Ireland returned to Colorado to continue college partially in Boulder, Colorado, partially in Fort Collins, Colorado, and began to dance in a Fort Collins strip club. One of her first female lovers was a waitress at the same club who would become the pornographic actress Juli Ashton.
Kylie Ireland chose her stage name after Australian singer Kylie Minogue, and her Irish heritage. She dyed her hair blonde, and had breast implants in 1992.
She entered the pornographic film industry in 1994, through an acquaintance with glamour photographer Warren Tang. Her first films were L'il Ms. Behaved, where she performed with Randy West, and Up & Cummers 10, with Jenna Jameson; she started at the same time as Jameson. Ireland moved to Los Angeles after her first five films, and performed in a total of 80 films her first year, before returning to Colorado intending to slow down her film work.
In January 1995 Ireland was surprised to be named AVN Best New Starlet by Adult Video News Magazine; she was in the bathroom during the awards ceremony when her name was called. This would be the first of many erotic film awards. Fans of X-Rated Entertainment awarded her the 'Vixen' award in 1995 and the 'Fan Favorite' in 1996. She was named by Playboy Magazine as one of their Top 10 Porn Stars for 1997. In 2001, AVN listed her among the Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time and in 2005 inducted her into the AVN Hall of Fame.
