Early life

Benz was born in Mariupol, Ukraine. Her father's family was Canadian. At age 7, she emigrated to Canada with her parents. She was raised in Toronto.

Career

Benz worked as a swimsuit model and stripper prior to her porn career. She entered the adult film industry by e-mailing porn director Jim Gunn, who introduced her to Frank Kay, the president of Pleasure Productions. She signed with Pleasure Productions in January 2003 and made her first on-screen sex scene in Strap On Sally 20 with Gina Lynn, and her first boy-girl scene with Ben English in The Sweetest Thing. After completing her contract, Benz moved to Los Angeles and signed with Jill Kelly Productions in September 2004. Benz signed a contract with TeraVision in September 2005.

Benz has been featured in many popular adult magazines including Penthouse, High Society, Genesis, Fox, OUI, Cheri, Hustler, Club and Club International. She is the Penthouse Pet of the Month for April 2010, and was also the magazine's cover girl and feature in the May 2008 issue. Benz was named Penthouse Pet of the Year 2011. She was also the cover girl of Xtreme Magazine for January 2014.

Appearances

Along with Lisa Ann and Sean Michaels, Benz co-hosted the XRCO Awards in April 2010. Benz has made several appearances on the FoxSports.com show Cubed, playing a wise-cracking, sports-savvy cleaning lady.

In 2012, Benz was featured in a video game, Saints Row: The Third - Penthouse Pack, released by Volition. She also was in a music video, Lose Yourself. In 2013, she appeared briefly in the film Pain and Gain.

She appears in the dramatic film My Trip Back to the Dark Side, which was directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Shane Stanley. The film also stars Jason Pace, Sean Young, Courtney Gains and Betsy Russell from the Saw franchise.

Other ventures

Benz owns and operates her own company, Nikki Benz Inc., and produces content for her own website in addition to her work for the production company Brazzers.

She hosted a show on KSEX called Contract Superstars alongside Lacie Heart, Ashley Steele, Stormy Daniels and Tyler Faith, but quit citing "time constraints".

Benz and fellow adult performer Alexis Texas decided to advocate for gender equality, supporting female toplessness by Times Square performers, by exposing their breasts in Times Square.

Toronto mayoral campaign

In May 2014, Benz announced her candidacy to run for mayor of the Canadian city of Toronto via her Twitter account. The announcement was subsequently covered by the Huffington Post, TMZ, and in a Playboy.com interview. The news also gained international attention via Yahoo France, Britain and Finland. On May 28, 2014, Benz tried to submit her application to run for Mayor of Toronto but the city would not accept her application because her Ontario driver's license had already expired. It was not known at the time whether she would reapply to run for mayor. In the Playboy interview, Benz discussed various campaign issues including gay rights, economic stimulation for the city, and public transportation. Her platform included supporting and raising funds for the Downtown Relief Line, a proposed addition to Toronto's mass transit system. She also commented on current mayor Rob Ford's substance abuse and his break from campaigning while he attends to his drug rehabilitation. Ford was videotaped twice smoking what appeared to be a crack pipe and later admitted to using the illegal substance. In the interview, Benz cited her honesty and transparency, her love of her city, and concern for its people. She also vowed to donate half of her salary as mayor to a cause chosen by its citizens.

Awards and nominations

• 2006 AVN Award nominee - Best Couples Sex Scene, Video - Take No Prisoners
• 2006 AVN Award nominee - Best Supporting Actress, Video - Jack's Teen America 2
• 2006 AVN Award nominee - Best Tease Performance - Take No Prisoners
• 2006 F.A.M.E. Award nominee - Hottest Body
• 2007 F.A.M.E. Award nominee - Hottest Body
• 2008 AVN Award nominee - Best Three-Way Sex Scene - Meet the Fuckers 6
• 2008 F.A.M.E. Award finalist - Hottest Body
• 2008 F.A.M.E. Award nominee - Favorite Ass
• 2009 F.A.M.E. Award finalist - Hottest Body
• 2009 F.A.M.E. Award nominee - Favorite Breasts
• 2010 XBIZ Award nominee - Female Performer of the Year
• 2010 XBIZ Award nominee - Crossover Star of the Year
• 2010 XBIZ Award nominee - Pornstar Website of the Year - NikkiBenz.com
• 2010 AVN Award nominee - Best All-Girl Three-Way Sex Scene - Penthouse: Slave for a Night
• 2010 F.A.M.E. Award finalist - Hottest Body
• 2010 F.A.M.E. Award finalist - Favorite Breasts
• 2010 F.A.M.E. Award nominee - Favorite Female Starlet
• 2010 Danni Girl of the Month - September
• 2011 Penthouse Pet of the Year
• 2011 NightMoves Award winner - Best Feature Entertainer (Editor's Choice)
• 2012 AVN Award nominee - Best Crossover Star
• 2012 Howard Stern's World's Strongest Naked Woman
• 2012 Nightmoves Award winner - Best Feature Entertainer (Fan's Choice)
• 2013 XBIZ Award nominee - Crossover Star of the Year
• 2013 AVN Award nominee - Best Pornstar Website - NikkiBenz.com
• 2015 XBIZ Award winner - Crossover Star of the Year
• 2016 AVN Hall of Fame inductee

[ Source: Wikipedia ]