Although the family was
Sikh,
[3] her parents enrolled her in Catholic school
[3][11] as it was felt to be unsafe for her to go to public school.
[12] She lost her virginity to a basketball player at another school at 16,
[11] and discovered her
bisexuality at age 18.
[13] When she was 13, her family moved to
Fort Gratiot,
Michigan, then to
Lake Forest, California a year later,
[11][14] fulfilling her grandparents' dream that the family be together in one place.
[3]
Career
Before working in the porn industry, she first worked at a German bakery,
[15] a
Jiffy Lube,
[11] and later a tax and retirement firm.
[16]
Leone at the 2002 Adult Entertainment Expo, one of her earliest promotional appearances
While studying to be a
pediatric nurse in
Orange County, a classmate who was an
exotic dancerintroduced Leone to John Stevens, an agent who in turn introduced her to Jay Allen, a photographer for
Penthouse magazine.
[10] When picking a name for her adult career, she has said that Sunny is her real name and Leone was picked by
Bob Guccione, former owner of
Penthouse magazine.
[17] She posed for
Penthouse magazine, and was named
Penthouse Pet of the Month for the March 2001 issue, followed by a feature in the Holiday 2001 edition of
Hustler magazine as a Hustler Honey. She has also appeared in other magazines including
Cheri,
[18] Mystique Magazine,
[19] High Society,
Swank,
AVN Online,
Leg World,
Club International and
Lowrider,
[20][21] while her online credits include ModFX Models,
[22] Suze Randall,
[23] Ken Marcus[24] and Mac & Bumble.
[25] Her pictorial credits also include working with stars like
Adriana Sage,
Jenna Jameson,
Jelena Jensen and
Aria Giovanni.
In 2003, she was named "Penthouse Pet of the Year" and starred in the video
Penthouse Pets in Paradise alongside
Tera Patrick and
Kyla Cole. In 2005
Adam & Eve appointed her as their West Coast Internet Sales Representative.
[26]
That same year, Leone signed a three-year contract with
Vivid Entertainment with which she transitioned into the world of hardcore pornography, stating that she would only do lesbian scenes.
[2]Her first movie released was titled
Sunny[27] and was released in December 2005. Her next movie,
Virtual Vivid Girl Sunny Leone, was the first interactive title for Leone, who was the first Vivid Girl to make such a movie.
[28] Taking only four days to film,
[15] the movie won her her first
AVN Award (Best Interactive DVD). She followed this with
Sunny Loves Cher, which featured her first on-screen
squirting, and
The Female Gardner co-starring Mikayla Mendez and
Daisy Marie.
Leone's last two movies under her contract with Vivid were
It's Sunny in Brazil, which was filmed in
Brazil.
[29] and
The Sunny Experiment also starring
Monique Alexander and Brea Lynn.
[30] The movies were released in October and December 2007 respectively.
In May 2007, upon re-signing her contract with Vivid for another six films, Leone agreed to perform for the first time with men on camera, but exclusively with her fiancé, Matt Erikson.
[31] That summer she also received
breast augmentation,
[32] and shot her first movie under the new contract titled
Sunny Loves Matt. The movie led to her to be nominated for three (out of six) AVN awards in 2009 in addition to being a choice for Female Performer of the Year.
[33] She followed up her first boy-girl title with
The Other Side of Sunnyin October 2008, which would be the last time she would perform with Erikson.
In January 2008, Leone revealed that she was no longer exclusive to Erikson, and had done scenes with other actors, most notably
Tommy Gunn, Charles Dera,
James Deen[34] and
Voodoo.
[35] In 2009, Vivid released her only movie performing with other male actors titled "
Sunny B/G Adventure".
[36] Her final release under contract with Vivid – "
Undress Me", once again made her exclusive to performing with just one male actor-Daniel Webber.
[37]
In August 2009, she announced the launch of her own studio, Sunlust Pictures, with Daniel Weber as her partner.
[38] With her new venture Leone plans to write, direct and create her own brand of adult movies with Vivid Entertainment as her distributor.
