Eva Angelina was born Nicole Clyne on March 14, 1985 in Huntington Beach, California. She's of Irish, English, Cuban, and Chinese descent.

She has said that she came from a "very wealthy" background, but that when she turned thirteen, her family "pretty much lost everything."Angelina spent the first two years of her life in Madrid, Spain. After her father was hired by the Swiss military to build airplanes for the country when she was eight years old, Eva lived in Switzerland for two years. Angelina grew up as a teenager in Orange County, California, where she attended Foothill High School.

She always knew she wanted to enter the adult film business, as she started shooting her own porn films using a Handi-Cam. She made her porn debut in 2003 when she was just 18 years old when she answered an advertisement in the newspaper. Her first scene was for the Shane's World series. From there, Angelina went on to perform in hundreds of adult films, working with various prestigious production companies, such as Pure Play Media, Diabolic Video, Elegant Angel, New Sensations, and many more.

Eva did her first hardcore sex scene three months after her 18th birthday. Over the years, Eva Angelina has changed her appearance many times. She is known for wearing glasses during her sex scenes and has performed in that niche several times. Angelina was the Pet of the Month in the June, 2010 issue of Penthouse magazine. She was named one of the top 12 stars in porn by Maxim magazine that same year. Among the awards Eva has won for her work in adult films are a XRCO Award for Single Performance - Actress and an AVN Award for Best Actress - Video in 2008, a XRCO Award for Orgasmic Analist and an AVN Award for Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene in 2010, and an AVN Award for Best Tease Performance in 2011.

Eva Angelina took a temporary break from porn between May and November 2004 to accommodate her then-boyfriend's wishes, during which she returned to school and worked at Macaroni Grill in Valencia, California. She soon returned to adult films. In late 2005, Eva considered joining the US Navy, but changed her mind when met with a demand to remove her neck tattoo and get an associate's degree. Angelina married pornographic actor Danny Mountain in December of 2007. She gave birth to their daughter on December 9, 2008. Angelina and Mountain separated in March 2009. She later earned her real estate license in 2014. In 2019, Eva Angelina was in the news for finding success in her new career as a certified firefighter in Florida.

Like many of her fellow porn stars, Eva Angelina has attempted to cross over to mainstream media. She successfully crossed over with minor roles in the TV shows 7th Heaven and Cousin Skeeter.