Did you know that popular porn star Kelly Shibari started in the industry in her 30s, an age when most performers start retiring? In an interview with Dave Kingsley of Orgasm News, the talented Kelly Shibari talked about how she got into porn: “I had been working in mainstream film as a production designer and as a set designer, art director, that kind of thing for almost 10 years here in L.A. And in 2007 there was a huge writer’s strike and all of the work dried up …They were doing things like Lord of the Rings down in New Zealand, and so work in L.A. had kind of dried up.”

Kelly continued, “At the same time I was going through a break-up…one of those horrible break-ups where you don’t get out of bed for three days. A friend of mine [who] was working in the mainstream film industry as a weapons expert. …He and his girlfriend had also been working in the adult industry for…probably 15 years [at the time.] And they were friends of mine for almost 10 years at that point. And when I was talking to them about, ‘Oh, I don’t know what I want to do. Maybe I’ll just move back to New York.’They said, “Well maybe you should try porn.’”

Kelly did try porn and explains, “So, you know, as luck would have it, I sent my pictures in and they really don’t get a lot of submissions from Asians who are plus size. …and they took me! So, I said, “Okay. Well, I guess…I’m… doing porn.” And I really meant for it to be just a short break. And that I would kind of hope that mainstream film and T.V. would pick back up. Which it kind of never did…until recently. It really hasn’t picked up to the extent that I had hoped it would. And, I thought I would be in and out in a year, and now it’s been six years.”

Be sure to read Orgasm’s 5-part interview Kelly by staring with part 1 where she discusses more about her porn career!