Sorrentino was born in Staten Island and has been on Jersey Shore since its debut in 2009. Since appearing on that show, Sorrentino has been a guest on many TV series, such as The Howard Stern Show, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Jay Leno Show, Lopez Tonight, SportsNation, Chelsea Lately, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Conan.

Sorrentino was a contestant on Season 11 of Dancing with the Stars,eliminated on the 4th week. His partner was Karina Smirnoff.

In 2010, Sorrentino appeared with Bristol Palin in a public service announcement for The Candie's Foundation, as part of its Pause Before You Play campaign to prevent teen pregnancy.

In January 2011, Sorrentino signed on to star in the YOBI.tv "Random Talent" webseries co-starring British comedian Ben Green. The name of the series was later changed to New Stage after the theme song title of the same name, written and performed by another New Stage costar Mykell.

Sorrentino made more than $5 million in 2010, the second highest of any other reality star after Kim Kardashian. This money was accrued through endorsements with Devotion Vodka, Reebok Zigtech shoes,[citation needed] as well as a ghost-written autobiography, a rap song, a workout DVD, a vitamin line for GNC, a clothing line, and appearances including Jersey Shore and Dancing with the Stars.

In March 2011 Sorrentino appeared on the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump. In August of that year, Sorrentino was offered a "substantial" sum of money by fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch not to wear the company's clothes. A spokesman for the company explained that "Mr Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image." In November 2011, Sorrentino filed a lawsuit against A&F after they made shirts that read "The Fitchuation" and "GTL...You Know The Deal."

On February 22, 2012, Sorrentino appeared in a small cameo role on ABC's Suburgatory. In June 2012, he participated in Fox's dating game show The Choice. On August 15, 2012 he became a housemate on the tenth series of Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5 and on September 7, 2012 he came in fourth on the series final.

In October 2012, he appeared in a PETA ad campaign promoting the spaying and neutering of pets.