Christy Canyon is half Armenian and half Italian; at age 17, she moved out of her house and worked two part-time jobs. In 1984 she met adult star Greg Rome, who introduced her to a respected agent in the industry, Jim South, at World Modeling Agency. South immediately took Christy under his wing and arranged for her to do exotic photo layouts and a loop for Swedish Erotica with Ron Jeremy—with their assistance, she quickly established herself as a superstar in mid-80s XXX movies. At the height of her career, Christy was working a full schedule while under contract to Vivid, touring as an exotic dancer, and yet managed to earn a post-secondary Marketing degree from Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and be named F.O.X.E. Female Fan Favorite in 1991 and 1992.

In 2003, Christy wrote a successful memoir titled Lights, Camera, Sex! and since her retirement as a performer, has become a daily host on the Sirius Satellite Playboy Radio program "Night Calls." Additionally, she shared hosting duties with Ginger Lynn on the Playboy Radio program "Spice Sex Circus"—which also incorporates the weekly "Legends of Porn" show.