Black was born in Seattle, Washington. She stated on Reddit in 2016 that she had studied journalism at Western Washington University.Black started her career at age 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was on a summer vacation while attending college. At her parents' insistence on getting a job, Black saw an advertisement for an adult talent agency and sent in her pictures. The agency accepted and, after considering their offer, she accepted and returned to the agency a week later. She was the Penthouse Pet of the Month for December 2008.

Black is the first person in history to win two AVN Female Performer of the Year Awards, winning back-to-back years in 2010 and 2011. She also won the 2010 and 2011 XRCO Awards for Female Performer of the Year. In 2011, she was also named by CNBC as one of the 12 most popular stars in porn and CNBC noted her role as Catwoman in Vivid Entertainment's Batman XXX: A Porn Parody, as well as her 2010 wins by AVN and XBIZ and 2011 AVN win and XBIZ nomination as Female Performer of the Year.