Leone’s family moved to California in 1996. After graduating high school in 1999, she began modeling and eventually transitioned into nude modeling. Leone began appearing in many magazines and websites in the nude, and eventually posed in a layout for Penthouse magazine in 2001 (Pet of the Month March). Her popularity and beauty allowed her to win the 2003 Penthouse Pet of the Year award. She mostly does softcore modeling and videos, both solo and lesbian. She has signed an exclusive contract with Vivid Entertainment, where she has now moved into hardcore videos, though only lesbian. In 2004, she was part of ” No more Bush Girls” , where along with several other popular adult actresses, they shaved off their “downstairs locks” in protest of the Bush presidency. Her 2006 release, “Virtual Vivid Girl Sunny Leone” ” received five out of five stars in a review from Adult DVD Empire. She also had the honour of being the first Vivid star to have such an interactive feature ever. Her next movie is slated for release at the end of 2006.

According to sources, she had a chance to break into the world of Bollywood movies, when director Mohit Suri approached her to take the lead role in his second movie Kalyug[citation needed]. He says, “For Deepal’s role, we had originally approached Sunny Leone, a top Indian porn star, but she wasn’t available. She has an official website in her name, lives in the USA and is extremely beautiful. We couldn’t afford her; her fee is $1 million.”