Shyla Stylez became interested in entering the pornography industry in her teens, and later moved to Vancouver where she worked as both a stripper and a webcam model, and appeared in nude pictorials. In her off-time, she would contact studios by email and phone to find out how to appear in movies. Stylez credits Erik Everhard with being the person to formally introduce her to the Business. She appeared in her first film, Slap Happy by Anabolic Video, in 2000 at the age of 18. She received her first AVN Award nomination as Best New Starlet in 2003.
Stylez signed on as exclusive contract performer for Jill Kelly Productions and later married its CEO, Bob Friedland, on October 23, 2002. The couple divorced in August 2003, but Friedland held Stylez to her contract, making it impossible for her to shoot hardcore scenes for anyone else. In September 2003 she met Michael Whiteacre, who cast her in a series of softcore late-night movies in 2004 and 2005. In August 2005, Jill Kelly Productions filed for bankruptcy.
Stylez returned to pornography in 2006 and was nominated at the 2009 XRCO Awards for the Best Cumback. Stylez hosted the Los Angeles independent TV show Un-Wired TV in 2007.
The following year she was nominated for more AVN Awards, including Best Supporting Actress, for Best Tease Performance, and for her performances in My Plaything: Shyla Stylez and Pirates II. In 2010, she was named by Maxim as one of the 12 top female stars in porn. Shyla Stylez was inducted into the Halls of Fame of the Urban X Awards and the AVN in 2011 and 2016, respectively.
On November 9, 2017, Stylez’s mother found her unresponsive in her bed. She was pronounced dead shortly after, aged 35. Her cause of death is unknown.
