Sunny Leone
Sunny Leone (born May 13, 1981, in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada) is an American award-winning porn star and director of Indian descent. In addition to being a Penthouse Pet of the Year, she is also a successful businesswoman and has played roles in independent mainstream films and TV shows.
In summer 2007, she received breast augmentation enlargement from C-cup to E-cup.[3]
Leone was born in Sarnia, Ontario to Indian parents and was raised a Sikh. Her father was born in Tibet and raised in Delhi, while her mother (who passed away in 2008[4]) was from a small town called Nahan in Himachal Pradesh although both of Punjabi origin. As a young girl, she was very athletic and played street hockey with the boys, enjoyed ice skating on a nearby frozen lake.[5][6][7][8]
Her parents enrolled her in a Catholic School, where she had her first kiss at 11, lost her virginity to a basketball player at another school at 16, and found out she was bisexual at 18. When she was 15, her family received their Green Card and migrated to the United States. They first moved to Fort Gratiot, Michigan, then to Lake Forest, California before finally settling down in Orange County, California fulfilling a dream of her grandparents that all of them be together in one place. She graduated from high school in 1999 and proceeded to enroll in college.[9][10][5]
Before working in the porn industry, she first worked at a German bakery, a Jiffy Lube, and later a tax and retirement firm.[9][11][12]
While studying to be a pediatric nurse in Orange County, a classmate who was an exotic dancer introduced Leone to John Stevens, an agent who in turn introduced her to Jay Allen, a photographer for Penthouse magazine.[5] 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.[13] 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 appeared in other magazines including Cheri,[14] Mystique Magazine,[15] High Society, Swank, AVN Online, Leg World, Club International and Lowrider,[16][17] while her online credits include ModFX Models,[18] Suze Randall[19], Ken Marcus[20] and Mac & Bumble.[21] Her pictorial credits also include working stars like Adriana Sage, Jenna Jameson, Jelena Jensen and Aria Giovanni.
In 2003, she was declared the Penthouse Pet of the Year and also starred in the video Penthouse Pets in Paradise alongside Tera Patrick and Kyla Cole. In addition to her print work, she had also done pantyhose modeling with Ed Fox and Playtime Videos as well as bondage videos for FM Concepts. In 2005 Adam & Eve appointed her as their West Coast Internet Sales Representative.[22]
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.[6] Her first movie released was titled Sunny[23] 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.[24] Taking only four days to film,[11] 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.
Leones last two movies under her contract with Vivid were Its Sunny in Brazil, which was filmed in Brazil.[25] and The Sunny Experiment also starring Monique Alexander and Brea Lynn.[26] 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.[27] That summer she also received breast augmentation and shot her first movie under the new contract titled Sunny Loves Matt.[3] 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.[28] She followed up her first boy-girl title with The Other Side of Sunny in 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,[29] and Voodoo.[30] In August of that same year, she announced the launch of her own studio, Sunlust Pictures, with Daniel Weber as her partner. With her new venture Leone plans to write, direct and create her own brand of adult movies with Vivid Entertainment as her distributor.[31] 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.[32] In June 2009, she held a casting call in Las Vegas for her second independent production titled Sunny Slumber Party. [33]
No longer exclusive to Vivid, Sunny has started working with other studios and performers since 2009. She has starred in the Cherry Boxx production of Sunny Leones Watch Me[34] (released April 2009), Triangle Films Intimate Invitations 12,[35] Vivids Undress Me (released June 2009)[36] and Vivid Red[37].. She has also signed on for skinworXXXs upcoming titles Deviance, starring Eva Angelina and Teagan Presley; and in Sun Goddess: Jamaica[38], featuring Jenna Haze,Bree Olson and Sasha Grey. She has two titles under Vivid which have yet to be released namely Sunny Extreme and Sunnys Dream.
Leone has also built a sizable online presence with her official website, sunnyleone.com, along with affiliate sites sunnysmoney.com and sunnysfriends.com. She has managed to leverage her online popularity by striking deals with firms like PPPcard,[39] AdultPokerParty.com,[40] Brickhouse,[41] Flirt4Free,[42] Totemcash[43] and Imlive[44] to sell and distribute her content over the internet and other media.She most recently updated her website in 2009 to include high definition audio and video, new hardcore material; and news updates to work in conjunction with her Twitter and Facebook pages. For her online efforts, she won the “Web Babe of the Year” at the 2008 Xbiz Awards.[45] Her websites and business interests are run under her banner company Leone L.L.C.
