Khalifa, 31, is known by millions throughout the world after she went viral for one particular adult film she starred in, which attracted major controversy, given she had worn a hijab while performing sex acts.

It saw her become an overnight star of the pornographic industry; she has even remained one of the most searched names on PornHub to this day.

But despite having reached the top incredibly quickly, Khalifa only went on to star in a handful of other adult films before quitting porn for good.

Normality wasn’t an option for her, though, with her quickly realising she couldn’t return to her day job.

And it’s safe to say she’s been pretty successful, boasting more than 26 million followers on Instagram, 4.3 million on Facebook, and 6.2 million over on X.

Using her following, Khalifa has turned that into an incredibly successful career, earning millions through subscription platform OnlyFans.

For those living under a rock (or pretending they don’t know), OnlyFans is an internet content subscription service that has become primarily harnessed by creators selling adult content they have directly made.

Among them is Khalifa, who has reportedly earned up to $6.2m (£4.6m) a month on the platform.

Explaining how it differs to creating pornography and more typical adult content, she said OF allows her to be ‘true to myself and be comfortable with being on it’.

“I don’t do nudity past what I’ve done in a fashion magazine, which is like a see-through shirt or something. So I feel secure, and the audience that I’ve cultivated on that platform knows what they’re in for,” Khalifa told The New York Times.

In comparison, Khalifa said she felt ‘pressured’ in her brief spell in the adult industry, where she was performing for someone else.

Despite this, she still warned younger women against joining the subscription platform at such a young age, especially if ‘easy money’ is their only focus.

Khalifa has warned women about going into the adult industry (TikTok/@officiallouistheroux)

She said: “I have trouble with making sure that I’m not promoting it as a platform that is an answer to women who are looking for easy money.

“I have a responsibility to not promote it as something that any woman should join unless they’ve already been in the sex-work industry, unless they’re over 25, their frontal cortex is formed, unless they’re coming at it from a place that’s not — I don’t want to use the word ‘desperate’, but from a place of clarity and good intentions.”

Ultimately, Khalifa said that working on OnlyFans comes from a ‘place of agency and bodily autonomy… not from a place of need’.

“I get a lot of backlash from women in the industry,” Khalifa said when speaking out about the dangers of sex work. “I don’t care if another girl is getting mad at me because I’m stigmatising something. It is contradictory of me to be on something and tell other people, no, don’t join.

“But I’m not saying don’t join. I’m saying don’t join so young, don’t join as an answer to all of your problems. Just don’t do something you could regret. The internet is forever.”

The former porn star hasn’t been in the industry for years now, having made less than a dozen adult films. But she still remains as one of the most famous and well-known names in the business.

Ever since quitting porn, Khalifa has heavily criticised the adult industry – which she first went into aged 21 – and has warned other young women not to make the same choice.

It’s not like Khalifa’s making a fortune off the success of her adult videos, which resulted in her being the most-searched adult actor on PornHub for a couple of years, as she only earned $12,000 (£9,650) from her films in total.

However, it looks like she’s still affected by her past, as she revealed in a past interview that people treat her differently because of it.

Back in 2020, the American sat down with Smosh member Anthony Padilla for his ‘I spent a day with’ series on YouTube, as she candidly answered a number of questions, including how her old career affects her now.

Padilla asked: “How has being in the adult industry, even for such a brief period of time affected your day-to-day life?”

To which she shockingly replied: “People will grab me.”

Shocked, Padilla clarified what she said, as Khalifa explained that it wasn’t even at ‘a bar or club setting’, not that it’s acceptable there, either.

“I’m talking about the grocery store where I just get grabbed and come up to,” she added.

“They think that they own your body because they’ve seen your body,” Padilla pointed out, which she agreed with.

She continued: “They will follow me to my car, they will grab me by my arm. When I tell them no politely, they’ll call me a ***** or a s**t, or anything in the book.

“It’s happened in the most wholesome of places, like waiting to get my passport stamped at Copenhagen Airport.”

Khalifa recalled the time someone yelled at her in Copenhagen Airport after refusing to take a photo (YouTube/AnthonyPadilla)

Khalifa further explained: “I’m standing there with my husband and this guy comes up to us. After I politely say no, because I just got off a 15-hour flight, he screamed at me that I was a b***h and a s**t in front of a line of about 45 people.”

Khalifa then added that she and her husband had to stand around awkwardly after the ordeal, trying not to ‘make eye contact with anybody’.

Host Padilla highlighted: “He wanted to get a photo and then he called you derogatory things because you said no.”

She agreed, and said that ‘they can’t handle the word’, after the host pointed out: “They will show you respect unless they feel disrespected,

and a simple no is enough to make them feel disrespected.”

Khalifa, 31, debunked the misconceptions about what it’s like to work in adult entertainment, explaining that she didn’t make anywhere near as much as what people might have thought.

Khalifa has always spoken openly about her experiences since leaving the porn industry.

While she only spent a few months making the content, she quickly became one of the biggest performers around.

However, she’s previously said that looking back, it was ‘one of the biggest’ mistakes she’s ever made.

Writing on Twitter a few years ago, Khalifa spoke about the difficulties she’s faced and the how the assumptions people make about those working in the porn industry aren’t always correct.

A huge part of this is how much she made during those few months.

It might surprise you to know that Khalifa only earned $12,000 (£9,650).

“People think I’m racking in millions from porn. I made a TOTAL of around $12,000 in the industry and never saw a penny again after that,” she said at the time.

“Difficulty finding a normal job after quitting porn was… scary.”

She added: “To clarify, I was never promised ‘millions’, nor do I expect it.

“I’m just clarifying common misconceptions about me, and in turn, about the industry.

“I was involved in porn so briefly, but my actions spread like wildfire, and I continue to be ranked (truly baffles me) 5 years after leaving the industry.

“This is why people think I still perform.”

Khalifa has opened up about her time in the industry (Instagram/@miakhalifa)

Khalifa has previously said she was ‘pressured’ to get into porn by her ex.

Speaking on Stephen Bartlett’s ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast last year, Khalifa opened up about her past.

She said: “I got talked into eloping to Las Vegas four days after my 18th birthday.

“I didn’t have a sense of self so I attached myself to someone who was more than happy to abuse that and someone who could see that and see someone easily manipulatable …but at the same time eager to please. It was just the perfect storm… “

She claimed that it was her partner who pressured her into getting into porn, saying he put ‘that whole [porn] world in front of me and encouraged it’.

Khalifa was just 20 when she was handed a card by a porn scout.

And when she showed it to her husband, she says he was very keen on the idea, which she put down to ‘fetishisation’.