Over the course of her 10 year career, Jill Kelly has appeared in over 420 pornographic movies. While she is best known for her work in adult movies, she has also made appearances in mainstream Hollywood productions, including Spike Lee's He Got Game and Orgazmo.

Kelly started out as a stripper at the Baby Dolls in Ontario, California, first performing at age fifteen (although she lied and said she was 18). After she broke up with her then-boyfriend, he called the club up and informed them of her true age, which prompted the club to fire her. Later, when Kelly turned 18 she returned to the club; in her words "they didn't even recognize me."

She later did live sex shows with Tiffany Million at the O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, and the two took a trip to Las Vegas to see the AVN Awards show in 1993. Kelly's first acting role was in the film The Roller Blade Seven. This film was directed by Donald G. Jackson and produced by Scott Shaw. This 1991 action-adventure film is still in video and cable release throughout the world. Jill Kelly went on to appear, in non-erotic roles, in several other films with Jackson and Shaw.