De’Bella, the 50-year-old mother of porn star Jewel De’Nyle, was the primary focus for New York Times writer Sharon Waxman, who opened the piece by explaining the performer’s decision to move in front of the camera long after many actresses would’ve called it quits.
“Since May, De’Bella has used days off from her job as an administrative assistant at a sex-related entertainment company, Platinum X, to shoot about 30 scenes, with men mostly 19 and 20 years old,” Waxman wrote.
While some see mature content as a novelty, Waxman was quick to put performers such as De’Bella in a larger context.
“The mature-woman genre represents one of the fastest growing areas of video pornography, say leading distributors and retailers,” Waxman wrote.
In an interview with director Urbano Martin, who produces content catering to a host of niches, including fat women, mature women and hairy girls, Waxman found that niche markets are somewhat underserved compared to the “oversaturated” younger female content marketplace.
As evidence of the growing demand for the mature niche, Waxman wrote that aging stars such as Lisa Ann and Tiffany Mynx and performer turned director Devinn Lane have all found a second act to their careers.
The article credits Bonnie Kail, the national sales manager for Wicked Pictures, with creating the mature woman niche.
“I had said from my personal experience that, being divorced, I’m lucky if I can meet someone my age,” Kail told the New York Times. “Most guys who want to date me are in their late 20s. So I thought, let’s get some hot-looking, 40-ish women and make that the theme.”
Waxman also pointed out that male performers such as Dave Cummings, Ron Jeremy and Randy Spears have continued their careers in front of the camera well into middle age.
For Cummings, Waxman wrote, the performer/director’s age helps him target the dirty-old-man niche.
“Mr. Cummings directs as well as acts in his movies,” Waxman wrote. “They frequently play on dirty old man fantasies, with titles like ‘It’s a Daddy Thing,’ ‘Sugar Daddy’ and one just three months ago featuring a 19-year-old woman and a group of older sex-film stars. Mr. Cummings is on the cover of the DVD, leaning on a walker.”
