It would be easy to mistake Marie McCray for a hair model with her long, resplendent red locks that frame her lightly freckled face, pale blue eyes, and soft pink lips. In a way she is a hair model, as her luscious tresses are one of her most defining characteristics, earning her the label, "the number one redhead in porn." When I meet her at the 2013 Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, McCray is wearing a radiant pink dress that gives her the look of a prom queen whose bubbly personality and innocent appearance conceal her promiscuous nature.

McCray worked as a model and an exotic dancer, and even went to school to be an accountant, before diving into the adult industry in 2007. For her first major role she landed the title character in Angel Face, playing a small town ingénue with Hollywood dreams. The performance earned her an AVN nomination for Best Actress. In 2011, she earned another AVN nomination in the category of "Most Outrageous Sex Scene" for a three-way with Natasha Nice and Shawna Lenee. The Hustler centerfold has since worked with every major studio, performing with boys and girls in more than 100 scenes. Most recently she starred in the x-rated feature film, Revenge of the Petites.

Is it true you started webcamming when you were 16?

Oh no, you are going to ask me all the bad questions ... Actually that is true. I only did it for like four days. Once they realized that I looked a little too young, they kicked me off right away.

So no one is serving prison time for you?

Right. No one went to prison.

Three days after your 18th birthday you started doing nude modeling. At what age did you realize you wanted to get naked for a living?

I was always sexual, not necessarily sexually active, but a sexual being. I started doing regular modeling at around 16. Once I turned 18, a photographer friend of mine who I shot with all the time was like, 'Hey, do you want to try nude modeling? You have a really great body. You should consider it.' I was like, 'Oh, I don't know — okay, I'll try it.' I tried it and I really liked it and things just went from there. Before I got into the industry I used to drive up to Chicago every weekend from Indiana, where I'm originally from, and I would do a whole bunch of different paid shoots. I would even work as a live nude model for art classes.

Beyond fire crotch, what other euphemisms have you heard for redhead?

Most people just say things like redheads eat souls.

Like from South Park? You're totally a 'Day-Walker.' Why are redheads so evil?

I wouldn't say evil.

But you don't disagree?

There are some crazy girls. There are some wild girls. I would say I'm a feisty girl. I'm definitely sweet and nice, but I can get feisty.

Like many women in the industry, you started stripping before doing porn. You said you didn't really like it, but it helped you become comfortable and confident getting naked in front of others. Would you recommend to other women that they try stripping before porn?

Not necessarily because I don't think stripping has really anything to do with porn. I mean it makes you feel comfortable with yourself and your body, and being naked in front of others, but it really does not even compare to porn. Having sex on camera is so completely different than dancing on stage

You've been labeled, 'Porn's Number 1 Redhead'? Are there any contenders for this title?

I don't think of it as a competition. The three main girls in the industry now who are redheads are me, Faye Reagan — though I don’t know if she is still performing, she kind of disappeared — and Dani Jensen.

What about Kylie Ireland?

Yeah but she's a MILF model. I guess I compare myself against other petite, teenybopper redheads.

Did you do any acting before landing the lead role in the feature porn, Revenge of the Petites?

In high school I did theater and dance. Since then I haven't taken any special classes or anything like that, so no.

When I told my best friend in Austin that I was covering the AVNs, you were the first star he asked if I was interviewing. He has a fetish for pink nipples, which apparently you have. I had assumed that all white people have pink nipples, but he opened my eyes to a whole spectrum of nipple colors. Do you think redheads naturally have pinker nipples?

I think redheads just have fair skin already, so anything else is just pink. Like, if I get too hot, or I am cumming for real, I start to get blotchy and red.

If that happens when you cum, when you shoot a scene, do you make an effort not to cum?

It all depends on what the director wants. Sometimes it takes me a long time to cum. Like an hour or two. So if we don't have enough time, sometimes you just flow with it. You cheat it.

Were you in an open relationship prior to porn?

No. My boyfriend previous to porn, we were just a regular couple. When I got in the industry, and loved it, I met someone else in the industry as well, so we just went from there.

In a previous interview you said that the most important thing in a relationship is communication and that you trust your partner. In an open relationship, what do you need to trust him to do or not to do?

When I say trust, I would say communication and loyalty are probably the number two things. You just have to communicate non-stop and be honest with your partner. If you are in an open relationship you must be 100 percent honest. Honesty and communication and loyalty — making sure your partner knows you are going to stick with him or her no matter what.

Do you ever hang out at swingers clubs?

Not very often. Maybe once a year. Swingers clubs have really slim pickings.

So you just hook up with other performers in the industry?

Yes.

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Follow Marie McCray on Twitter at, @MarieMcCrayxxx, and see explicit content of her at MarieMcCray.com.

See more explicit coverage of the convention and awards show at AVNAwards.com and AdultEntertainmentExpo.com.

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Below, watch the SFW trailer for Revenge of the Petites, starring Marie McCray.