In addition to her film career, Leone has been part of the Vivid Comedy Tour,[46] and has modeled for the Vivid Footwear
collection.[47] Leone has also participated in events like the Vivid/Club Jenna Lingerie Bowl[48] and Vivids Hot Rod Night.[49] Doc Johnson launched a pocket pal in 2006 molded to her vagina,[50] and in 2008 released the Sunny Leone Exciter vibrator.[51] Control MFG currently uses Leones image along with other Vivid girls to market their line of skateboards. She is paired with Gab Ekoe, one of the Team Control riders.[52] She also indicated that she has plans to launch her own line of lingerie and other Sunny-branded products including a diamond jewelry line.[29]
Leone was voted #41 in Genesis Magazine 2007 Porns Hot 100[53] and #13 in the 2008 edition,[54] #34 on Desiclubs.coms Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2004,[55] and one of the “40 under 40” ranking on AVN Online Magazine.[56]
Leones 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 Rules video “Livin It Up” and a video for Kidd Skilly.[57] Other credits include E!s “Wild On!” and the Sundance Film Festivals After Dark.[58]
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 had three appearances on The Howard Stern show, most recently in 2008, where she appeared alongside Joanna Angel, and rode a sybian.[59]
Leone has a strong interest in health and fitness, and has been featured in several mainstream fitness publications. Leone has modeled fitness clothing for the sports brand Fantasy Fitness [60] 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 Mens Fitness magazine, “I try to eat very healthy—lots of vegetables, drinking my milk every day.” [61]
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.[62][63] Leone also landed a role in Middle Men, producer Chris Mallicks indie feature about the birth of the online porn industry set for wide theatrical release in 2009.[64]
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.[65] In May 2008, she shot a promotional video for Declare Yourself, a nonprofit, nonpartisan voter registration campaign targeting 18-to-29-year-olds.[66] She indicated that Barack Obama would be her choice in the 2008 US Election, primarily because she felt he was more business friendly to the adult industry than his opponent John McCain.[67] 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.[68]
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.[69] Sunny has also been the hostess at events in clubs like the Mansion in Miami[70] and the Highlands in Hollywood.[71]
In 2005, she was mentioned in Forbes magazine for a story on Vivid Entertainment.[72] Leone has also been featured in mainstream publications like FHM, Front and Jane magazine.[73]
Leone was a contestant in the second season of the Fox reality show My Bare Lady, 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.[74]
In 2007, along with the other Vivid Girls, she was seen in a 48 high holiday Billboard in Times Square at W. 48th Street and Seventh Avenue.[75] Leone is also one of the Penthouse Pets who appears in the Play Station Portable game Pocket Pool.
She was also featured in a coffee table book titled Naked Ambition: An R-rated Look at an X-rated Industry by Micheal Grecco.[76]
She has indicated that for the right price she would seriously consider a career in Bollywood.[77] She has been courted by Indian directors in the past but has felt uncomfortable with the roles that she would have played.[78] Director Mohit Suri is rumored to have asked Leone to play the lead role in his movie Kalyug, but instead cast Deepal Shaw as he could not afford her $1 million acting fee.[79] She has mentioned that Aamir Khan is her favorite Bollywood Actor.[80][81]
In October 2011, she appeared as a contestant in Season 5 of Bigg Boss (the Indian version of Big Brother).[82]
In June 2006, Leone became an American citizen,[11] but has plans to be a dual citizen of Canada.[83] Though bisexual, she has stated that she prefers men. In her spare time she enjoys abstract paintings, horse riding, reading, playing World of Warcraft,[84] and enjoys watching The Simpsons and The Discovery Channel.[85] She used to play on a womens soccer league team in California.[6] Her favorite holiday destination is Hawaii,[11] and her favorite cuisine is Italian.[85]
In separate interviews, she has stated that in ten years time she would like to be married and have started a family, and probably retire from the industry by the time she is 30.[83] Leone was engaged to Matt Erikson, a vice-president of marketing at Playboy Enterprises,[86] but they broke up in 2008. She currently resides in Hollywood, California with her cat and drives an Audi A5.[9]
Leone does her best to maintain a link to Sikh traditions, even if more in theory than in practice. But shes unlikely to disavow her career path due to religion. “Girls will leave the industry claiming that they found God,” she says. “Well, the fact is, God has always been with them the entire time.”
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Sunny Leone |
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|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born: | May 13, 1981[1] Sarnia, Ontario, Canada |
| Years active: | 2001–2013 (in porn performing) |
| Ethnicity: | South Asian, Punjabi |
| Nationality: | American |
| Body | |
| Measurements: | 34E-24-37 |
| Bra/cup size: | 34E (75E) |
| Boobs: | Enhanced[2] Right nipple pierced |
| Height: | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Weight: | 110 lb (50 kg) |
| Body type: | Slim |
| Eye color: | Brown |
| Hair: | Black, Brown Medium, Straight |
| Underarm hair: | Shaved |
| Pubic hair: | Trimmed, Hairy, partly shaved, Shaved |
Performances  |
|
| Penthouse Pet: | March 2001 |
| Shown: | Topless, Bush, Full frontal, Pink |
| Solo: | Masturbation, Dildo |
| Lesbian: | Softcore, Dildo |
| Boy/girl: | Blowjob, Vaginal, Anal, Creampie |
| Special: | Bondage |
| Personal pages | |
| Blogs: | |
| Social: | YouTube |
| Profiles: | Flickr |
| Databases | |
| IMDb IAFD AFDB | |
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