Kaitlyn Ashley was born Kelly Hoffman on June 29, 1971, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She's of German and Italian descent. Ashley first began performing in explicit hardcore movies at 21 with her then-husband Jay Ashley in April of 1993. She appeared in over 300 X-rated features for such companies as VCA, Vivid, Exquisite, Coast To Coast, Wicked Pictures and Leisure Time Entertainment. Ashley won AVN Awards for Best Supporting Actress-Video in 1995 and Female Performer of the Year in 1996. She divorced Jay in 1997 and retired from the adult film industry later that year. She moved to Tennessee, where she had a baby.