Adams was born in New Jersey and raised in New York, where she currently resides. She has a mixed heritage of African American, Caucasian, and Cherokee (Native American) ancestry. Adams was raised by her aunts, who were both former models and encouraged her to begin modeling at the age of 16. After appearing in photo shoots for Seventeen magazine, Venus Swimwear, and commercial advertisements for Clairol, Adams appeared as "Miss November 1992" in Playboy magazine. She earned a bachelor's degree at Fairleigh Dickinson University while modeling for Wilhelmina Models, switching to Elite Model Management after posing for Playboy.

Adams was the first Playboy centerfold to become a lesbian spokesmodel. In 1998 New York Post columnist Richard Johnson named her one of the "50 most eligible babes in NY". Adams once identified herself as a lesbian but no longer identifies as one. She was named "Best NYC lesbian sex symbol", in 2004 by The Village Voice and has appeared on the magazine's cover along with LGBT magazine covers and in advertisements. Adams made a cameo appearance for the "Top 10" list on the Late Show with David Letterman November 20, 2003 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of Playboy magazine.

On September 23, 2006 Adams filed a $5 million dollar lawsuit against a NYC taxicab driver, the NYPD, and the city of New York following an incident on May 25, 2006, in which the driver, according to Adams, falsely told the police that she was armed after getting into an argument with her. The driver was fined $2,700 on August 24, 2006 by a New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission judge, which suspended his license for 30 days, recommending that he lose it permanently, and the Commission finally removed it from him permanently on October 11, 2006. Adams also made a complaint and filed a lawsuit accusing the police of assault.

In November 2009, Adams informed Page Six that she is engaged to marry "a loving, supportive, successful man. I would like for his privacy to remain intact, but I will say that I intend to retire from being a public persona so that we can settle down and have children." Shortly after, she announced that she got married.

Her hobby is sharp shooting.

Adams is the author of 17 metaphysical books and 4 astrology calendars called Goddessy, and has a website dedicated to the advocacy of gay rights.