Born in Aurora, Colorado, Flame grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area[citation needed]. She entered the adult industry in 2003 at age 19. She chose the Penny Flame pseudonym as a combination of The Beatles song "Penny Lane" and her smoking habit. For a few years her material was only solo and lesbian in content (often produced by Danni Ashe), but in 2005, Flame made her first appearance in hardcore pornographic films.[citation needed] Her first starring role in a big budget production was in James Avalon's 2005 feature Darkside alongside Hillary Scott. Though she is an advocate of marijuana use, Flame has admitted to struggling with harder substance abuse, particularly in her earl...