Asa Akira (born January 3, 1986) is an American pornographic actress and adult film director. Akira has appeared in over 505 adult films as of May 2016. In 2013, she became the second Asian person to win the AVN Female Performer of the Year Award. Akira is a two time Pornhub Awards host, she hosted the 1st and 2nd ceremonies.
Akira was born in Manhattan, New York, the only child of Japanese immigrant parents. She lived in SoHo and moved to Tokyo at age nine when her father, a portrait photographer, was relocated there for work. She returned to the United States at age 13 and moved to Downtown Brooklyn and later Clinton Hill. In a 2014 interview, she described her childhood as being «perfectly normal». Her family spoke Japanese at home and were «health nuts» who avoided junk food. As a teenager, Akira worked at the children’s bookstore, Books of Wonder, as a cashier.
Akira was able to secure a scholarship to attend United Nations International School in Manhattan because her grandfather was a Japanese diplomat for 45 years. She was not invited to return in her sophomore year due to her poor grades, so she enrolled in Washington Irving High School in Gramercy Park. She transferred to City-As-School for her senior year.