Shayla LaVeaux grew up in Denver, Colorado, where she was raised by her single mother who worked in banking. A rebellious youngster, her first job was working at McDonalds when she was 15. She waitressed, worked at cafes and a bakery after she graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in Colorado. She got into the adult industry when she started dancing at a topless bar in Glendale, Colorado when she was 18. She got involved in drugs and wild parties before getting married and settling down in 1990. She and her husband owned an adult bookstore and stripping service, and she decided that it would be good for business for her to do some exotic dancing and nude magazine layouts. Soon afterwards she met up with Alexis DeVell, a friend who had become a porn star, and the pair took off for California.
Known her great beauty and piercing blue eyes, LaVeaux would be one of the most popular pornstars of the 90s. She turned down being a Vivid Girl and only shot one movie for that company. Instead, she preferred to work for numerous other companies and shot as much as possible. As the mid 2000s came, LaVeaux would transitioned to more MILF roles as she entered her mid 30s.