When he entered the pornography industry, he changed his name at the request of his father. Jeremy is referred to as "the clown prince of porn" and "The Hedgehog." He has gained some notoriety for his long penis, reported to be 9.75 inches (24.76 centimeters) and for being capable of autofellatio (which contributed towards the "Hedgehog" moniker).

Born in the Flushing section of the New York City borough of Queens, Jeremy attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in the Bayside section of Queens (future CIA Director George Tenet was his classmate). He earned a B.A. in Theatre Arts and acted Off-Broadway before gaining a Master's Degree in Special Education from Queens College.

Upon returning to the U.S., he began a career in special education, but soon decided to quit and become part of the newly formed 1970s New York porn scene following an amateur appearance in Playgirl magazine�his then-girlfriend submitted a nude photo of Ron to the magazine. It was at this point that he decided to take the surname Jeremy (his middle name).

His venture into pornographic movies occurred during the "golden era" of porn (from 1975 to 1983), which was marked by high production values and good quality scripts, with the movies intended for cinematic release rather than video. However, during this era, the production of adult movies was still illegal - nonetheless, his fame spread, earning him a 'special consultant' job at the famous 1985 movie 'Nine and a Half Weeks'. After that, Jeremy left New York for California but he was arrested on two occasions and faced a lengthy jail sentence before being reprieved as a result of the Hal Freeman precedent in the United States Supreme Court of 1988.

Despite being somewhat different in appearance than the norm in the pornographic business, he has appeared in nearly 2,000 shorts, loops, and feature films to date and has directed a further 100. He claimed he got more work when he was a bit on the heavy side, and this is the reason why he did not try to lose weight. He also claimed to have had sex with over 4,000 women. He has said that he finds every woman beautiful regardless of their age, race, or creed, and this was what made him a very versatile porn actor.

He is listed at the #1 spot on the "List of Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time" by Adult Video News magazine. He and John Holmes appeared in several different films, often sharing female performers like Seka, Christy Canyon, Amber Lynn, and Ginger Lynn. Unlike many of his colleagues, Ron Jeremy has never had to battle the demons of alcohol abuse, cocaine abuse, or other drug addictions.

PETA advertisement.In 1996, Jeremy recorded a rap song with DJ Polo, produced by Dmitri Leybman, titled "Freak of the Week". The single was popular in the Miami bass music clubs and reached #22 on Billboard magazine's Hot Rap Tracks chart. Surprisingly, the music video featured a brief cameo appearance by Lynn Redgrave. He has also appeared in music videos such as Sublime's "Date Rape" and Kid Rock's video for the song "Cowboy".

He has had small roles in a number of mainstream films: Detroit Rock City, 54, Ronin, Orgazmo, The Boondock Saints, Mr. Stitch, Art House, American Virgin, and Killing Zoe, along with various Troma films such as Terror Firmer. For some of these films, Jeremy paid his own airfare and other expenses just to get 45 seconds time in a non-pornographic film to show he can act without being naked. Ron was also a non-speaking extra in the first Ghostbusters movie. (1:08:12 into the film) In 2001, Jeremy was the subject of a documentary film, entitled Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy. In 2005 and 2006 he made the "Adult Associate" that is a spoof of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" in which Ron Jeremy is recruiting for an assistant.

Jeremy has also appeared in a number of television series, such as the second season of the reality show The Surreal Life, a special "news makers" recording of the game show The Weakest Link, a cameo animated appearance as the host of the "Woody Awards" in an episode of Family Guy, Chappelle's Show, Mind of Mencia, Just Shoot Me and Bullshit!

As further indication of his cross-over celebrity status, Jeremy has posed in an advertisement for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to raise awareness of the over-population of domesticated animals. In the poster Ron lays partially nude on a bed, a pair of handcuffs around his wrist. Poking fun at his prolific notoriety, the title of the advertisement exclaims, "Too much sex can be a bad thing. Spay and neuter your cats and dogs."

Jeremy has also participated in debates on pornography at colleges around the US.