[34] Her first independent production,
The Dark Side of the Sun, was released in March 2009, and was debuted at the Erotic Heritage Museum in
Las Vegas.
[39] In June 2009, she held a casting call in Las Vegas for her second independent production titled
Sunny Slumber Party[40] (released September 2009).She followed up with three other self produced features
Gia Portrait of a Porn Star (2010) which was nominated for multiple AVN awards,
[41]Roleplay (2011) and
Goddess (2012) which featured her first
anal sex scene.
[42]
No longer exclusive to Vivid, Leone has started working with other studios and performers since 2009. She has managed to leverage her online popularity by striking deals with firms like PPPcard,
[43]AdultPokerParty.com,
[44] Brickhouse,
[45] Flirt4Free,
[46] Totemcash
[47] and Imlive
[48] to sell and distribute her content over the internet and other media. She won the "Web Babe of the Year" at the 2008
Xbiz Awards.
[49] Her websites and business interests are run under her banner company Leone L.L.C. She indicated in an April 2012 interview that 80 per cent of the traffic on her website, and 60 per cent of her revenue comes from India.
[50]
In addition to her film career, Leone has been part of the Vivid Comedy Tour,
[51] and has modelled for the Vivid Footwear collection.
[52] Leone has also participated in events like the Vivid/
ClubJenna Lingerie Bowl[53] and Vivid's Hot Rod Night.
[54] Doc Johnson launched a
pocket pal in 2006 moulded to her
vagina,
[55] and in 2008 released the Sunny Leone Exciter vibrator.
[56] Control MFG currently uses Leone's image along with other Vivid girls to market their line of skateboards. She is paired with Gab Ekoe, one of the Team Control riders.
[57] She also indicated that she plans to launch her own line of lingerie and other Sunny-branded products including a diamond jewellery line.
[34]
In September 2009, an
iPhone application consisting of a collection of non-nude photos, some videos and a porn star-penned blog
[58]was approved by
Apple for sale in the iTunes store, making it the first officially sanctioned application featuring a porn star.
[59] By February 2010, the app had been removed by Apple from the store.
[60]
Leone was voted number 13 (up from number 41 in 2007
[61]) on
Genesis magazine's "Top 100 Porn stars" list,
[62] number 34 on Desiclubs.com's Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2004,
[63] and one of the "40 under 40" ranking on
AVN Online magazine.
[64] In 2010, she was named by
Maxim as one of the 12 top female stars in porn.
[65] She was voted number 82 in the Top 99 Women for 2012 in
AskMen.com's list.
[66]
Mainstream appearances
Leone's first mainstream appearance was in 2005, when she was a red carpet reporter for the
MTV Awards on
MTV India. She has also had a cameo in the film
The Girl Next Door, performed in
Ja Rule's video
Livin' It Up and a video for Kidd Skilly.
[67] Other credits include
E!'s "Wild On!" and the Sundance Film Festival's 'After Dark'.
[68] Leone was a contestant in the second season of the Fox reality show
My Bare Lady 2: Open for Business, in which a group of adult actresses were given classes and training on how to pitch investment ideas and competed for success in the business world.
[69] In addition to filming her scene for
Debbie Does Dallas in 2007, Leone was also part of a
Showtime documentary of the same name detailing the production of the movie and the personal lives of its stars.
She has indicated that for the right price she would seriously consider a career in
Bollywood.
[70] She has been courted by Indian directors in the past but has felt uncomfortable with the roles that she would have played.
[17][71] Director
Mohit Suri reportedly asked Leone to play the lead role in his film
Kalyug, but instead cast
Deepal Shaw as he could not afford Leone's $1 million acting fee.
[72]She has mentioned that
Aamir Khan is her favorite Bollywood actor,
[73] and that over 60% of her fans are from South Asia.
[74]
In 2008, Leone announced that she would be starring in a mainstream action adventure movie titled
Pirates Blood, which was shot in
Oman. The shooting was completed in two weeks and was to be released in winter 2008.
[75][76] Leone also landed a role in
Middle Men, producer Chris Mallick's indie feature about the birth of the online porn industry set for wide theatrical release in 2009.
