Sunny Leone, also known as Karenjit Kaur Vohra, is an Indo-Canadian actress, model, director and a former pornstar. She has also staged with the name Karen Malhotra. Sunny Leone was born on 13 May, 1981, in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Sunny Leone married Daniel Weber in 2011. The couple adopted a baby girl from Latur in Maharashtra, India, and the news was out in July 2017. The 21-month-old child has been named Nisha Kaur Weber by Sunny Leone and Daniel Weber. Sunny Leone quit the porn industry to join Bollywood. Before joining Bollywood, Sunny Leone appeared as a contestant on Bigg Boss in 2011 where she was selected for her Bollywood debut in Jism 2 by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, a film directed by Pooja Bhatt. Sunny Leone has now appeared in many Bollywood as well as south Indian movies as a lead or in a special appearance. She has hosted several seasons of the reality show MTV Splitsvilla. Sunny Leone is also known for her activism campaigns and has posed for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Watch Sunny Leone exclusive candid interview here:
Sunny Leone was born to Sikh Punjabi parents. Her father was born in Tibet and raised in Delhi whereas her mother belonged to Himachal Pradesh. Sunny Leone attended a Catholic school and when she was 13, her family moved to Fort Gratiot, Michigan in the US. Her grandparents had a dream that the family should be together at one place, so after shifting to Michigan, they moved to Lake Forest in California. Sunny Leone was studying to become a nurse and worked in a German bakery. She also worked at Jiffy Lube and later in a tax and retirement firm. She then got introduced to the porn industry. She was a very popular porn star and Maxim in 2010 named her as one of the 12 top female stars in porn. She announced her retirement from the porn industry in 2013 after she started receiving lead roles in Bollywood movies.
In 2006, director Mohit Suri reportedly had approached Sunny to play the lead role in the movie Kalyug (based on a plot around the porn industry), but she wasn't hired, as he could not afford her US$1 million acting fee! Her first mainstream appearance was in 2005 when she was a red carpet reporter for the MTV Video Music Awards on MTV India. Her next mainstream appearance was in 2011 when she participated in the Indian reality series Bigg Boss, entering the house on Day 49. While staying in the house, she didnt divulge her porn star status and stated that she worked as a TV actor in America. While in the house, she was approached by director Mahesh Bhatt for the lead role in Jism 2. She accepted the offer and entered Bollywood in 2012 with the film.
After this, Sunny Leone signed Ekta Kapoor's Ragini MMS 2. The movie was released in 2014 and it was a hit, along with the song Baby Doll. Sunny Leone was also praised for her acting in the movie. During this period, Sunny Leone featured in an item number in the movie Shootout at Wadala called Laila Teri Loot Legi. Later she signed for the film Jackpot, which released in December 2013.
After Ragini MMS 2, Sunny Leone appeared in an item number Pink Lips in Hate Story 2 and then in Shake That Booty opposite Mika Singh. She also made her acting debut in Telugu film industry after appearing in a cameo in Current Theega and played the role of a school teacher. Her debut in Kannada was with the item song in Kannada film DK. In 2015, her next Bollywood release was Ek Paheli Leela which had a commercial success. Her next appearance was in the movie Kuch Kuch Locha Hai opposite Ram Kapoor but the movie was a commercial and critical failure.
Watch Sunny Leone song Baby Doll from Ragini MMS 2 here:
In 2015, Sunny Leone appeared in a cameo in Akshay Kumar's Singh is Bling. In 2016, she appeared in Mastizaade, which had an average success at the box office. Her last lead role was in the movie One Night Stand, which released in May 2016 and had mixed reviews. But Sunny Leone stunned in the film. She appeared in Manforce Condom ads in the meanwhile, and also did an item song Laila in the Shah Rukh Khan film Raees (2017).
Watch Sunny Leone song Laila Main Laila from Raees here:
In 2016, Sunny Leone published an e-book of love stories entitled Sweet Dreams and the book was praised by Hindustan Times. She has stated that she wants to act in a superhero film - as a supergirl herself.