Tera Patrick was born Linda Ann Hopkins and was raised near San Francisco. Her mother is Thai and her father is of English, Irish and Dutch descent. When she was just ten, her mother left her and she grew up with her father David Hopkins, a carefree hippie. After taking weekend classes at the Barbizon School of Modeling for two years, she was hired by a Japanese modeling agency and moved to Tokyo at the age of fourteen. At one of her first photo shoots, she lost her virginity to the photographer, who "was feeding [her] champagne and Valium" until she "was getting wasted". She spent two years in Tokyo, where "she became addicted to Valium and alcohol and spent her paychecks on shopping sprees". When her father learned she had become sexually active, he complained to her agency, pointing out she was underage. It sent her back to the United States, "sixteen years old and already a washed-up model". At eighteen, she obtained a GED, briefly studied nursing at Boise State University, then received EMT certification from a local vocational school.
Patrick retired from shooting scenes in the adult industry in 2008 but continues to operate her website, production company, and pursue other business ventures. She licenses her movie catalog worldwide.
Patrick has appeared in Playboy and Penthouse, where she was the "Pet of the Month" for February 2000 and was selected as "Pet of the Year" runner-up. In 2003, Patrick became the masthead publisher of Genesis.
In November 2006, Patrick starred in a Vivid/Teravision production titled "Tera Patrick's Fashion Underground" where she performed with Jean Val Jean and Tommy Gunn. In the same film her husband, under the name Spyder Jonez, performed with Lanny Barby. In an interview, Tera Patrick says she's OK with him doing scenes with other girls. The two made five movies for Vivid and ten for Teravision (with Seinfeld appearing under the name "Spyder Jonez"; he has also directed some features).
In an interview with the Adult Film Database in February 2007, Patrick stated she would only continue to work in front of the camera for two more years, but planned on releasing her starring adult titles over the next decade.
Pornographic actress Tera Patrick played herself in Ultor Exposed. In April 2007, Patrick and her production company, Teravision INC, filed a lawsuit against Jenna Jameson and Playboy Enterprises (the new owners of Club Jenna) for failing to properly account for and pay royalties on money earned by Patrick's Web site clubtera.com.
In 2008, Patrick began hosting the Playboy TV erotic instructional show, School of Sex. She was also the host for 25th AVN Awards ceremony.
In January 2013, Patrick hosted the annual XBIZ Awards.
