In 2009, a recruitment effort led her to consider challenging incumbent David Vitter in the 2010 Senate election in her native Louisiana.

[1] Daniels' first experience as a stripper occurred when she was 17 and visiting a friend at a strip club; she was convinced to perform a "guest set".

[1] She began stripping for money at the Gold Club in Baton Rouge[1] and became a featured entertainer with Continental Theatrical Agency in September 2000.

[14] Daniels has appeared with performers such as Randy Spears, Julian and Brendon Miller, to whom she was married and who edited about half of her movies.

She appears in the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), when the main character (Steve Carell) watches her in the video Space Nuts: Episode 69—Unholy Union and then tries dreaming about her.

[29] Speculation about her absence included demands for more money, a legal affair involving her husband, and a desire to spend time with her daughter.

Her attorney Michael Avenatti told the Press Association that Daniels was in fact set to enter the house, but producers attempted to manipulate her into acting a certain way.

Her decision was inspired by disclosures that the Republican National Committee (RNC) had paid expenses for fundraisers at a "lesbian bondage themed nightclub" in Los Angeles, stating that the revelations "finally tipped the scales".

"[38] She made several listening tours around Louisiana to focus on the economy, as well as women in business and child protection[40] and stated that if elected, she would likely retire from the adult industry.

[45][46] Daniels has been fond of horses her entire life; she owns several and has won multiple blue ribbons at equestrian events.

A day later, Cohen initiated an arbitration process which resulted in an order that barred Daniels from disclosing "confidential information" related to the non-disclosure agreement.

[58] In a March 25, 2018, interview with 60 Minutes, Daniels said that she and Trump had sex once, and that later she had been threatened in front of her infant daughter and felt pressured to later sign a non-disclosure agreement.

[59][60] On April 9, 2018, FBI agents raided Cohen's office and seized emails, tax documents and business records relating to several matters, including payments to Daniels.

[65][66] In August 2018, Cohen reached a plea deal with prosecutors, saying he paid off Daniels "at the direction of the ... candidate" and "for the principal purpose of influencing the election".

[69] On April 15, 2024, a trial began in New York City, in which Trump faced 34 felony charges of falsifying business records with the intent to commit or conceal other crimes with respect to the hush money payments made to Daniels.

[71] Daniels also stated that a waiver statement she signed denying the affair was false and that the non-disclosure agreement made it she would lose $1,000,000 for every occasion she told her story.

[78] Daniels retained Columbus defense lawyer Chase Mallory,[79] who worked with prosecutors to dismiss the charges less than 12 hours later, saying that the law did not apply to out-of-town performers.

[76] Daniels' personal attorney, Michael Avenatti, vowed to sue the local police on the grounds that the arrest was politically motivated.

"[84] In January 2019, Daniels filed suit in federal court against the City of Columbus, alleging police were politically motivated when they arrested her and seeking $2 million in damages.

[85] In March 2019, an internal police investigation found that Daniels' arrest by the four undercover officers was improper, but not premeditated or political in nature.