Angelina Doroshenkova, 21, lived and studied in the Russian city of Smolensk and had a promising legal career ahead of her.
But she has now relaunched her working life as a hardcore porn star under the stage name Ally Breelsen.
Friends became suspicious of her activities after she posted several social media pictures from exotic locations like Brazil and Spain.
One of her acquaintances then recognised her from an adult movie titled: "Ally in bed with two men."
A former university friend said: "I could not believe it when I saw it about it a week ago.
"We were studying together and she is now a porn star.
"If you type Angelina Doroshenkova in search engines you will find how many medals she won at Russian national knowledge competitions of knowledge Olympics."
Another pal said: "She used to live close to me. She was always a nice girl.
Friends have called her Gela."
A Twitter account with the username Ally Breelsen has posted numerous pictures of Angelina.
Some of them show her on holiday and posing for photos with friends.
Others show the brunette in a series of pornographic films – many of them with Russian captions.
Title : Law student with promising career quits studies to become p0rn star
Description : Angelina Doroshenkova, 21, lived and studied in the Russian city of Smolensk and had a promising legal career ahead of her. But she ha...