What Is Kayden Kross' Net Worth?
Kayden Kross is an American adult film star who has a net worth of $4.5 million. Kayden Kross began working as a stripper in order to earn enough money to purchase her own horse. She went on to attend California State University – Sacramento and signed a contract with Vivid Video in her senior year. She chose not to re-sign with Vivid the following year and instead signed with Adam & Eve. This proved to be a good move, and she quickly became a fan favorite. Kross won "Penthouse" Pet of the Month in September 2008 and launched her own website. She signed an exclusive contract with Digital Playground in 2010 and went on to star in multiple top-selling projects, including "The Smiths" and "Body Heat." She has hosted numerous awards ceremonies and was named one of the "12 Most Popular Stars of Porn" by CNBC. She has won multiple awards, is a featured columnist for various print and online publications, and has appeared as a regular guest on "G4" and in guest starring roles on such shows as "Life On Top," "The League," and "Breaking Bad."
Early Life
Kayden Kross was born on September 15, 1985, in Sacramento, California. She is of Swedish descent and grew up with her family between Sacramento and Placerville. Her father left the family when she was five, just after her sister was born.
Kayden has described herself as being something of a bookworm and nerd while in high school, but when she was 18 years old, she began stripping at Rick's Showgirls in Rancho Cordova, California, to earn enough money to rescue a pony from a local slaughterhouse. She subsequently kept the pony and continued to work at the strip club to help pay for her college courses at Sacramento State. The money she made stripping soon vastly outpaced her college tuition needs. She paid off her car, began investing in the stock market, and soon owned a home.
Career
While working as a stripper, Kross was noticed and contacted by an agent. Through that relationship, she started booking modeling opportunities in adult magazines. A few years later, she signed a contract with Vivid, an adult entertainment company. While with Vivid, she made the adult films "Kayden's First Time," "Hard Time," and "Be Here Now."
She was unhappy with her contract with Vivid and decided to become a free agent a year later, deciding not to renew with Vivid. After a month of being a free agent, she signed an exclusive contract with Adam & Eve. It was the largest adult contract up to that point, a five-year deal that increased in value every year and guaranteed her parts in major feature projects.
In September 2008, Kayden was named "Penthouse" Pet of the Month. Before turning 24, she launched her own subscription website and signed a number of lucrative endorsement and licensing deals for novelty adult toys. She additionally began writing regular content for other adult industry gossip blogs.
In January 2010, Kross became exclusive to Digital Playground under a multi-year contract. Her first film with the company, "The Smiths," became a chart-topper and remains one of her best sellers. She was later given the lead role in "Body Heat" during her third month in the contract. For her role in the film, she won a number of adult film industry awards.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
In 2010, Kayden hosted the AVN Awards show along with porn actress Kirsten Price and comedian Dave Attell. She also starred in the 2010 AVN Best Feature "The 8th Day" and portrayed the role of Elin Nordegren, the wife of Tiger Woods, in the film "Tyler's Wood." In 2012, she hosted the Xbiz Awards. In 2019, she launched Deeper, a channel of Vixen Media Group that films its own adult content.
In addition to her work in the porn and adult film industry, Kayden has made several appearances in mainstream media. She has appeared in the FX comedy series "The League" and also the G4 reality series "The Block." Additionally, she had a role in the series "Family Jewels." In 2011, she was cast as Tara in the drama film "Blue Dream." She briefly also co-hosted the videocast, "Kayden's Review," for Triggla TV along with Dane Hanson. From 2012 to 2013, she played a main character in the web series "Girl/Girl Scene." She also hosted her own weekly call-in show, "Krossfire," on Playboy Radio. In 2013, she appeared in "Breaking Bad." She has also appeared in two music videos for songs by the band Nekrogoblikon – "No One Survives" and "We Need a Gimmick."
Kross has also continued writing throughout her career. She writes regular columns for publications like "Complex" and "XBIX." She has also published a story in the 2012 short story collection "Forty Stories: New Writing from Harper Perennial."
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Kross has had a few problems with the law resulting from an incident that occurred in 2008 when she was 23. She was charged with grand theft and violations of the California Civil Code involving contracts for purchases of home equity mortgages. In July 2009, the grand theft charge was dismissed, and the real-estate fraud charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. Kayden pleaded no contest to the resulting charges. She was sentenced to one day in custody and three years of probation. She later stated that her involvement in the incident was related to her youth and her being scammed by the broker and mortgage lender she was working with.
Kross is in a relationship with Manuel Ferrara, a French adult actor. They met in 2007 on the set of her first adult shoot. They had a daughter together in 2014.
In 2013, Ferrara asked Kross to no longer perform with other male actors, though he continues to shoot scenes with other women. They have acknowledged the seeming double standard in this arrangement but have stated that it works for them. Kross is also able to veto any female performer that she does not wish Ferrara to work with. He has additionally stated that he would stop performing altogether if asked.
Kayden has used her platform to advocate for various causes in the adult film industry. She testified against a proposed tax in California that would negatively affect producers and distributors of adult entertainment in 2008. She also appeared on the show "Stossel" in 2012 to discuss issues affecting the adult entertainment industry.
