Stoya was born in
Wilmington, North Carolina to a
Serbian mother and a
Scottish father.As a child, she wanted to become a dancer, starting dance lessons at the age of three. She was
home-schooled and got her high-school diploma before the age of sixteen.Because her father worked in
IT, Stoya had access to a lot of electronics and gaming equipment, which she says developed her love for technology.
"I was three when I was using
DOS. My mom taught me how to read, and my dad taught me how to navigate DOS", she has said. At a later age, Stoya moved to
Delaware, where she spent a semester at
Delaware College of Art & Design, but she later dropped out.After relocating to
Philadelphia, she attended a summer program at
UArts. Some of her jobs in Philadelphia included being a
secretary, flier distributor, and a
go-go dancer. Stoya appeared in several
music videos for bands that, according to her, "no one will ever hear of."In May 2009, Stoya said that she would be moving from Philadelphia and relocating to
Los Angeles in the fall of that year.
Stoya enjoys art, and one of her hobbies is creating clothes which
she wears in her scenes and during erotic conventions. She likes
reading, with
sci fi and
fantasy being among her favorite genres. Her favorite writers include
William Gibson and
Anne McCaffrey.
Stoya has acknowledged the importance of
social networking in her career;she is active on
MySpace,
Twitter,
Tumblr and various internet forums.
In June 2009, she was reported to be dating
Marilyn Manson,but they later broke up due to Manson's touring schedule.
The
stage name "Stoya" was her nickname before appearing in
adult films, and it is the shortened version of her grandmother's last name.
She has twice refused
Digital Playground's offer of free
breast implants.
In a blog post, Stoya said that she has mild latex allergies and difficulties with
hormonal birth control. In the past, she said that she has had three chemically induced
abortions, and states, "I’ve been pretty successful at avoiding pregnancy."
In an interview with
The Huffington Post,
Stoya revealed that her popularity as a porn star has made it difficult
for her father to enjoy pornography. In the same interview she
confirmed to be dating porn actor
James Deen.