In brief: Catherine Knight: Knight was named Female Performer of the Year at the 2026 XMA Europe Awards on Sunday, Sept. 13, the night XBIZ’s awards brand bills as adult entertainment’s biggest in Europe.
Catherine Knight stood on the stage at Theater Amsterdam, looked at the golden trophy in her hands and summed up her feelings in two words, the first of which can’t be printed here. The second was “finally.”
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Knight was named Female Performer of the Year at the 2026 XMA Europe Awards on Sunday, Sept. 13, the night XBIZ’s awards brand bills as adult entertainment’s biggest in Europe. XMA’s own show coverage, published Sept. 15, captured her reaction after presenter Kieran Lee read her name:
“This is the reason I’ve been working so hard all these years, and it feels so good to be holding it right now.”
It wasn’t her only trip to the stage. Earlier in the evening, Knight shared Best Feature Sex Scene with Amirah Adara and Xander Corvus for Digital Playground’s Clash of the Vikings. XMA reports the win prompted Adara and Knight to kiss and jump up and down in celebration, which is about the most wholesome thing that has ever happened in that category.
The rest of the night was a full European variety show. Wet Ink Mag’s full winners list confirms Shadow Dimitri took Male Performer of the Year and Audrey Reid won Best New Performer. Vixen Media Group’s Pull won Best Picture, Hope Heaven took Best Acting for it, and Julia Grandi collected what XMA called her record sixth straight Director of the Year award. Adara and Ella Hughes hosted, and Fansly sponsored the show. Hughes opened by admitting she couldn’t see the teleprompter. Adara’s backup plan, per XMA, was to “just smile, look sexy and hope somebody brings us champagne.”
Why it matters, in our read: Female Performer of the Year is the European show’s marquee individual prize, and it’s the one that headlines Knight’s bio from now on. And the scene award is nice, but the “finally” is the story. It tells you she’d been circling this trophy for a while.
The confetti has been swept up in Amsterdam. Knight is taking the big one home, presumably in her carry-on.