[77][78]
She appeared in the film
The Virginity Hit playing a version of herself, where she is hired to take the virginity of the lead character.
[79]
Leone has made appearances at events such as the 2002
SEMA International Auto Salon, the 2002 Extreme Autofest Pomona and the 2006
World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
[80] Sunny has also been the hostess at events in clubs like the Mansion in Miami
[81] and the Highlands in Hollywood.
[82]
In 2004, she was part of "No More Bush Girls", in which she and several other popular adult actresses shaved off their
pubic hair in protest of the Bush presidency.
[87] In May 2008, she shot a promotional video for
Declare Yourself, a nonprofit, nonpartisan voter registration campaign targeting 18-to-29-year-olds.
[88] She indicated that
Barack Obama would be her choice in the 2008 U.S. election, primarily because she felt he was more business friendly to the adult industry than his opponent
John McCain.
[89] She also released a public service announcement on behalf of the ASACP, reminding adult webmasters to protect their sites from children by having an RTA label on it.
[90]
Leone has a strong interest in health and fitness, and has been featured in several mainstream fitness publications. Leone has modelled fitness clothing for the sports brand Fantasy Fitness
[91] and shared that she keeps her body in shape by working out as much as she can despite her busy schedule and as quoted in
Men's Fitness magazine, "I try to eat very healthy – lots of vegetables, drinking my milk every day."
[92]
In 2013, Leone posed for a
PETA ad campaign, encouraging dog and cat owners to have their pets spayed and neutered.
[93]
Bigg Boss
In 2011, she participated in the Indian reality series
Bigg Boss, entering the house on day 49.
[94][95] However she refused to divulge her porn star status, and replied to fellow house-mate
Pooja Bedi that she was a model and a TV star in America for the last ten years or so.
[96]It was reported that she has caused a stir in the larger populace
[97] with her Twitter feed gaining 8,000 new followers in just 2 days
[98] and
Google saying searches for her experienced a "breakout".
[99] There have also been complaints lodged with the Indian
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting alleging that the
Colors TV channel is promoting pornography by having Leone appear on the show; among those who have filed are the Indian Artistes and Actors Forum
[100] and
Anurag Thakur, member of
Lok Sabha and head of the
Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing.
[101]
Indian cinema
During her stay in the
Bigg Boss house, Sunny was approached by
Bollywood film-maker
Mahesh Bhatt who entered the house briefly to offer her the lead role in
Jism 2 (the sequel to the 2003 film
Jism). She accepted it, which resulted in
Pooja Bhatt's production house, Fish Eye Network and Leone's agent discussing the movie further.
[102] The first look of the film
Jism 2 was released anticipating her entry in Bollywood.
[103] Jism 2 was released on August 3, 2012, to poor critical reception but was commercially successful.
[104] Sunny Leone signed her second
Bollywood film which is
Ekta Kapoor's
Ragini MMS sequel, "
Ragini MMS 2".
Ragini MMS, a crossover horror movie was one of the most talked about sleeper hits of 2011.
[105] Sunny Leone featured in an
item numberin the
Sanjay Gupta and
Ekta Kapoor's 2013 film
Shootout at Wadala.
[106][107] She further started filming for Kaizad Gustad's
Jackpotin which she plays a
femme fatale.
[108] Jackpot released on 13 December 2013 and was panned by critics but Leone was praised for her performance.
Taran Adarsh wrote, "Sunny also shows a marked improvement in her performance."
[109] A review from
Bollywood Life compared her to
Katrina Kaif and opined, "Sunny Leone reminds us of Katrina Kaif only a decade ago, but an aged version. Ms Leone would fare better than the superstar as far as the expressions and dialogue delivery departments are concerned even today".
[110] She found additional support in
Bollywood from actor
Abhay Deol who stated in an interview that "I hope more porn stars come in to our industry as it fits in very well".
[111]
Her first release of 2014 was the horror film
Ragini MMS 2, which collected
65 crores
[112] and was declared a hit by
Box Office India.
[113] In November 2013, she had confirmed that she would make her
Tamil film debut in
Vadacurry which released in May 2014 and featured her in a special appearance.
