Sunny Leone: Who is porn star turned Bollywood actress?

'Everything I’ve done in my life has led me into this seat. Everything has been a stepping-stone to something bigger or better'

Sunny Leone was India’s most-searched-for person online in 2015 (Getty)

Sunny Leone, real name Karenjit Kaur Vohra, is a Bollywood actress and former porn star.

She was recently involved in a controversial interview where a TV journalist asked whether she was "lowering the level of the fine art of cinema" because she used to act in porn movies.

“Everything I’ve done in my life has led me into this seat,” Leone said. “Everything has been a stepping-stone to something bigger or better.”

Ms Leone, 31, who was born in Canada, was India's most-searched-for person online in 2015. She was named Penthouse Pet of the Year in 2013, and Maxim named her as one of the top 12 porn stars in 2010.

In 2013, she announced her retirement from the adult industry, stating: "I am lucky that the audience is accepting me. I have come my way from there [porn industry]. I don't have any plans as of now to go back there."

In the past three years, she has moved from her porn-star past to a stint on a TV reality show, to a successful career in the Indian film industry.

She has acted in a murder thriller, horror movie and will star in an upcoming sex comedy.