Sit With Hitlist | Sunny Leone reveals how she got her stage name, all thanks to a magazine interview

Sunny Leone

Have you ever wondered how Sunny Leone got her name? Born in Canada to an Indian Sikh family, her real name was Karenjit Kaur Vohra, before she entered the adult entertainment industry.

During Mid-day's Sit With Hitlist print and podcast series, Sunny revealed how she got her name. "I was in the US doing an interview for a magazine and they said, ‘What do you want your name to be?' I couldn't think of anything at that moment. I was working at a tax and retirement firm and I worked for the HR department, accounting department, and another agent. I helped with all these things, and then I was also a receptionist," she told Mayank Shekhar.

"So, I was doing the interview in this place and I knew I had to get off the phone soon and get back to work, because I would get caught. And they were like ‘what would you like your name to be' and I said, ‘Use Sunny as my first name, and then you can pick the last name. Sunny is my brother's nickname. His name is Sandeep Singh, we call him Sunny.

"My mom hated that I named myself Sunny. She said, ‘Out of all the names, that's the one you pick?' I was like, yeah, it's just what came to my mind… And then the magazine picked the last name and I just kept it," she added.

While we thought that the last name was probably inspired by the African country Sierra Leone, Sunny clarified it was given by the Italian owner of the magazine she was interviewed by.

Sunny's family moved to the US from Canada when she was 13. She entered the adult film industry in the US in the early 2000s. She moved to India about 10 years later, after entering the Bigg Boss house in 2011. She participated in the 5th season of the Indian reality series. She was offered a movie role while she was still in the house, which marked the beginning of her journey in Bollywood.

To hear the actress talk about all this and more, stay tuned to Midday.