[114] She next appeared in the item number "Pink Lips" for the film
Hate Story 2, which became a hit,
[115] and shot for another special item song for
Prem's
Kannada film
DK later that year.
[116]
Upcoming Projects
Personal life
Sunny Leone and husband Daniel Weber arriving in India to promote
Jism 2
Although bisexual, she has stated that she prefers men.
[129] Leone was engaged to Matt Erikson, a vice-president of marketing at
Playboy Enterprises but they broke up in 2008.
[14][130][131][132] Sunny Leone had dated stand-up comedian
Russell Peters for a brief period in 2008.
[133][134] She mentioned in an interview at the start of 2011 that she was married to Daniel Weber.
[135] During her stay in the
Bigg Boss house later that same year, Leone indicated that she had married; Leone said she 'purposely arrived late' to their first date as she was not impressed with him, but he changed her mind by sending 24 roses to her hotel room.
[136][137] She currently resides in
Hollywood, California with her cat and drives an
Audi A5.
[11]
A 2008
Eye Weekly article reported that "Leone does her best to maintain a link to Sikh traditions, even if more in theory than in practice. But she's unlikely to disavow her career path due to religion" and that Leone said "Girls will leave the industry claiming that they found God. Well, the fact is, God has always been with them the entire time."
[140] In a 2010 interview, she said "It's a community-based religion. You walk into a temple and you're greeted with the utmost respect... But, just like any religion it doesn't want you to shoot adult material. I mean, I grew up going to temple every Sunday. When my parents found out they knew my personality which was very independent. Even if they tried to stop me or tried to steer me the right way they would have lost their daughter. I'm too headstrong. And it wasn't a plan. It just happened and my career and everything just kept getting bigger and bigger."
[12]
Filmography
Indian films
Key
 | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Hollywood films
Pornographic films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 2002 | Penthouse Video: Virtual Harem | Sunny | |
| 2003 | Deadly Stingers | Hot Tub Hussey | |
| 2004 | Mystique Presents H20hh | | |
| Busty Cops | Taluca Lake | |
| Lingerie: The Secret Art of Seduction | Sunny | |
| 2005 | Centerfold Fetish | | |
| Sunny | | |
| Alabama Jones and the Busty Crusade | Queen of the Jungle | |
| 2006 | Busty Cops 2 | Taluca Lake | Sequel |
| Virtual Vivid Girl Sunny Leone | Sunny Leone | |
| Sunny & Cher | Sunny | |
| The Female Gardener | | |
| 2007 | Debbie Does Dallas... Again | Corky | |
| Sunny Loves Matt | Sunny | |
| It's Sunny in Brazil | | |
| The Sunny Experiment | | |
| 2008 | The Other Side of Sunny | | |
| Dark Side of the Sun | | |
| Descent Into Bondage | | |
| Costumed Damsels in Distress | Gypsy girl | |
| The House of Naked Captives | | |
| 2009 | Undress Me | | |
| Deviance | | |
| Naughty America 4 Her 6 | | |
| Sunny's Sluber Party | Sunny | |
| Sunny's Big Adventure | | |
| 2010 | Live Gonzo | | |
| Shut Up and Fuck Me | | |
| Sunny's Casting Couch: I Wanna Be a Pornstar | | |
| All Sunny All the Time | | |
| Sunny Leone Loves HD Porn | | |
| Sunny Leone Loves HD Porn 2 | | |
| Girlfriends 2 | | |
| Hocus Pocus XXX | Townsfolk | |
| Gia: Portrait of a Porn Star | Gia | |
| Not Charlie's Angels XXX | Kelly | |
| 2011 | Roleplay | | |
| Sunny & the Suitcase | Sunny | Short |
| Lies: Diary of an Escort | | |
| Bang Van Blowout with Nick Swardson | | Short |
| 2012 | Sunny Leone: Goddess | | |
| Lesbian Workout | | |
| Sunny Leone: Erotica | | |
| Home Alone | | |
| 2013 | Charlie's Girl: Georgia Jones | | |
Television
Other media appearances
Awards
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