Kayden Kross was born on September 15, 1985 in Sacramento, California. Of Swedish descent, Kross was a bookworm in high school. Kayden started out in the adult entertainment industry at age 18 as a stripper at the club Rick's Showgirls in Rancho Cordova, California. Kross was subsequently contacted by an adult industry agent who helped her get work as a model in various men's magazines. Kayden eventually made the leap into performing in explicit hardcore movies and signed an exclusive contract with the top company Vivid in November, 2006. She became a free agent a year later and went on to sign an exclusive contract with Adam & Eve. Kross was the Pet of the Month for the September, 2008 issue of Penthouse and launched her official website that same year. In January, 2010 Kayden became a contract girl for Digital Playground. Kross was cited by CNBC as one of the twelve most popular girls in hardcore cinema in January, 2011 and hosted the Xbiz Awards Show in 2012. Moreover, Kayden not only writes columns for the magazines Complex and Xbiz, but also pens a regular blog for Xbiz.com. Among the awards Kross has won for her work in adult fare are the Hot d'Or for Best American Starlet in 2009, both a Venus Award for Best Actress International and an Erotixxx Award for Best U.S. Actress in 2010, and an AVN Award for Best All-Girl Group Scene in 2011.