The exact path that I’m on right now is the goal that I was aiming for, which is amazing. I wanted to be able to work with some of the best performers in the industry, and some of the best directors in the industry, and the companies that I wanted to work with. I just wanted to see how far I could get. And it wasn’t necessarily always about awards, but it was more so about just seeing how well I could do and how far I could get and what I could accomplish in this realm.

Yeah, like proving yourself.

And you know, you don’t want to set your hopes on an award or anything, but getting nominated and being recognized was so cool. It was like an added feature I didn’t know about when I started.

And you’re in this movie with Blake Blossom, Vanna Bardot, Kira Noir, and of course April Olsen. What is the quality that you think you all possess that lead you ladies to be at the top of the game right now?

It’s got to be work ethic. Vanna Bardot did a incredible feature this year. She worked really hard on the project and I watched her work throughout that. April as well just crushes her entire career. Blake Blossom is incredible at brand development and really does a good job at describing who she is in an easily digestible way. Every single woman has an incredible work ethic. You think that we’re just showing up and having sex, but all these women prepared for these scenes, preparing our outfits and everything; there’s a lot of work that goes into it. I’m somebody that really likes to like root for other people, so every project I’ve seen that they’ve worked on since then has been so impressive. The work that they’ve put in is really notable.

What are some of your passions that your fans might be surprised to learn about?

They might not be so surprised. I really do love nature and doing anything physical with my body. I am somebody that has to stay moving and likes to be active. And if I’m not active, then I definitely notice a difference, but that’s not super surprising. I don’t know, I think my fans probably know everything about me.

You’re an open book!

Yeah, I think I’ve posted pictures of everything I do.

You were just at the gym, what did you get into today?

I just got done with a Pilates class. I’ve been doing Pilates every day for a month, and I did weight training before that. It’s really cool. If you don’t do Pilates, you should do Pilates. It is not just hot girl yoga. It is 100% making me so strong. It’s surprising.

How do you maintain a healthy work life balance and practice self care?

I try to make time for my hobbies. I have four animals, so I don’t really have an option other than to have balance, because if I don’t, then they’re missing their mom. So I have a life where balance is a huge necessity. I do that by only taking on work that I want to take, understanding my schedule and my body, doing self care whenever I want, and not limiting the wants or needs in my life. Because of my job, I’m so lucky to be able to do something like that. Just to be able to work a lot one week, and then take some time off, spend it at home, take the dogs to the park, and be on my own schedule.

What makes you feel sexy?

That’s kind of a hard question, because I can just turn it on. I think that what makes me feel sexy, especially in a scene, is when the individual that I’m working with likes it a lot. I enjoy being wanted, I enjoy being lusted after, I enjoy seeing reactions to me. That’s what makes me feel sexy, really, is the reaction. And, you know, taking care of myself, doing the things that I want to do, being my own person in my own body all make me feel sexy. I’m definitely an exhibitionist, so being at work makes me feel safe.

Any final words for your fans at Elegant Angel?

I want to thank everyone for all of their support over the years. I would just be masturbating on camera by myself if it wasn’t for you guys watching. Nothing against that, but it makes it a lot more fun knowing you’re watching.

And a huge thank you to Elegant Angel for making this happen. You guys are the only ones that do awards showcases like this, and give people recognition and take the opportunity to say, Yeah, these are the best performers. We want them all here. So thank you for giving us a platform to show our attributes and talents after awards season. That wouldn’t happen without you guys.

Follow Anna Claire Clouds on Twitter and Instagram.