When Mia Khalifa, 28, looks back at her younger self, she sees a woman who was struggling with confidence.
“I was looking to other people to put value on myself. I was looking for validation in every crevice that I could, without actually doing internal work,” Khalifa tells Yahoo Life.
At 21, Khalifa spent three months in the adult film industry — starring in 12 films that today have garnered more than a billion views on Pornhub. Her ascent in the industry was quick, and featured a controversial video in which she wore a hijab during a scene. Death threats from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria followed, and Khalifa decided to exit the industry. She now refers to that period of her life as a “lapse in judgment” that was never meant to last.
“I was naive, vulnerable, and malleable. Very easily talked into things, especially if it was by a man,” she says.
Now Khalifa is speaking out about her experience in the adult film industry and the path that led her there. The influencer and content creator is vocal about the exploitation she experienced and hopes her story can shield other women from going through the same. “What I can take away from this is protecting other women and being a cautionary tale,” says Khalifa.
Born in Lebanon, Khalifa and her family moved to the United States in 2001. They settled in Montgomery County, Md., where Khalifa says she struggled with fitting in, especially after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
“I tried so hard to be white for so long,” she says. “All of these little red flags that led to internalized racism, which I did not work through until I went into therapy at age 25. Growing up in an area like that was difficult for someone who was Middle Eastern. America’s views on Middle Eastern people changed completely after 9/11.”
High school was tough for Khalifa, who lacked confidence and battled low self-esteem. “I was overweight and I didn’t really have very many friends. I didn’t look like everyone else who was around me and that led me into a relationship that I should not have entered. And those were the steps that led me to the adult industry.”
